BLACK ART MATTERS

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

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

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

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

Blackness, Queerness and Yoruba Tricksters in the Works of Nigerian-British Photographer Rotimi Fani-Kayode

June 25th, 2020|Country: Nigeria, United Kingdom|

It has been three decades since the art world lost Rotimi Fani-Kayode to an AIDS-related illness, but his works on race, sexuality, religion, and difference, remain as fresh and urgent as ever

The Ordinary Double Life of a Teenage Somali Model in Budapest—‘Easy Lessons’, dir. Dorottya Zurbó, 2018

January 23rd, 2020|Country: Hungary, Somalia|

After her narrow escape from becoming a child bride in Somalia, 17-year-old Kafia is building her life anew in Hungary. But she fears that her emerging European identity is a betrayal of her roots

DR Congo’s Urban Art Scene Is Pulsating with Politics and Perils—‘System K’, dir. Renaud Barret, 2019

January 22nd, 2020|Country: DR Congo, France|

The best art grows out of trash and danger: incendiary documentary profiles the courageous young artists making fierce political statements in the streets of Kinshasa

An Anthology of the Best New Music from Burundi, Part II: Keeping Up With Kirundi

January 21st, 2020|Country: Burundi, USA|

Burundi has it all: afrobeat, gangsta rap, golden-voiced goddesses, bongo flava and boy bands. Come for them, stay for the zip bag suits and Cassava-themed trap anthems

Barbadian-American Artist Mark King Augments Reality to See Changes in Human Behavior

January 16th, 2020|Country: Barbados, USA|

An artist on a quest to find out how digital technology can benefit cognition, and his multidisciplinary approach, which includes graphic design, photography, fashion and psychology

Brazilian Students Narrate Their Struggle Against Austerity and Neoconservatism—‘Your Turn’, dir. Eliza Capai, 2019

January 15th, 2020|Country: Brazil|

Three Brazilian student activists present a multidimensional, inclusive account of their fight for the right to education over the past decade in an electrifying, award-winning documentary

An Anthology of the Best New Music from Burundi, Part I: Behold the Buja Beats

January 8th, 2020|Country: Burundi, Sweden|

Crooners, rappers and comeback kids, a diva and a soccer hymn: our first dispatch of freshest tunes from Burundi will satisfy your Afrobeat, R&B and hip-hop cravings and lift you up

Namibian Artist Tuli Mekondjo Creates a Space Where Her Fractured Identity Can Be Whole Again

December 17th, 2019|Country: Namibia|

Born in exile during the country's war for independence, the interdisciplinary artist seeks to find ways to belong and to explore trauma through works of striking beauty and proximity to the earth

There Are No Bad Kids, Just Bad Approaches to Them—‘In My Blood It Runs’, dir. Maya Newell, 2019

December 11th, 2019|Country: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Arrernte, Australia, Garrwa People|

A stunning documentary about a gifted unruly child decries the imperialist methods of education and punitive discipline in place in Australia. Its subject matter, however, is ubiquitous

Film: Fabulous, dir. Audrey Jean-Baptiste, 2019

December 3rd, 2019|Country: France, French Guiana|

A transwoman who's made strides in New York and Paris returns to her home country to teach voguing to the locals in a fascinating study of gender and sexuality in French Guiana

Film: Before It’s Too Late, dir. Leandro Goddinho, 2019

November 21st, 2019|Country: Brazil|

Staying tender while standing ground: teenage pop idols are drawn to each other at the advent of Bolsonaro's regime and decide to reinvent themselves against his homophobic agenda

Film: The Orphan, dir. Carolina Markowicz, 2018

November 20th, 2019|Country: Brazil|

A sparkly Brazilian child finds he’s better off at an orphanage than with small-minded families in a searing, necessary study of the trauma that adoption can wreak on queer kids

Film: A Fresh Perspective, dir. Aaron Hosé, 2019

November 7th, 2019|Country: Aruba, USA|

In the economy of craft beer making, which currently enjoys a multibillion boom worldwide, few spaces are occupied by minorities: a documentary short sheds light on how that's changing

Film: Marielle’s Legacy Will Not Die, dir. Leonard Cortana, 2019

November 4th, 2019|Country: Brazil, USA|

An incendiary documentary about the events on the anniversary of Marielle Franco's death—a black queer feminist activist from a favela, she was murdered by ex-policemen with ties to Jair Bolsonaro

Book: Patience Agbabi, Telling Tales, 2014

October 24th, 2019|Country: Nigeria, United Kingdom|

A reimagining of the "Canterbury Tales" with sex, sass and grime rhythms: an electrifying collection of poems from a diverse array of characters conceived by British poet of Nigerian descent

Music: Mighty Sparrow, Soca Anthology: Doctor Bird, 2011

October 21st, 2019|Country: Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago|

The most honored king of calypso whose sharp tongue had turned to a variety of topics, like sex, race, slavery and politics, which he then fearlessly explored—a musical treasure still performing at 84

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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