BLACK ART MATTERS

Reggae Legend Toots Lives On in the Maytals’ Pioneering, Timeless Album—‘Funky Kingston’, Toots & the Maytals, 1975

September 22nd, 2020|Country: Jamaica|

Seemingly simple, yet breathtakingly complex, this album is one of the greatest in the genre, showing raw, earthy reggae at its finest: half a century later, it shines powerfully

A Displaced Child Prodigy’s Imagination Offers Ideas For Our Collective Future—‘Anbessa’, dir. Mo Scarpelli, 2019

November 15th, 2020|Country: Ethiopia, Italy, USA|

Urban development in Addis-Ababa and humanity’s race for progress are explored through the eyes of a curious, talented ten-year-old boy living in a hut in the shadow of shiny new condominiums

A Vulnerable Portrait of Girlhood Between Two Cultures Is a Searing Indictment of the Commercialization of Budding Sexuality— ‘Cuties,’ dir. Maïmouna Doucouré, 2020

September 24th, 2020|Country: France, Senegal|

In a much-discussed coming-of-age comedy-drama, French filmmaker of Senegalese origin does not pull any punches while shedding light on the way cultural excesses harm those caught between them

Cy Gavin’s Incendiary Paintings Shed the Neon Light on the Dark Spots of Bermudian and American Histories

September 17th, 2020|Country: Bermuda, USA|

Excavating the past and applying creative scrutiny, this exciting young artist creates electric landscapes that give power to those hidden in the colonial reading of history

In Amos Ferguson’s Artworks, the Bahamas Is A Paradise Untouched By Colonization, Industry and Financial Schemes

September 10th, 2020|Country: Bahamas|

After a religious revelation, he became an art sensation in his middle age. Today, Amos Ferguson’s legacy is a testament to why it’s vital to see countries for their marvels and talents, not profits

The Reggae Heart of Anguilla Pulsating In the Dunes—Bankie Banx & The Roots and Herbs, ’Roots and Herbs’, 1977

September 8th, 2020|Country: Anguilla|

Listen to the man who brought reggae to the Eastern Caribbean and then built an extensive heritage in educating the youth, protecting nature, and sharing good vibes with listeners everywhere

In Postwar Chad, Vengeance Is Served With Freshly Baked Bread, by a Boy With a Gun—‘Dry Season’, Dir. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, 2006

August 6th, 2020|Country: Austria, Belgium, Chad, France|

In the aftermath of the Chadian war, a young man looks to avenge his father's death but instead finds a father figure in this stunning parable about the humanity hiding beneath the scar tissue

The Songs and Sorrows of São Paulo’s ‘Crack Land’—‘Let It Burn’, dir. Maíra Bühler, 2019

July 30th, 2020|Country: Brazil|

Tender documentary set in a recovery project for homeless crack users shows that longing, loneliness and lack of perspectives are just as hard to overcome as substance dependence

A Senegalese Village, Swiss Drama and a Masterful Critique of Globalization From Senegal’s Finest Filmmaker—’Hyenas’, dir. Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1992

July 21st, 2020|Country: France, Italy, Netherlands, Senegal, Switzerland, United Kingdom|

An anti-neocolonialist gem from legendary Mambéty: human nature and capitalist indoctrination are under scrutiny when a billionaire agrees to give money to her struggling hometown—on her terms

Fighting for Change, Against the Odds and with Each Other, a Look Into the DRC Protest Movement—‘Kinshasa Makambo’, dir. Dieudo Hamadi, 2018

July 9th, 2020|Country: DR Congo, France, Germany, Norway, Qatar, Switzerland|

An incendiary documentary about three brave men at the forefront of the uprising against Joseph Kabila’s rule shows just how much the protest movements across the world have in common

Great Art Stays With You Even After You Die—The Fantasy Coffins of Ghanaian Legend Paa Joe

July 7th, 2020|Country: Ga-Adangbe People, Ghana|

Rooted in the tradition of his Ga people, Paa Joe’s coffins are whimsical, yet concise impressions of their owners—and a staggering reimagining of what art and death really mean to us

On the Fourth of July, It’s Time to Consider What America Is About, So Here’s Some More Political Art From New York’s SoHo

July 3rd, 2020|Country: USA|

We come back to SoHo once more because the artists’ creativity in the neighborhood is still out of control, and they have a lot to say about independence, equality, and justice

Trans Body as a Weapon: The Personal and the Political In Gender Insurgency—‘Bixa Travesty/Tranny Fag’, dir. Claudia Priscilla & Kiko Goifman, 2018

July 2nd, 2020|Country: Brazil|

A riveting showcase of Linn da Quebrada, an Afro-Brazilian trans rap star from the favela, who dismantles racism, the binary and the patriarchy with her militant music, performances, and life

The Other Pandemic—‘Bedlam’, dir. Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, 2019

April 1st, 2020|Country: USA|

An unflinching look at the mental illness health crisis that is ravaging the United States in a documentary made by a practicing psychiatrist who has encountered mental illness in his private life

The Glitz and Gravity of Australian Indigenous Drag—‘Black Divaz’, dir. Adrian Russell Wills, 2018

March 25th, 2020|Country: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia, Biripi People, Dunghutti People, Iwaidja People, Malak Malak People, Tiwi Islands, Torres Strait Islands|

A dazzling, empathic film follows six drag queens competing in Australia's inaugural Miss First Nations contest, as they find empowerment and share vulnerabilities

The Great Black British Artist and the Fruit of Her Toils—Lubaina Himid

March 24th, 2020|Country: Comoros, Tanzania, United Kingdom|

A tireless scholar of the intersection of black identity and labor, visual artist Lubaina Himid creates work that has a lot to teach us about separating the self from production in the current moment

Avian Enthusiasts Find a Place of Their Own and Reach for the Limelight— ‘Pigeon Kings,’ dir. Milena Pastreich, 2020

March 16th, 2020|Country: USA|

A melodic sketch of a subculture of pigeon devotees in South Central LA ruminates on the essence of greatness and care

Hoarding Is Political: A Civil Rights Activist and the Prolific TV Archive She Created—‘Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project,’ dir. Matt Wolf, 2019

March 10th, 2020|Country: USA|

A meticulous profile of Marion Stokes, whose obsession with collecting TV footage became a lifelong crusade against the biases of mass media

The Fantastic Story of South Sudan’s First Olympic Athlete—‘Runner’, dir. Bill Gallagher, 2019

March 9th, 2020|Country: South Sudan, USA|

A nuanced portrait of Guor Mading Maker, also known as Guor Marial, who survived the civil war and child slavery to become the first man from his country to participate in the Olympic Games

Artist From Dominica Explores the Onslaught of Discarded Clothing on the Planet—Pauline Marcelle’s ‘Bend Down Boutique’

March 8th, 2020|Country: Austria, Dominica|

Striking artworks bring attention to the untraced aspects of garment recycling and examine the oft-ignored class, racial and cultural implications of global pollution

Love in the Time of Capitalism and Migration—‘Atlantics’, dir. Mati Diop, 2019

March 2nd, 2020|Country: Belgium, France, Senegal|

The scion of Senegal's leading family of creators and her dark fairytale about love and justice for the working class that just might kick off a new Renaissance in the country's filmmaking industry

Family, Creative Fulfillment, and Some Funk: the Artful Life of Garifuna Marvel Pen Cayetano and His Clan

March 1st, 2020|Country: Belize, Garifuna Nation|

A family of five, led by visual artist and punta rock legend Pen Cayetano, runs a cultural center dedicated to indigenous Garifuna heritage: a masterclass in cultural management from Belize

A Treasure of Ethnofiction from Acclaimed Portuguese Master and His Cabo Verdean muse—‘Vitalina Varela’, dir. Pedro Costa, 2019

February 27th, 2020|Country: Cabo Verde, Portugal|

A migrant's forgotten widow tries to process grief in a Lisbon slum where he used to live: a vigorous, visually-stunning work based on the leading lady's lived experiences

The Upset Stomachs and Egos of Colonialism—Tierno Monénembo, ‘King of Kahel’, 2008, trans. Nicholas Elliott

February 25th, 2020|Country: France, Guinea|

Guinean author subverts the traditional colonizer narrative by crafting a tragicomedy about a Frenchman who wanted to be an African king; offers an unflinching look into the mechanics of occupation

Moral Lines Blur in Illegal Kenyan Elephant Poaching—‘When Lambs Become Lions,’ dir. Jon Kasbe, 2018

February 18th, 2020|Country: Kenya, USA|

Director Jon Kasbe spent four years in Kenya befriending both elephant poachers and the rangers fighting to stop them. Together, they created a human and honest narrative of morality’s murkier areas

An Anthology of the Best New Music from Burundi, Part III: East African Express

February 3rd, 2020|Country: Burundi, Rwanda|

Our last dispatch from the musical scene of Burundi, where genocide survivors, Christian youth ministers, and rural dwellers make fantastic music you know you want to dance to

Frank Walter, A Reclusive Antiguan Eccentric Who Became an Art Sensation After He Died

January 28th, 2020|Country: Antigua and Barbuda|

Frank Walter spent his life creating a vibrant body of work that reimagined the existing social order. Posthumously, his art is a revitalizing deconstruction of race, history and the universe

The Throbbing Heart of Unrest in the French Suburbs—‘Les Misérables’, dir. Ladj Ly, 2019

January 27th, 2020|Country: France|

A meticulous fictional inquiry into the incendiary social politics of Parisian suburbs in feature debut from a man who has experienced the 2005 Paris uprising in his backyard

Abkhazia	Congo-Brazzaville	Indonesia	New Zealand	Spain
Afghanistan	Costa Rica	Iran	Nicaragua	Sri Lanka
Albania	Côte d’Ivoire	Iraq	Niger	Sudan
Algeria	Croatia	Ireland	Nigeria	Suriname
Andorra	Cuba	Israel	Niue	Sweden
Angola	Cyprus	Italy	North Korea	Switzerland
Antigua-and-Barbuda	Czech Republic	Iwaidja People	North Ossetia	Syria
Argentina	Dagestan	Jamaica	Norway	Taiwan
Armenia	Denmark	Japan	Oman	Tajikistan
Arrernte	Dominica	Jordan	Pakistan	Tamil Nadu
Aruba	Dominican Republic	Kanak People	Palestine	Tanzania
Australia	DR Congo	Karelia	Panama	Tatarstan
Austria	Dunghutti People	Kashmir	Papua New Guinea	Thailand
Azerbaijan	Ecuador	Kazakhstan	Paraguay	Tibet
Bahamas	Eelam Tamil	Kenya	Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians	Timor-Leste
Bahrain	Egypt	Kosovo	Peru	Tiwi Islands
Balochistan	El Salvador	Kurdistan	Philippines	Togo
Bangladesh	Estonia	Kyrgyzstan	Poland	Tonga
Barbados	Eswatini	Laos	Portugal	Torres Strait Islands
Bashkortostan	Ethiopia	Latvia	Puerto Rico	Transnistria
Belarus	Faroe Islands	Lebanon	Qatar	Trinidad and Tobago
Belgium	Fiji	Liberia	Rapa Nui	Tunisia
Belize	Finland	Libya	Reunion	Turkey
Benin	France	Lithuania	Roma	Turkmenistan
Bermuda	French Guiana	Luxembourg	Romania	Tuvalu
Bhutan	Gabon	Macedonia	Russia	Uganda
Biripi People	Gambia	Madagascar	Rwanda	Ukraine
Bolivia	Garifuna Nation	Malak Malak People	Saint Kitts and Nevis	United Kingdom
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Garrwa People	Malawi	Saint Lucia	Uruguay
Botswana	Georgia	Malaysia	Saint Vincent and The Grenadines	USA
Brazil	Germany	Mali	Samoa	Uyghur Nation
Brunei	Ghana	Malta	San Marino	Uzbekistan
Bulgaria	Golan Heights	Māori	Sao Tome and Principe	Vanuatu
Burkina Faso	Greece	Martinique	Saudi Arabia	Venezuela
Burundi	Greenland	Mauritania	Scotland	Vietnam
Buryatia	Grenada	Mauritius	Senegal	Wales
Cabo Verde	Guatemala	Mexico	Serbia	Wallis and Futuna
Cambodia	Guinea	Moldova	Sierra Leone	Water
Cameroon	Guyana	Monaco	Singapore	Yemen
Canada	Haida Gwaii	Morocco	Slovakia	Yöruk People
Central African Republic	Haiti	Mozambique	Slovenia	Zambia
Chad	Ho-Chunk Nation	Myanmar	Solomon Islands	Zimbabwe
Chile	Honduras	Namibia	Somalia
China	Hong Kong	Native American Tribes	South Africa
Chinook Nation	Hungary	Nepal	South Korea
Colombia	Iceland	Netherlands	South Ossetia
Comoros	India	New Caledonia	South Sudan

BLACK ART MATTERS

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