| AFRICOBRA® |
Chicago, Illinois. The South and West sides of the city were alive in 1968 with the energy of social change and political upheaval. As was the case throughout the United States, the Black consciousness movement which had been growing for a decade, captured the imaginations of a broad spectrum of the population. In the arts, Black identity and Black is beautiful were watchwords that bound many individuals into a collective force that began many journeys toward re- discovering our ancestral heritage, toward capturing the electricity of the present, and toward unlocking the keys to survival in the future.
artists. We decided to commit our selves to the collective exploration, development, and perpetuation of an approach to image making which would reflect and project the moods, attitudes, and sensibilities of African Americans independent of the technical and aesthetic strictures of Euro-centric modalities. Jeff Donaldson, who spearheaded the movement,Wadsworth Jarrell, Jae Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu, and myself, Gerald Williams opened the lid on what we called AFRICOBRA - African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists. It was an original name that came to identify our place within the broader context of Black art.
American consciousness and world view as reflected in real time 1968 terms. For months, beginning as early as 1967, we examined and talked about the forms of expression and images produced by previous generations of artists. We came to the realization that there was not the existence of a consistent, unequivocal, uniquely Black aesthetic in visual arts as there was in other disciplines, notably music and dance. Many of our contemporary artists, at the time, generally said that they "were artists who happened to be black", or held the view that their work was expressing universal ideas or concepts that were not tied to such a narrow category as Black art. The notion of an intrinsically Black view point, expressed in characteristically “Black ways” was a relatively alien idea for the most part. That notion begged the question as to whether it was possible to create a style or approach to art that at its core could be identified as African-American or Black, notwithstanding the presence of Black imagery or subject matter. If imagery and subject matter were the sole criteria then the question was moot. One could conclude, thereby, that Winslow Homer or any number of artists produced Black art when they painted Black images. After numerous brain storming sessions where such topics were discussed, after test projects and critiques, the five of us mapped out the core principles that became the foundation of AFRICOBRA.
knowledge, and to increase the understanding of the ideals and the history of AFRICOBRA®. Gerald Williams AFRICOBRA, CO-FOUNDER Jan 2010 TO BROWSE THIS SITE CLICK ON LINKS Some links may open slowly |
| FEATURED ARTISTS |
| MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Fl AFRICOBRA:Messages to the People Nov 27 to Apr 7 2019 |
| Kavi Gupta Gallery Chicago, Illinois AFRICOBRA 50 Oct 27 to Nov 27 2018 |
| Smart Museum of Art University of Chicago The Time is Now Sep 13 2018 to Dec 30 2018 |
| Brooklyn Museum of Art "Soul of a Nation" Sep 14 2018 to Feb 3 2019 |
| The Met Breuer "Everything is Connected" Sep 18 2018 to January 6, 2019 |
| PRESS AND MEDIA |
| ART BASIL Miami Beach, Florida Kavi Gupta Gallery Booth A17 December 6-9 2018 See You There! |
| CURRENT AND RECENT EVENTS |
| MOCA PHOTOS OPENING RECEPTION PHOTOS DECEMBER 5, 2018 |