In an age where folks vehemently debate,holler and yammer on and on about how there is “no good music anymore”,I must wholeheartedly disagree! I have for many years shared the same opinion and that’s probably not gonna change. Radio sucks. Let’s just get that shyt out the way right now. If indeed you are the […]
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What exactly would one consider a hero? An architect? I suppose I may have some curious ideas about what those particular words mean to me.I can assure ya’ll however- That I do NOT take the words lightly at all. I mean not one single damn bit. Different folks mean different things to us as people. […]
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Growing up in Los Angeles, art has always been first for Calvin. From childhood he found himself sketching every chance he got. Loving the idea of bringing life to paper, he gravitated towards charcoal and graphite. Teaching himself shading techniques by observing human expression and emotion. He began oil painting after reading the book “The […]
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Uzo Njoku’s works rejoice in unions despite her subjects being mostly isolate. Her paintings are a fusion of fine art and design and celebrate the blend of her Nigerian- American cultural upbringing. Njoku, with skill and a considered softness, creates another harmonious alliance between the human bodies present and the decorative. Once deeply informed by […]
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Peter Uka’s (b.1975, Nigeria; based in Cologne, Germany) classical training in realistic figuration, images from his memory, are nostalgic, and simultaneously convey innate and timeless human emotion, breathing depth into dynamic portrayals. Scenes of growing up in Nigeria, the bright mannerisms and local customs are all captured in vibrant, visual narrative. Compositions also capture international […]
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“Home is a concept that feels somewhat elusive to me because while I’m a resident in Aotearoa, coming from an immigrant family, I’m in a position that pushes outside of my social and cultural comfort zone. Like most immigrant families my parents migrated in search of quality education and success for their children.When I reflect […]
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Joseph Eze is a contemporary artist from Nigeria. He is a mixed media artist working with various mediums from painting, sculpture, illustration and collage. His work mainly depicts elegant and intriguing portraits of African women. Joseph Eze studied at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Through his works Joseph points to the fact that there is […]
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Hailing from Ghana, Quaicoe’s lush and luminous oil paintings of black men and women, some strangers he encounters on the street or on social media, many others, friends and colleagues, stand as visual testaments to the resilience, power and strength inherent in African culture. His portraits reveal the complexities of human experience with both a […]
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In Betye Saar’s work, time is cyclical. History and experiences, emotion and knowledge travel across time and back again, linking the artist and viewers of her work with generations of people who came before them. This is made explicit in her commitment to certain themes, imagery, and objects, and her continual reinvention of them over […]
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In the African American community, we are slowly rediscovering our history that has not been fully illustrated. It’s my job as a visual communicator to review historical information and inform the community by bringing these concepts to life and help visually define our identity. And to distribute these stories about the strengths and trials of the […]
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UBIOMO CHINEDU OGHENEROH (Enugu) captures the beauty of African women in his digital art, through the art form of Kpuri. “I am a professional digital painter and an abstract creative. In my work, I aim to capture the beauty of the African woman: her elegance, style, and beauty. I am deeply inspired by her. I […]
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Barbara Jones-Hogu was born in Chicago. She received a BA from Howard University in 1959, a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1964, and a MS with a concentration in printmaking from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1970. Jones-Hogu is associated with […]
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Below the surface of Shantell Martin’s signature black and white drawings is an artists’ inquiry into the role of artist and viewer, where a work of art is more than an object of admiration disconnected from its inception. With a meditative process defined by an uninhibited flow, her compositions embody her internal state and the […]
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Considered one of the most influential contemporary American artists, Carrie Mae Weems has investigated family relationships, cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems, and the consequences of power. Determined as ever to enter the picture—both literally and metaphorically—Weems has sustained an on-going dialogue within contemporary discourse for over thirty years. During this time, Carrie Mae Weems […]
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Simone Leigh makes mixed media-sculptures and installations, as well as videos, through which she foregrounds the beauty and complexity of blackness. Claiming to “continue to revel” in her own identity as an African-American woman, she unflinchingly explores how black bodies have been discussed and displayed throughout history. Clay, in the form of terra cotta and […]
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Kimberly M. Becoat is a contemporary mixed media artist whose work is a stylistic abstraction with a conceptual investigation of new materials and visual experiences with social commentary. She uses a variety of art materials including acrylic paint, Sumi ink, and watercolor as well as less conventional items like sand, tar paper, foil, candy wrappers, and […]
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Ok, so I am immensely inspired to write a little bit about Mustafa Shakir. He has been on my radar to share his light with you, the readers of Nevah Black Down for some time. I’ve personally known him because of the whole spoken word scene in NYC over the years. I’ve always thought he […]
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Creative Visionary Erin Robinson is a Fashion Designer by trade but also a trained fine artist from Parsons School of Design and the Corcoran School of Art. Her daydreamy, magical imagination is inspired by travel, color, texture, the feminine shape and the many shades and coifs of Brooklyn. She works in a variety of mediums […]
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Yes, I made it to CAAM (California African American Museum) earlier this month for their LIVE PERFORMANCES to catch one of my favorite artists to date, Paul Beaubrun He made his way toward the stage with such a calm and humble manner it made me rest easy and look forward to what was to come. There […]
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Yes, I know this guy and proud of it. We have shared stages and shared non-conversational moments of the poetic kind. I have respect and admiration for the continuous presentation of his gifts. He speaks in ways that hold us accountable as human beings. He is in your face with that confident wordsmith kinda power. He […]
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