United States
-
VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT
Politcal ads and logos are not new for a political campaign. According to Media Feed, political ads are a form of political speech with a straightforward, essential task: to gain people’s confidence and influence their vote, in the case of political campaign advertising. Going back to the 19th century, when newspapers were the preeminent medium…
-
Harlem Sculpture Gardens Summer Wine List 2026
Curated by Eric White, Manager The Winery NYC257 West 116th St.New York, NY 10026 List of Black Winemakers: Cape Red “Umsasane” 2022 Aslina by Ntsiki Biyela for $39.95/ btr. Grape: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot. Region: South Africa> Western Cape> Stellenbosch. Notes: 16 months French Oak (30% new). Filtered, not fined.,…
-
Peter C. Bunnel changed photography forever
Photography as an art form began in 1839 with French artist Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851). He called his invention the daguerreotype, a one-of-a-kind image on a highly polished, silver-plated sheet of copper. Samuel Morse, American inventor and painter, brought the invention to NYC and the first studio opened in 1840. Key developments included 19th-century Civil War…
-
Contemporary Black Artists – Late 20th to 21st Century
Today, there is a real threat of erasure. Once again, our past is under attack. However, our present and future are also at risk. We have made gains. Also being trashed is the growth of our humanity. Those gains have not been reflected upon. Our fear of losing our past is keeping us from seeing the gems that are right…
-
Black Graphic Designers
We wish to take a moment to reflect on the different styles Black people have used to express their humanity during Black History Month 2026 in the US. A tribute to Gail Anderson, Charles Dawson, Laci Jordan and Emory Douglas. They are not household names, but their work has had a profound impact on American…
-
Reading List for Black History Month
These books came recommended by the National Wildlife Federation Blog. The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature Written by J. Drew Lanham Author, poet, birder and wildlife biologist, J. Drew Lanham explores the story of his love of nature and how its impacted by being a Black man in a…
-
GLOSSARY OF TERMINOLOGY RELATED TO SILVER
Have you ever wondered about your mother’s or grandmother’s silverware? Did you know that African Americans have been silversmiths from the early 19th Century. Read the biography of Peter Bentzon by Dr. Synatra Smith and then learn more about silver. Peter Bentzon Nineteenth-century silversmith Peter Bentzon was born circa 1783 on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas.…
-
Public Art can help address climate change
The Burrow and Reflections on Sunnyslope The citizens of Phoenix Arizona came together to create Sombra, a public art exhibition that creatively deal with the rising heat index in that city. With support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, nine artists were selected to present temporary public art. The ¡Sombra! artists are experimenting with innovative materials and processes,…
-
Harlem Sculpture Gardens 2025 Highlights
Images of three works in Harlem Sculpture Gardens that caught the imagination of viewers. Skateboarding Cat by Eunkyung Lee in Jackie Robinson Park. The Beacon at Montefiore Park by artist Shervone Neckles and the Beam Center, a youth based organization in Brooklyn. Then we have the Gates at Morningside Park by Motohiro Takeda.
-
Botanical Drawings
As we begin to celebrate daylight savings time, we thought it would be great to note individuals who gently shared their love of nature. Francesca Anderson is a botanical artist who specializes in natural history drawings in pen and ink. Her illustrations have been featured in prominent scientific publications, field guides, as well as books…
-
Moody Nolan
Moody and Associates was founded in 1982. The office’s first location was in Columbus, Moody’s hometown. Years later, Howard Nolan, an engineer, teamed up with Curt Moody to form Moody Nolan. That firm eventually grew into a massive enterprise with more than 350 employees and 12 different offices. In 2021, it was the recipient of The…
-
Black “Land Artist” James Perkins
Rather than presenting raw earth as the art object, Perkins transforms nature into an art object in situ at his home and studio on Fire Island in New York. He refers to his works as “post-totem” structures, paintings and sculptures that conjure the ancestral spirit of his great grandmother’s Chickasaw tradition, and go further to…
-
Looking at Indoor Earthworks
Six piles of gravel reflected in twelve mirrors that make a corner on the floor, to be specific. It’s magical because Smithson has managed to create the illusion of space, within which he creates the illusion of objects.”Symmetrically duplicated by the mirrors, the fissures of cracked glass together with the dust from the gravel mar…
-
Land Art is making a comeback
Earth art, also referred to as Land art or Earthworks, is largely an American movement that uses the natural landscape to create site-specific structures, art forms, and sculptures. The movement was an outgrowth of Conceptualism and Minimalism: the beginnings of the environmental movement and the rampant commoditization of American art in the late 1960s influenced ideas and…
-
Alfred Conteh, American Artist
Biography Alfred Amadu Conteh was born in 1975 in Fort Valley, Georgia. He attended Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, where he received a BFA. He received his MFA from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. His mother is African American and his father is from Sierra Leone, West Africa. Many of his works examine his…
-
Gilded Age Women
There is a sizeable gap in the documentation of Black American history. So often, what we see of Black history is limited to slavery and the Civil War or the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights era. Record of African Americans during the Gilded Age – prospering African Americans – is noticeably lacking, forgotten in the attic…
-
I have Always Worked Hard in America — Elizabeth Catlett
Artist Profile Elizabeth Catlett 1915 to 2012 The granddaughter of former slaves, Catlett was raised in Washington, D.C. Her father died before she was born and her mother held several jobs to raise three children. Refused admission to Carnegie Institute of Technology because of her race, Catlett enrolled at Howard University, where her teachers included…
-
Honoring the Movement
In 1983, Congressman William D. Ford (D-MI), chairman of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, and Rep. Conyers gave their support to Representative Katie B. Hall (D-IN) for chairman of the subcommittee that had primary jurisdiction over the MLK Holiday Bill. That same year, CBC member and freshman Representative Hall introduced the Dr.…
-
Meet Rose B. Simpson
Rose B. Simpson is a mixed-media artist from Santa Clara Pueblo, NM. Her work engages ceramic sculpture, metals, fashion, performance, music, installation, writing, and custom cars. She received an MFA in Ceramics from Rhode Island School of Design in 2011, an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2018, is…
-
Lizzio honors 17 activists
In honor of Women’s History Month, we wish to support the women activists that the singer Lizzo honored during the People Choice Award. Tireless advocates that many of us have never heard of but stay true to their mission. We need to get to know them. Amariyanna Copeny, also known as Little Miss Flint: A…
Amariyanna Copeny, Amelia Bonow, American Jewish University, Breonna Taylor, Chandi Moore, Chappaquiddick Wampanoag Tribe, CIELO. Uvalde shooting, Crystal Echo Hawk, drinking water, Emiliana Guereca, Esther Young Lim, Felicia Montes, Flint Michigan, Girls Who Code, IllumiNative, Jayla Rose Sullivan, Kara Roselle Smith, Maggie Mireles, Mujeres de Maiz, Odilia Romero, Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh, Reshma Saujani, Sahar Pirzada, Shirley Raines, Shout Your Abortion, Tamika Palmer, The Heart to Grow, Yasmine Aker