Have you seen the epic exhibition, 30 Americans? Organized by the Rubell Museum in Miami, 30 Americans has traveled coast to coast over the past 10+ years to many major museums and features an iconic roster of solely African American contemporary artists. This salient - if not historic - exhibition features some of my favorite artists: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Nick Cave, Kerry James Marshall, Wangechi Mutu, Hank Willis Thomas, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Kehinde Wiley, among many others. From the Rubell website: This provocative exhibition focuses on issues of racial, sexual, and historical identity in contemporary culture while exploring the powerful influence of artistic legacy and community across generations. This large group show features approximately 60 works of sculpture, painting, drawing, photography and video.

30 Americans is slated to open this fall at the Albuquerque Museum, NM. Hopefully they will be able to safely re-open to the public on October 3, 2020 (be sure to check the museum's website for COVID-19 updates) where it is scheduled to be on view through January 3, 2021. The tour will conclude in early 2022. Don't miss the chance to see this amazing collection by incredibly influential Black artists who are enhancing the dialogue around race, representation, and identity as they reshape the history of contemporary art.

Above image: 30 American artists (left to right): Rashid Johnson, Nick Cave, Kalup Linzy, Jeff Sonhouse, Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems, Barkley L. Hendricks, Hank Willis Thomas (front row), Xaviera Simmons, Purvis Young, John Bankston, Nina Chanel Abney, Henry Taylor, Mickalene Thomas (front row), Kerry James Marshall, and Shinique Smith. Photo by Kwaku Alston, December 5, 2008

JUVENILE-IN-JUSTICE 

Over a series of decades photographer, Richard Ross, has used his camera as a tool to tell the stories of children behind bars. Ross’ Juvenile-in-Justice traveling exhibition has evolved to include not only his striking photos, but also a collection of interviews, audio documents, and texts from more than 1,000 kids, collected from 300 sites in 35 states. The imagery is raw, powerful – almost palpable – as he strives to explain how, why, and (most importantly) if children should be incarcerated. Striking imagery, coupled with heartbreaking, yet humanizing stories just may be the catalyst for changing the system for 53,000+ children currently in custody.
 
All images © Richard Ross, Juvenile-in-Justice
 
More info: https://www.juvenile-in-justice.com/

To book the exhibition and/or event: https://www.juvenile-in-justice.com/exhibitions

The Aperture Foundation is offering a stunning traveling exhibition on the work of Kwame Brathwaite (b. 1938), the first show dedicated to Brathwaite's remarkable career. A Renaissance man of the 1950s and 1960s, Kwame Brathwaite - a photographer born in Brooklyn, raised in the Bronx and lived as a young professional in Harlem - was deeply interested in Black economic liberation and freedom. After learning of Emmett Till's horrific murder, and seeing his open casket published in Jet magazine, Brathwaite and his brother Elombe, vowed to use art as a vehicle for social change. Together they founded the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS) - a collective of artists and other creatives who supported the work of Miles Davis, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, among others. They also promoted a message of economic empowerment through their campaign of "Think Black, Buy Black." By the 1960s, Brathwaite sought to address the white conception of beauty and coined the term "Black is Beautiful," which he promoted through his photographs. His modeling troupe, Grandassa Models, often served as his primary subjects during this period, and they produced annual fashion shows at the Apollo Theater.

Today, Brathwaite resides in New York City and is married to a former Grandassa Model, Sikolo Brathwaite. Brathwaite says of his work of the 1950s and '60s, "It was a time when people were protesting injustices related to race, class, and human rights around the globe. I focused on perfecting my craft so that I could use my gift to inspire thought, relay ideas, and tell stories of our struggle, our work, our liberation."

Number of Works: 42 framed works. Blue Note record albums featuring Brathwaite’s photographs and garments will also travel with the exhibition. Also included are high resolution files of historical AJASS and Grandassa posters to be printed by the Exhibitor for exhibition display.
​
Organized by: the Aperture Foundation, New York and the artist's son, Kwame S. Brathwaite

Availability: into 2022
​
Prospectus: https://bit.ly/KBrathwaite_ApertureFdn

Additional resources: 
Kwame Brathwaite's website
Artsy: Kwame Brathwaite's Photographic Vision of a Black Female Utopia
The Guardian: Black is Beautiful: Celebrating the Significance of Kwame Brathwaite

All photographs below attributed to artist, Kwame Braithwaite:

JOHN BUCK: PRINTS & SCULPTURES FROM THE JORDAN D. SCHNITZER FAMILY FOUNDATION

In light of the COVID-19 crisis and its lasting financial impact on the art world, I thought it would be refreshing to post an available traveling exhibition that is very affordable: it's free. That's correct; this is not a typo. The Jordan D. Schnitzer Family Foundation, in collaboration with the Hallie Ford Art Museum, are graciously offering a beautiful show by the masterful John Buck, an American printmaker and sculptor (who also happens to be married to the equally talented Deborah Butterfield) available at no additional cost, outside of shipping and insurance. Don't miss out on this exquisite show and opportunity!

Number of works: 31 prints & 8 sculptures; also includes section panels & didactics. A catalogue is also available for purchase

Space requirements: 2,600 square feet & 300 linear feet

Organized by: Jordan D. Schnitzer Family Foundation & the Hallie Ford Art Museum

Booking period: flexible within 12 weeks

Availability: May 2021 & onward

Participation fee: no fee. The host venue is responsible for prorated shipping & insurance. 

Prospectus: https://bit.ly/JohnBuck 
​

The Louisiana State University Museum of Art has organized a very interesting and timely traveling exhibition by the outstanding Carrie Mae Weems. Carrie Mae Weems: The Usual Suspects includes recent photographic and video works questioning stereotypes that associate black bodies with criminality. Themes of police brutality and judicial inaction are addressed through portraiture and video. Blocks of color obscuring faces point to the constructed nature of our notions of race and how these imagined concepts obscure humanity—with very real and deadly outcomes. 

Number of Works & Size: 9 works (includes 5 diptychs, 2 installations of 5+ panels, and video projection). Minimum size: 150 linear feet

Organized by: Louisiana State University Museum of Art

Booking Period: 10–12 weeks

Availability: January 2019–December 2022
​
Participation Fee: $10,000

Prospectus: http://bit.ly/CarrieMaeWeems_LSU 

Images (below): installation shots of Carrie Mae Weems: The Usual Suspects; courtesy of LSU Museum of Art.