Looking for a place to go this summer with either families or friends? Why not visit Tate Modern Gallery for ‘Soul of A Nation’s Art in the age of Black Power. The free entry exhibition started yesterday July 12 and will end Oct 22.
Using a clever play on words, the nation is America, and this landmark exhibition aims to illuminate the vital, and often overlooked, contribution of Black artists to a dramatic period in its art and history! Soul Of A Nation asks how the concept of Black Art was promoted, contested, debated and oftentimes rejected by artists across the United States. This is a rare opportunity to see era-defining artworks that changed the face of art in America.
150 artworks, most exhibited in the UK for the first time, will showcase more than 50 exceptional American artists from 1963 to 1983. Artists who turned away from seeking reticent mainstream gallery approval, to show their art in grass -roots communities through African-American-owned galleries and artist-curated shows.
The show opens in 1963 at the height of the Civil Rights movement and its dreams of integration. In its wake emerged more militant calls for Black Power: a rallying cry for African American pride, autonomy and solidarity, drawing inspiration from newly independent African nations.
Artists responded to these times by provoking, confronting, and confounding expectations. Their momentum makes for an electrifying visual journey. Vibrant paintings, powerful murals, collage, photography, revolutionary clothing designs and sculptures made with Black hair, melted records, and tights – the variety of artworks reflects the many viewpoints of artists and collectives at work during these explosive times.
Some engage with legendary figures from the period, with paintings in homage to political leaders Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Angela Davis, musician John Coltrane and sporting hero Jack Johnson. Muhammad Ali appears in Andy Warhol’s famous painting.
This landmark exhibition is a rare opportunity to see era-defining artworks that changed the face of art in America.
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