No, you’re not crazy: photographing darker skin tones, like mine, is harder than photographing lighter ones. Before anyone goes and reports me for reverse racism, which isn’t a thing, lets talk about this in purely technical terms. From the 1950s well into the 1980s, Kodak, the standard in film processing, provided photo labs with “Shirley…
THE MOST RECENT ADDITION to the art collection at The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College is a series of books. The museum acquired “The American Library (Activists)” by Yinka Shonibare, a large-scale installation of 234 books wrapped in the artist’s signature Dutch wax print fabric. The spines of most of the books feature the name of…
The Carters blessed stans everywhere when they released their joint album, Everything Is Love, on June 16th. Rumors had been circulating about the prospect of a collaborative effort for a while, with neither Beyoncé or Jay-Z confirming or denying it. Ultimately, the duo rolled out the album unexpectedly (which has become their preferred method of expression), surprising both…
On a recent wintry morning, the multimedia artist Derrick Adams was sitting in his cozy basement studio in Brooklyn talking about distant cities and faraway times. “It’s like reading a fairy tale book. I see the names of beauty schools and men’s clubs and taverns, and I think, ‘What does that place look like?’” Mr. Adams was…
Baltimore artist Amy Sherald, who graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2004 and just joined the faculty there, has been commissioned by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery to paint the official portrait of former first lady Michelle Obama. New York-based Kehinde Wiley will paint the official portrait of President Barack Obama. The paintings…
When Columbus, GA artists Najee and Seteria Dorsey purchased a house six months ago, they wanted the yard to reflect their love for art. While searching their belongings, they discovered some aluminum/ployethylene artwork that Najee created four years ago. The pieces — 28-inches tall and 11-14 inches wide — displayed Black women picking flowers wearing…
I recently moved to Philadelphia and I must say, as someone who loves art and food, the City of Brotherly Love doesn’t disappoint. Apart from great restaurants and hole in the wall “hood spots”, the city has a thriving art scene and an up and coming tech startup scene. Check out some of the many…
Here’s our list of 30 Black Owned Businesses in Chicago, aka “The Windy City”. We love the architecture. We also love the fact that this city is FULL of all types of amazing businesses. Black Owned businesses in Chicago FOOD Mikkey Halsted, DJ Toure and Rico Nance, are the owners of Mikkey’s Retro Grill.…
We’re back at it with another guide to shopping Black in the Diaspora. This time, we’re highlighting 16 Black owned businesses in Paris. Let’s show some love to our brothers and sisters in the “City of Light”. Black Owned Businesses in Paris FOOD Café Dapper by Chef Loïc Dablé is located a stone’s throw…
