“I find solace and expression in the canvas, a respite from the mundane world that often feels devoid of freedom.”

I met him when I was a kid and still have that autograph today—it’s my prized possession."

Black American creatives are at the forefront of the city's art scene in Rochester, NY. With an ongoing legacy that deserves attention, these artists deserve to be supported by the community so their work can thrive in this space.

Cadmium red, a popular color among painters, can be found in many artists’ palettes.

The presence of black artists in modern art has been essential to developing contemporary art.

Archibald John Motley Jr. (1891–1981) was a bold and highly original modernist and one of the great visual chroniclers of twentieth-century American life.

Growing up in Chicago, art was everywhere! It just took me a while to notice it. Visit a couple of murals on the South Side with me.

Art training is essential for the intellectual and cultural growth of our youth. Some educators believe that art education is not a necessary component in the early education and lives of today’s students. Art course are almost always reduced in value by institutions of learning and in some cases cut out completely.

It is that inner spiritual meaning that can be hidden behind the layers of paint. It is that ethereal element that is passed down through the generations. It is that thing that is felt yet not seen, touched but not held, and when properly prescribed is the medicine that has healed our wounds for centuries.

There was one instance where he was tied to his easel and left in the road in front of the school, and we can be confident that there were countless other humiliating experiences. Despite the racialized abuse that he would face, Henry O Tanner would rise above the fray and hone his painting ability becoming, well known for his ability to illustrate biblical scenes dramatically, and his deep-rooted spirituality was reflected in his works.

As a visual artist I have to agree with some of Dubois’s arguments and some of Locke’s positions as well. It is both the role of the Black artists to propagandize the beauty of the Black American aesthetic as well as to promote ones individual tastes to the world in ways that are universal beautiful in ways that cross cultural barrier thereby adding beauty to humanity as a whole. So where is the right place for Black American artists to display their art? Simply put, everywhere where art is found and when the doors to the mainstream galleries are closed and/or only open on occasion to Black American artists we must become more resolute in or drive to create opportunities elsewhere to have our stories told on our terms.

Writers like J.A. Rogers, W.E.B. Dubois, Alain Locke, and others were on the front lines of defining what they then called the “New Negro” and what the ways in which art would be propagandized to ensure that a respected place in world history is secured for future generations to enjoy. In 1934 Aaron Douglas would paint a series of murals on a panel entitled, “Aspects of Negro Life”. These panels would illustrate the many ways that life would change for Africans in the diaspora, and provide a visual timeline beginning with the horrific moments leading up to the middle passage, and culminating with scenes in the then-modern world of the 1930s.

James Augustus Van Der Zee (1886-1983) was an American photographer best known for his portraits of black New Yorkers. He was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Aside from the artistic merits of his work, Van Der Zee produced the most comprehensive documentation of the period.

Through my years of study I would develop a love for these artists and from that love grew a strong connection to the living artists around me today. Studying those histories will make clear to today’s artist that they are a part of a long lineage of creatives that bring an undeniably unique aesthetic to the world that we live in.