The Devil on the Door

Could a painting on a dope dealer’s storefront be the last work of Jean-Michel Basquiat? On a Saturday morning in the early summer of 1988, Jean-Michel Basquiat stepped through the doorway of a bodega on South 4th Street in Williamsburg. It was a tough neighborhood back then, before the condos and restaurants arrived, and the …

MFA Unveils New Contemporary Art Wing

Less than a year after opening its high-profile Art of the Americas Wing, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is set to unveil its latest upgrade — the new $12 million Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art. This weekend a free community day and 24-hour party will celebrate seven new galleries and the 240 …

2011 Aaron Douglas Art Fair Planned For Sept. 24

Organized by the Central Topeka Turnaround Team, the 6th Annual Aaron Douglas Art Fair will celebrate Douglas’s legacy as “the father of African American art” and showcase diverse and emerging artists from the Topeka area. The following is from the Aaron Douglas Art Fair:More than 40 Kansas artists, musicians, and performance artists will gather at …

Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum takes the theme of “Community & Creativity” to the next level

“Your presence here is wonderful, but leaving your money behind would even be a little bit better,” Maureen Bunyan, WJLA TV news anchor and mistress-of-ceremonies reminded everyone at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum’s 44th anniversary luncheon, held Sept. 15 at the National Press Club. The theme of the afternoon, “Community & Creativity,” stemmed from the …

African American music museum planned

A new US$47.5m (£30m, EUR34m) national attraction examining the heritage of African American music is being planned for Nashville, US, with a proposed opening date of 2013. The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) is to focus on the impact of African Americans on contemporary music in the US, with roots in around 50 …

The Jewish Museum Presents ‘Ezra Jack Keats: A Creative Response,’ 10/17

The Jewish Museum will present Ezra Jack Keats: A Creative Response, on Thursday, October 17 at 11:30 am. In this lecture, Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney shares his reflections on Ezra Jack Keats‘s work and the role of diversity in children’s literature. This lecture is presented in conjunction with the Museum’s new exhibition, The Snowy …

20/21 British Art Fair: No holding back Modern Britain

The 20/21 British Art Fair at the Royal College of Art opens the new sales season after a summer of discontent. At 5pm tomorrow, Anthony Horowitz, the novelist best known for his tales about the teenage spy Alex Rider, turns his hand to the art world when he opens the 20/21 British Art Fair at …

The Portrait of a City

Back in 1955, the travelogue series, “Guided Tour,” came to Richmond to film an episode about the city. The short film, shot in black and white, explains that Richmond is home to 365,000 people, with major highways like U.S. Route 1 and Route 60 running through town. The narration highlights the “world famous shrines” to …

Anacostia Community Museum Features Maria Rosario Jackson as the 44th Anniversary Benefit Luncheon Speaker at Sept. 15 Event

Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D., senior research associate at the Urban Institute and director of its Culture, Creativity and Communities Program, is the featured keynote speaker for “Community and Creativity” the 44th anniversary luncheon of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. The luncheon, a fundraiser for the museum, will take place Thursday, Sept. 15, at noon at …

Fall Arts Preview / Art: Visual Delights

Carnegie Museum of Art launches its much-anticipated exhibition of the photography of the late Charles “Teenie” Harris, an endeavor that is as much about American culture and Pittsburgh history — with a special focus on African-Americans — as it is about the art of image making. The Frick Art & Historical Center displays works by …

Spelman Museum’s teenage ambition

It would be putting it lightly to say the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art’s mission, “to emphasize works by and about women of the African Diaspora,” is unique. “There’s no other place like this in the nation,” is how museum director Andrea Barnwell Brownlee explains it in her second floor office of the Cosby …

EYE ON ART: Three Area Art Museums Highlighted In L.A.

September marks the beginning of “Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980,” a collaboration of more than 60 cultural institutions across Southern California, including San Diego, Santa Barbara and Palm Springs Initiated through grants from the Getty Foundation, this groundbreaking milestone event highlights the birth of the Los Angeles art scene post-World War II and …

New exhibition presents poignant photos

“Posing Beauty in African American Culture,” presented by the USC Fisher Museum of Art, delivers a visual feast of stunning photographs attempting to discuss what it has meant to be “black and beautiful” throughout black history. The leading themed section, “Constructing a Pose,” offers a snapshot into the lives of blacks through both natural and …

SCAD to Open Major Teaching Museum Devoted to Contemporary Art and Design

The new SCAD Museum of Art is a significantly expanded and re-imagined contemporary art and design museum conceived and designed expressly to enrich the educational milieu for SCAD students, professors, and art and design enthusiasts. SCAD Museum of Art re-opens to the public on Saturday, October 29. Inaugural exhibitions at the new museum include: Bill …