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'Beethoven was black': why a century-old idea still has power today
He helped galvanise the US civil rights movement, and today sparks intense debate about cultural dominance and the musical canon. In his 250th anniversary year can we ...
A contemporary art review, from The New York Times on Transforming the Crown: African, Asian and Caribbean Artists in Britain,1966 - 1996, exhibition, 1997. Held over three sites, The Bronx Museum of the Arts Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute The Studio Museum in Harlem curated by
Mora J. Beauchamp-Byrd, bringing together 58 artists and over 130 works.
Holland Cotter reviews works by 51 African, Asian and Caribbean artists in Britain; photos; exhibition is divided between Studio Museum in Harlem, Bronx Museum and Caribbean Cultural Center (M)
Online event
In this three-part series, leading African-American scholars explore the long history of racial inequality in the US. Join Professor Megan Ming Francis and Professor Desmond King FBA for part one.
From Art School Dropout To Selling Over $100,000 Worth Of Art In 5 Months!
Geoffrey Robertson says it should ‘wash its hands of blood and return Elgin’s loot’
“Amrita Sher-Gil was a Hungarian-Indian painter. She has been called "one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century" and a "pioneer" in modern Indian art.
Born in Budapest in 1913, to a Hungarian mother and Sikh father, she trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris where she became influenced by Realism. Upon returning to India, she adopted this modernist approach to portray the poor and yet colourful lives of local people, making her art a true fusion of east and west.
She painted women going to the market, women at a wedding, women at home. Sometimes she showed women bonding with other women. At times the works seemed to convey a sense of silent resolve. It was a rendering rarely seen in depictions of Indian women at the time, when portrayals tended to cast them as happy and obedient.
With her style and her emphasis on women, Sher-Gil became known as the “Indian Frida Kahlo.””
History Daily
A member of the Harlem Hellfighters (369th Infantry Regiment) poses for the camera while holding a puppy he saved during World War 1, 1918.
“In the summer of 1962, as a young photographer, Grey witnessed an important moment in the emergence of Britain’s multicultural society. He shot one roll of high contrast black and white film using only natural light, photographing a diverse constituency of migrants at the end of a long journey. The portfolio charts the arrival of the last West Indian migrants at Waterloo Station, London, before the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962 came into force. After over half a century in oblivion, these historic 'Windrush' negatives, were expertly scanned and published online to critical acclaim in 2014.”
https://www.bridgemanimages.co.uk/en/12629/collection-spotlight-howard-grey-photography
Photographer Howard Grey was at Waterloo station when the last of the immigrants who would become known as the Windrush Generation were arriving.
Hans Sloane ‘pushed off pedestal’ and placed with artefacts putting his work in context of British empire
Linton Kwesi Johnson, the man who has been bestowed with the title ‘the world’s first reggae poet’, celebrates his birthday today. He turns 68. The Jamaican dub poet and activist, who was born on August 24, 1952 in Chapelton, Clarendon, has...
'I never had a non-white lecturer while doing my BA at university.'
Long time since we saw this inspired image from @SutapaBiswas
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/aug/21/sutapa-biswas-housewives-with-steak-knives
The London-based artist challenges Britain’s colonial past and art history’s prejudices
Jan Blake is one of Britainís outstanding female storytellers, performing in theatres and festivals the length and breadth of Europe. She was born in Manchester to Jamaican parents. Inspired by recordings of 'Miss Lou' (Louise Bennett) she came to telling stories in 1986. She rapidly gained an international reputation for witty and exhilarating performances. She has a powerful singing voice and can seize any stage.Specialising in folktales from West Africa, North Africa, the Arab world and the Caribbean, her repertoire is full of tales of powerful women and her versions of Ananseís exploits are definitive. She is closely involved with projects that will develop a new generation of British storytellers of African and Caribbean descent. www.janblakestories.co.uk
For information about Storyteller, call us today! Storyteller and Performer
Misan Harriman is spreading his optimistic outlook around the world one picture at a time. The photographer, who was born in Nigeria, is the first black man to shoot a cover of UK Vogue in the magazine’s history and his pictures have gone viral.
A Suitable Boy: An interview with the writer Vikram Seth
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/e276de0f-c2a7-4a7e-8924-919ae6f2729d
Vikram Seth's vast panorama of post-independence, post-separation India in the 1950s comes to BBC One from 26th July in an adaptation scripted by Andrew Davies. Vikram explains the story's origin, introduces its main themes and some of the key protagonists.
National Museums Liverpool has announced today the appointment of historian Lauren Westgaph as historian in residence.
Thomas J Price’s Reaching Out artwork becomes one of only three public sculptures of black women in UK
Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Abir Mukherjee, Courttia Newland, Guy Gunaratne, Paul Mendez and Okechukwu Nzelu on why British writers of colour are left out of the conversation
Trinidadian-American Civil Rights activist Stokely Carmichael (later known as Kwame Ture, 1941-1998) speaks at City College of New York on December 3, 1968.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/audre-lorde/selected-works-audre-lorde/
A collection of Lorde’s groundbreaking prose and poems on race, injustice, intersectional feminism, and queer identity.
MA Black British Writing
The MA Black British Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London explores the history of black British literature through a range of perspectives.
Dr Errol Francis said venues should support decolonisation of their collections
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-53449027
The family of Asquith Xavier, who fought racist recruitment policies, say "no one knows about him".
TextileArtist.org
Life-sized head-to-toe portraits with a single needle and single ply of yarn don’t just happen. According to Ruth Miller, they take at least a year to create.
Prepare to be amazed by Ruth’s incredible stitched narratives with this insider’s look into her philosophy and technique.
http://www.textileartist.org/ruth-miller-life-sized-storytelling-in-stitch
Located near the famous Temple in the Sea at Waterloo, Trinidad, the Indian Caribbean Museum is the only one of its kind in the world. No other museum is dedicated to the preservation of the material history of over one million descendants of East Indians/South Asians in the Caribbean. The first Ind...
The Battle of Bamber Bridge
Black troops were welcome in Britain, but Jim Crow wasn’t: the race riot of one night in June 1943, when black American troops stationed in the town faced off against white US Army military police on the night of June 24-25, 1943.
“US soldiers transferred to Britain in 1942 were given a pamphlet published by the United States War Department.
It was entitled 'Instructions for American Servicemen in Britain.' Many servicemen in the US had never left the states and the guide was supposed to help those men settle in the UK.
the intrinsic racism in a segregated army led to confrontations. This was especially the case in a foreign setting where the black soldiers saw around them a very different reality from that they faced at home – a non-segregated society where they were welcomed as fellow fighters against fascism, rather than tolerated hod-carriers for the war effort as they were generally treated by the US Army.
That evening in 1943, black troops and white locals were stretching out “drinking-up time” in a pub at the end of the evening. Words were exchanged, and military police arrived and tried to arrest Private Eugene Nunn for not wearing the proper uniform. But they faced new solidarities: a white British soldier challenged the military police: “Why do you want to arrest them? They’re not doing anything or bothering anybody.
The incident escalated into a fist fight and the military police were beaten back. When they returned with reinforcements to meet the group, now returning to camp, a battle developed in the street. Shots were fired, and Crossland died with a bullet in his back.
When rumours spread at the camp that black GIs had been shot, scores of men formed a crowd, some carrying rifles. The arrival at around midnight of more military police with a machine gun-equipped vehicle convinced many of the black soldiers that the police intended to kill them – and they drew rifles from the stores. Some barricaded themselves into the base, others tore off back into town, leading to running shooting battles in the streets.
At around the same time, news was filtering through of race riots in Detroit on June 20, where defenceless black men were attacked by racist police, responsible for the deaths of 17 of the 25 African-Americans killed.
The black American servicemen were welcomed into the leisure time of their British hosts in ways that spread solidarity. A former black GI, Cleother Hathcock, remembers:
At that time the Jitterbug was in and the blacks would get a buggin’ and the English just loved that. We would go into a dance hall and just take over the place because everybody wanted to learn how to do that American dance, the Jitterbug. They went wild over that.
The town did not share the US Army’s segregationist attitudes. According to the author Anthony Burgess, who spent time in Bamber Bridge during the war, when US military authorities demanded that the town’s pubs impose a colour bar, the landlords responded with signs that read: “Black Troops Only”. The extent to which this rankled the white American troops is shown by the comments of a lieutenant:
One thing I noticed here and which I don’t like is the fact that the English don’t draw any color line. The English must be pretty ignorant. I can’t see how a white girl could associate with a negro.
This sort of attitude exemplifies the particular resentment over the way black troops openly fraternised with white British women – and many of the confrontations during this period were sparked by the ease of interracial relationships in a British rather than American context.”
Alan Rice is the author of:
Creating Memorials, Building Identities: The Politics of Memory in the Black Atlantic
https://theconversation.com/black-troops-were-welcome-in-britain-but-jim-crow-wasnt-the-race-riot-of-one-night-in-june-1943-98120
How UK museums are responding to Black Lives Matter
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53219869
With museums reopening in July, the return of looted cultural objects is in the spotlight again.
Looted African Artefacts in European museums
19 JULY
ONLINE EVENT
Stolen items from ancient African civilisations are in numerous European museums. This talk locates, identifies and explain some of them
bit.ly/lootafart
Stolen items from ancient African civilisations are in numerous European museums. This talk locates, identifies and explain some of them
INDIAN “PHOTOGRAPHER PRINCE” HIS HAREM PHOTOS FROM OVER 150 YEARS AGO
Maharaja of Jaipur, Ram Singh II was famous for many things. It was during his reign that slavery, infanticide and other cruel customs were abolished. He was, however, also known for being an avid photographer.
He could see the value of photography years before many people had even heard of it. In this collection of glass negatives, shot between 1857 and 1865, there is a unique insight into the people he spent his days with. It’s a fascinating look at the culture of the day.
https://www.diyphotography.net/indian-photographer-prince-made-harem-pose-photos-150-years-ago/
As the Maharaja of Jaipur, Ram Singh II was famous for many things. It was during his reign that slavery, infanticide and other cruel customs were abolished. He was, however, also known for being a rather avid photographer. He could see the value of photography years before many people had even hear...
The Source Magazine
Meet Anna Murray Douglass, first wife to Frederick Douglass. Anna helped Frederick escape enslavement. Anna was the first of her siblings to be born free after her parents were manumitted. When she met Frederick she was financially prepared to start a life with him but first, he needed freedom. By borrowing a freedman’s protection certificate from a friend and wearing the disguise of a sailor sewn by Anna, Frederick made his way to New York City by train, spending Anna’s money to buy the ticket. She continued to support his abolitionist work for the rest of her life. There is no Frederick Douglass without Anna Murray Douglass. Protect Black women at all costs. 💯 #AnnaMurrayDouglass #BLM #BlackLivesMatter #AllBlackLivesMatter #WeGotUS #SourceLove #HomeofHipHop
Powerful work
TUUP
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SfDxw-2hU70
UK Performance Storytellers talk about their lives, their influences and their art. Commissioned by Earthouse Storytelling Ambassadors, in partnership with t...
Unsurprising though...
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53259409
Police are investigating the incident, which is being linked to unrest in Ethiopia.
James C. Lewis, an international photographer.
“I think it is very important to see one’s self in the Scripture so that it may become real...”
See the entire “Icons of the Bible” series here: https://www.pinterest.com/rawnoire/icons-of-the-bible/
EDIT: Some have asked if these pictures can be acquired. Here is a link to James Lewis’ art and apparel website. https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/2-cornelius-lewis
Shop for artwork by Icons Of The Bible. Purchase canvas prints, framed prints, tapestries, posters, greeting cards, and more. Coming soon...
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The ‘Slave Bible’
John Henry Smthye
John Henry Smythe
Anita McKenzie (Founder and CEO of Mckenzie Heritage Picture Library) talks with Gradle about 'cultural competency' and her journey as a photographer, Mckenzie Heritage Picture Library & Achive and how to apply the use photographic images, with her 7 Tips, to life memory and heritage work with children and elders. Featuring images from the MH and Anita's personal collection.
Loving this🙏🏾
So grateful to have a recording of Ignatius Sancho’s beautiful music...
Love docu’s
Prosperity in Greenwood, Oklahoma
“If we stand tall it is because we stand on the shoulders of many ancestors.” —African Proverb. At Mckenzie Heritage (MH) we dig images big time, thats what its all about. Preserving the past and celebrating the present through the visual. Started in 1996 by Anita J McKenzie, a photographer and image collector. It was the first of its kind, a Black-owned commercial picture library and archive, with a collection of historic and contemporary images in the form of engravings, lithographs, postcards, ephemera and photographs. The collection has been utilised by publishers across print, art, news and journalistic and other visual media industries. Supported with the expertise of a diverse advisory board, which included Mora Beauchamp-Byrd, Len Garrison, William March, Conrad Taylor... In 2004 Mckenzie Heritage published ‘Contrasts, Textures and Hues – Exploring early printed images of people of African and Asian heritage’
This neat book features a collection of selected woodcuts, engravings and lithograph images depicting African and Indian heritage people which were circulated in western magazines and books of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Mrs Lowry & Son at Trafalgar Studios 2
Trafalgar Studios 2, 14 Whitehall
