BLK Art Group
The BLK Art Group was the name chosen in 1982 by a group of five influential
The group were all from the
Precursors
In 1979, Eddie Chambers founded a group known as the Wolverhampton Young Black Artists.[4]
In 1981, Chambers curated an exhibition, Black Art & Done, at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery, which gave a focus to issues concerning the black community, including racial prejudice.[5] Participating artists included Dominic Dawes, Ian Palmer, Andrew Hazel and Keith Piper.[4]
Institutional impact and legacy
The group exhibited from 1982–83 in The Pan-Afrikan Connection, touring to Ikon Gallery,Birmingham,
The group's critique of the
In 2011, the Blk Art Group Research Project was set up by Keith Piper, Claudette Johnson and Marlene Smith.[11]
Critical appraisal
Eddie Chambers has argued that despite their undoubted creativity and social relevance, the group suffered from the general lack of serious critical attention given to black artists by the British arts media.[12] Nevertheless, their enthusiasm and commitment to making art relevant to everyday life ensured that they were a strong influence on the later generation of black British artists that included Young British Artists (YBA) such as Chris Ofili and Steve McQueen, both of whom went on to win Turner Prizes, while maintaining a clear political element to their work.[3]
Other artists associated with the BLK Art Group
- Faisal Abdu'allah[13] - consequent[clarification needed]
- David A. Bailey - contemporary
- Sonia Boyce - contemporary
- Denzil Forrester - contemporary
- Godfried Donkor - consequent[clarification needed]
- Lubaina Himid - contemporary
- Claudette Johnson - contemporary
- Tam Joseph[14] - forerunner/contemporary
- Virginia Nimarkoh - contemporary
- Pitika Ntuli - forerunner/contemporary
- Eugene Palmer - contemporary
- Mark Sealy - contemporary
- Maud Sulter (1960–2008) - contemporary
- Fowokan - contemporary
See also
- Caribbean Artists' Movement
Further reading
- Julia Ann Paige Abraham, "Transformation and Defiance in the Art Establishment: Mapping the Exhibitions of The BLK Art Group (1981–1983)". Thesis, University of Birmingham.
References
- ^ and Claudette Johnson. Marlene Smith recounts founding of BLK Art Group on Tate Britain website. Updated 30 July 2014.
- ^ Eddie Chambers Biography by Richard Hylton. "As a facilitator and mentor to many in the visual arts, the importance of his contribution cannot be overstated". Retrieved 22 December 2006.
- ^ ISBN 978-0822334200. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-134-70025-7.
- ^ "The Blk Art Group". Tate. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
- ^ Adelaide Damoah, "Lime Exhibitions Feature: 50 Years of Black Art in the African Diaspora" Archived 14 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Lime.
- ^ "The BLK Art Group: Reflecting On Britain's Instrumental Black Arts Movement Of The 80s". Something Curated. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "BLK Art Group In-Conversation". Association for Art History. April 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ "Coming up in the Black Moment". Keith Piper | A Personal Reflection on the Blk Art Group. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "The BLK Art Group: 'Whoever Heard of a Black Artist?'". The Modernist. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Eddie Chambers, Review of Shades of Black Archived 2 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Art Monthly. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
- ^ Faisal Abdu'Allah Gallery Universes in Universe - Worlds of Art. Retrieved 8 October 2006.
- ^ Eddie Chambers, Profile of Tam Joseph Archived 27 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
External links
- Blk Art Group Research Project 2012
- Leah Sinclair, "The BLK Art Group: how the West Midlands collective inspired the art world", Art UK, 12 August 2020.
- "BLK Art Group In-Conversation", Association for Art History, April 2021.
- Alex Mistlin, "'We were the AYBs – the angry young Blacks': the art movement that rocked Thatcher's Britain", The Guardian, 4 January 2022.
- "The BLK Art Group", The Reunion, BBC Radio 4, 10 September 2023.