A new Black arts exhibition, “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power,” is on display at the Brooklyn Museum from Sept. 14, 2018, to Feb. 3, 2019. The museum is showing more than 150 pieces of art by more than 60 artists.
The Brooklyn Museum explained in its press release, “The show begins in 1963, before the emergence of the Black Power Movement later in the decade, with the Spiral collective. This group of New York–based painters, including Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis and Emma Amos, worked in diverse aesthetic styles and explored the role of Black artists in the struggle for civil rights. Also active in New York at the time was the Kamoinge Workshop, a group of photographers who responded to the lack of institutional support and mainstream representation of Black artists by conducting workshops and producing their own gallery shows and portfolios.”
Ashley James, assistant curator of Contemporary Art, added, “Artists in this exhibition bravely and variously created art responsive to an urgent time of social, political and aesthetic rupture, resulting in some of the most striking works created in the late 20th century. This exhibition adds to an already existing and growing focus on the art produced during the Black Power Movement, an indication of the period’s important and continued resonance with our present as well as the absolute excellence that defines the art of the era.”
This exhibition is a powerful collection of Black art that is tightly and intentionally curated and will take you through eras, aesthetics and Black movements. Take the opportunity to explore this extensive exhibition.
For more information, visit www.brooklynmuseum.org.