FREDA AND YOU CAN ALWAYS COME HOME WIN TOP JURY AWARDS AT 39^TH MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL; FEATURE AWARDS ALSO GIVEN TO YOU RESEMBLE ME AND CARAJITA

Two family dramas, the feature film Freda and short film “You Can Always Come Home” earned top prizes at the 39th edition of Miami Dade College’s(MDC) acclaimed Miami Film Festival. Presented in a hybrid format this year, with both in-theater and virtual presentations the 2022 Festival ran from March 4-13.

Making its US premiere at this year’s Festival, Freda, directed by Géssica Généus, earned thetop award for her first feature set in Haiti, the $25,000 Knight MARIMBAS Award, supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, an international competition for new narrative feature films that best exemplify richness and resonance for cinema’s future. The winning film was selected by jury members Damon D’Oliveria, April Dobbins and Rubén Peralta Rigaud. The jury said, “this film resonated with all of us for its strong, female-centered narrative, and its exceptional performances from emerging actors. We couldn’t stop thinking about this world and these characters, and we appreciated being immersed in a place that we don’t often see onscreen – portrayed in such a realistic, but tender way.”

The jury also gave special recognition to actor Haztin Navarrete from The Box and actress Mari Oliveira from Medusa saying, “for two magnetic performances that we couldn’t take our eyes off.”

The $55,000 Knight Made in MIA Film Award, supported by the Knight Foundation, is given to three films that have a substantial portion of their content in South Florida and that best utilize their story and theme for universal resonance. They were evaluated by jury membersMollye Asher, Nicholas Griffin, Johann Zietsman, and Keisha Rae Witherspoon, who won the Knight Made in MIA Award for her 2020 short drama, T. 

“You Can Always Come Home,” directed by Juan Luis Matos won the $30,000 first prize. The jury said, “this is a film that radiates with the joyous spirit of Miami in its embrace of family, community and place while also embodying the universal meaning of home.” Second prize ($15,000) went to “In Beauty It Is Unfinished,” directed by Greko Sklavounos. The jury said, “this poetic offering is a gorgeous fever dream that captures longing, fragments of memory and a poetic gaze at a Miami that is both familiar but also made a new. Made personal.” Third prize ($10,000) went to “Un Pequeño Corte,” directed by Marianna Serrano, which the jury called, “this is a charming and powerful story that serves as a portrait of an independent spirit in a world demanding conformity.”

The family drama You Resemble Me, directed by Dina Amer, garnered the $10,000 Jordan Ressler First Feature Award. This honor, sponsored by the South Florida family of the late Jordan Ressler, is presented to the best film made by a filmmaker making a feature narrative film debut. The selection committee, comprised of Estrella Araiza, Jonathan Cuartas and 2019 Jordan Ressler Award winner Alexandre Moratto, said in a statement, “we chose the film for its bold depiction of fragmented identity and social inequality through its masterful weaving of styles.Part intimate character study, part topical drama and part documentary, this fearless filmmaker, a former journalist who reported on the real life events that inspired the film, take a personal approach that is at once earnest and troubling, moving and provocative. The Jordan Ressler First Feature Award goes to Dina Amer for You Resemble Me.”

The drama Carajita, co-produced by Wooden Boat Productions (Dominican Republic) and Pucará Cine (Argentina), took home the $10,000 HBO Ibero-American Feature Film Award, sponsored by WarnerMedia. The film, about class and racial issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, was selected by jury members Carlos Aguilar, Leslie Cohen and Brandon Harris. The annual prize is given to the best nominated U.S. Hispanic or Ibero-American narrative feature film, and is awarded to the lead producer or production company.

Set during the era of China’s Cultural Revolution, the deeply moving war drama One Secondwon the Rene Rodriguez Critics Award, selected by accredited film critics covering the Festival. The film, screened as a Special Presentation, is directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, a three-time Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.

Felipe Perez Santiago, composer of Amalgama, earned the Alacran Music in Film Award, sponsored by Alacran Studios. The award highlights the power of music and film and celebrates the role of the film composer. Art of Light (Composer) Award honoree Cristobal Tapia de Veer selected the winner. 

The short film category is toplined by the $10,000 WarnerMedia OneFifty Latino Short Film Award, judged by HBO and Miami Film Festival programmers, which bestows $5,000 upon the winner and $1,250 each to four runners-up. The top prize went to the dramatic short “Hector’s Woman (La mujer de Héctor)” from NYC-based Puerto Rican filmmaker Ricardo Varona, with other prizes given to “Chilly & Milly,” “It’s Not Her (No Es Ella),” “For Some Horses (Por unoscaballos),” and “The Year of the Radio (El Año del Radio).”

Pakistani filmmaker Ali Sohail Jaura earned the $5,000 Miami International Short Film award,given by select members of Miami Film Festival’s Program Committee, for his historical war drama “Murder Tongue,” which illuminates one of the most brutal chapters in the history of Karachi, Pakistan.

The $500 University of Miami Short Documentary Film Award, as judged by University of Miami School of Communications faculty members, was given to “The Originals,” directed by Cristina Costantini and Alfie Koetter, a ten-year retrospective through the eyes of their former landlord and his childhood friends about growing up in South Brooklyn. “Firelei Báez: An Open Horizon (or) The Stillness of a Wound,” directed by Souki Mehdaoui, received an honorable mention.

The Audience Short Film Award went to romantic comedy “Cariño,” directed by Fernanda Lamuño. First runner up was “Un Pequeño Corte,” directed by Mariana Serrano and second runner up “Madame Pipi,” directed by Rachelle Salnave.

This year’s Best Poster Award went to two outstanding images. Designed by Nate Biller of Jump Cut, the poster for the period drama Parsley evoked the style of Hollywood epics of the 1930s, according to the Festival’s selection panel, while it “subverts those traditions by foregrounding Black Latinx/Haitian characters” to create a timely statement at once “poignant and powerful.” Sander Brouwer’s work for the Chilean thriller Immersion, spotlighting a man unwilling to help a sinking boat, “moved” the judges “immensely” through an inverted submergence in emotion, “a conflict of morals and paranoia,” that can prevent human beings from acting compassionately.

Previous Knight Marimbas Award winner Lorenz Metz served as trailer editor of his own film, the Switzerland-produced Soul of a Beast, a conflicted romantic drama which was chosen for this year’s Best Trailer Award by select members of the Festival’s Program Committee.

Returning in 2022 is the $1,000 Florida Cinemaslam Student Film Award, judged by previous Cinemaslam-winning alumni, with its cash prize going to the gay character study The Truth of a Thousand Nights, directed by Chris Molina. Other non-cash awards were given in five categories: Offside, directed by Emiliano Gioffre (Best Writing), Offside, directed by Emiliano Gioffre (Best Actor), One Call Away, directed by Camila Marcano (Best Actress), Cut Short,directed by Charlie Andelman (Best Cinematography) and Symfaunic, directed by Erin Bergin and Darby Kate Snyder (Best Technical Achievement).

The winners of the Audience Award Feature and Documentary Achievement Award,determined by a vote from members of the Festival’s public audience, will be announced after the end of the Festival.

About Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival

Miami Film Festival is an international film event that serves as a major film showcase for world cinema. Considered the preeminent film festival for highlighting Ibero-American cinema in the U.S, Miami Film Festival has become renowned for championing films made by the South Florida community, first-time feature filmmakers, and International Feature Film submissions to the Academy Awards. The annual Festival, produced and presented by Miami Dade College, attracts more than 60,000 audience members and more than 400 filmmakers, producers, talent, and industry professionals. Since 1984, the Festival has screened over 2,500 films from more than 75 countries and given out more than $2 million USD in cash awards to filmmakers and distributors. Major sponsors of Miami Film Festival GEMS include Knight Foundation, American Airlines, Telemundo, NBC6, and Miami-Dade County. Miami Film Festival is the oldest major festival housed in a university or college and also operates a year-round art cinema, Tower Theater Miami and Miami Film Festival GEMS in October. For more information, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456).

About WarnerMedia 

WarnerMedia is a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands, including HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, and others. WarnerMedia is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit KF.org.

About Jordan Alexander Ressler Charitable Fund

The Jordan Ressler First Feature Award at Miami Film Festival recognizes and supports artists in their careers as professional screenwriters. It was created by the South Florida family of Jordan Alexander Ressler, an aspiring screenwriter and Cornell University film studies graduate who, during his brief entertainment career, held production positions with the Tony award-winning Broadway hits 700 Sundays with Billy Crystal and Jersey Boys.

About Alacran Group

Alacran Group is an independent entertainment company based in Miami and London and was born out of a deep love and passion for music and film. Alacran’s mission to turn dreams into reality and believes that the creative combination of sound and moving images deeply enriches the emotional experience.

MDC’s Miami Film Festival Media Relations Contacts:

NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES / TRADE:
Steven Wilson, Scenario PR | (310) 497-4951 | [email protected]

Chelsea Brandon, Scenario PR | [email protected]

MIAMI:

Rachel Pinzur, Pinzur Communications | (305) 725-2875 | [email protected]

MDC Media-Only Contacts:

Juan C. Mendieta, MDC Director of Communications

305-237-7611

[email protected]

Sue Arrowsmith, MDC Director of Media Relations

305-237-3710

[email protected]

Cristea Roberts Gallery is a leading international contemporary art gallery with a particular focus on original prints and works on paper.  Since its inception, the gallery has commissioned a significant number of editions by a wide range of artists, whilst also representing others for their unique works. The underlying ethos of the gallery has always been artist-led. It was originally founded in 1995 as the Alan Cristea Gallery and changed its name in September 2019 to Cristea Roberts Gallery. Acknowledged as one of the leading galleries in its field of speciality, the gallery’s programme is dedicated to publishing, cataloguing, exhibiting and dealing in original prints and drawings by its roster of over 30 important international artists and Estates.

It participates in all the major international art fairs and has a dynamic programme of exhibitions hosted in its bespoke space in Pall Mall, London. The gallery works closely with international museums on acquisitions and loans, and examples of its editions are held in major public collections around the world including Tate, London; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Alan Cristea

Alan Cristea studied languages and History of Art at Cambridge University before beginning his career in the art world in 1969 at Marlborough Gallery, London. In 1972, he took charge of Leslie Waddington’s print gallery on Cork Street. Under his leadership, Waddington Graphics grew to become the world’s leading print gallery and publisher, working with artists such as Richard Hamilton, Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine, Robert Motherwell, Howard Hodgkin and Frank Stella. Cristea also established a reputation as the premier dealer for master graphics by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Georges Braque. Cristea opened his eponymous gallery in 1995, adding a new generation of artists and estates to his pre-existing stable. Alan Cristea has served on the board of the IFPDA (International Fine Print Dealers’ Association) and is currently the Treasurer for SLAD (The Society of London Art Dealers).

David Cleaton-Roberts

Prior to joining Alan Cristea, David Cleaton-Roberts worked at the British Council in Venice and at Phillips auctioneers. He joined Alan Cristea Gallery in 1998, becoming a director in 2004. He currently oversees the sales team and the gallery’s international art fair programme, as well as coordinating artists’ print projects and artists’ Estates for the gallery. He studied History of Art at the University of East Anglia and holds a Masters degree from Manchester University. He has written and lectured extensively on prints and printmaking and served on the selection committee for the Armory Show, Modern. He was the Vice-President of the IFPDA and sits on their charitable Foundation Board. He currently sits on the board of the charity Paintings in Hospitals.

Kathleen Dempsey

Kathleen Dempsey is a founding director and partner of Alan Cristea Gallery. Dempsey worked alongside Alan Cristea at Waddington Graphics before helping him set up and establish Alan Cristea Gallery in 1995. Dempsey is the managing director of the gallery with overall responsibility for finance as well as catalogue design and production. She works closely with the gallery’s artists on their publications and compiled the catalogue raisonné of the prints of Patrick Caulfield and is overseeing the ongoing complete catalogue raisonné of Julian Opie’s editions. In 2017 she oversaw and project-managed the gallery’s move to its bespoke new premises in Pall Mall designed by architect Stephen Marshall.

Helen Waters

Helen Waters began her career as Exhibition & Education Officer at ArtSway in Hampshire. She was the first Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, and spent five years as Curator of the New Art Centre, Roche Court in Wiltshire before joining Alan Cristea Gallery in 2006. Waters became a Director in 2012 and has developed the gallery’s artist and exhibition programme, curating numerous exhibitions and writing catalogues, both for the gallery and for external institutions. She holds a degree in Modern & Medieval Languages from Cambridge University and a Masters in Art Museum Studies from the Courtauld Institute of Art. She was the founding Chair of the Roche Court Educational Trust and has been a selector for the Jerwood Sculpture Prize and COLLECT. She has lectured at many institutions including Tate Britain, London; the Royal Academy of Arts, London; National Museum Wales, Cardiff; and Lismore Castle, Ireland.

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Left to right: Alan Cristea, Helen Waters, David Cleaton-Roberts and Kathleen Dempsey
Photo: Maxwell Anderson

43 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5JG

Opening hours

Tuesday – Friday: 11am – 5.30pm
Saturday: 11am – 2pm

Closed on Mondays, Sundays and public holidays

All visitors are required to wear a face covering while in the gallery, unless exempt.

Virtual visit 

For enquiries, or if you would like to book a private virtual viewing of an exhibition or works by one of our artists, with a member of our sales team, please contact [email protected].

39th Miami Film Festival To Honor Oscar Nominee Penélope Cruz With Precious Gem Icon Award

Written By Wilson Morales

Parallel Mothers star Penélope Cruz will receive Miami Dade College’s (MDC) acclaimed Miami Film Festival’s Precious Gem Icon Award, at its 39th edition. The 2022 Best Actress Academy Award nominee will participate in a virtual award tribute and conversation moderated by Variety’s Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis. The virtual presentation will take place as part of the Awards Ceremony program that includes the Closing Night Screening of Plaza Catedral on Saturday, March 12 at 7:00 pm at the Adrienne Arsht Center. The festival is scheduled from March 4-13, 2022.

“From the moment that Penélope Cruz first appeared on Miami Film Festival screens at our 10th edition in 1993 in her screen debut, Jamon Jamon, she has been a beloved favorite of our audience,” said Miami Film Festival executive director Jaie Laplante. “Over the nearly three decades that have followed, we have been enthralled to follow and screen so much of her extraordinary work, including her complex, overwhelmingly emotional performance in the Oscar-nominated Parallel Mothers.”

Miami Film Festival’s Precious Gem Award is the festival’s signature award, reserved for one-of-a-kind artists whose contributions to cinema are lasting and unforgettable. The Festival will also present its Precious Gem Awards to previously announced Oscar nominees Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) and Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger, 2nd Chance). Last year’s Precious Gem recipients included Pedro Almodóvar and Rita Moreno.

Cruz stars in the Sony Pictures Classic film Parallel Mothers, written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Cruz has received numerous accolades for her performance including a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, Best Lead Actress Goya Award nomination and Best Actress honors from the National Society of Film Critics Awards, LA Film Critics Association Awards and the Venice Film Festival.

Penélope Cruz is an acclaimed film star and producer who has earned a diversity of honors. They include an Academy Award, Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival Best Actress Awards, as well as those from the New York Film Critics, LA Film Critics, BAFTAs, Goya Awards, César Awards, European Film Awards and many others. In addition to numerous projects with director Pedro Almodóvar including Pain & Glory, Volver, Broken Embraces, Live Flesh and All About My Mother, her other films include Don’t Move, Loving Pablo, Murder on the Orient Express, The Queen of Spain, Ma Ma, Elegy, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Nine, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, To Rome with Love, All the Pretty Horses, Woman on Top, Open Your Eyes, Twice Born, Everybody Knows, Vanilla Sky, and Belle Epoque. Her U.S. television debut as Donatella Versace in FX’s “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace” earned Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG award nominations.

Miami Dade College’s 39th Miami Film Festival, EMILIO ESTEFAN Present A Change Of Heart and Croqueta Nation (World Premiere) at Silverspot Cinema, March 11 & 13 

WHAT:

GRAMMY Award winning musician and producer, Emilio Estefan, will present a marquee screening tonight of his 2017 hit movie, A Change of Heart starring Jim Belushi and Gloria Estefan, at Miami Dade College’s 39^th Miami Film Festival. The star will walk the red carpet and participate in a pre-screening Q&A with the Festival’s Executive Director Jaie Laplante. 

Additionally, Estefan will be back this Sunday to premiere his short film, Croqueta Nation, with Co-Producer Bruno del Granado at the close of MDC’s Miami Film Festival. Set in Miami, this feel-good and playful story follows Carlos Gazitua, CEO/owner of Sergio’s Cuban Restaurants, as he sets out to make croqueta history by making the world’s longest croqueta. At Sunday’s film screening, guests will sample the six-foot-long croqueta courtesy of Sergio’s Cuban Restaurants, beer from Festival sponsor Estrella Damm, and enjoy a comedy act from Only In Dade.   

Miami-born filmmaker Guillermo Alfonso directs this epic tale of a small culinary snack from Miami and will also be in attendance, while Estefan is the film’s executive producer. Croqueta Nation features local celebrities who join in the fun including WWE champion Dana Brooke, Iheart radio host Enrique Santos and the Mayor of Miami Francis Suarez. 

WHEN:

Friday, March 11, 2022 – A Change of Heart (Marquee Screening)

6:00 p.m. – Media Check-In

6:30 p.m. – Emilio Estefan on red carpet

7:00 p.m. – Pre-screening Q&A with Emilio Estefan and Miami Film Festival’s Executive Director Jaie Laplante

Sunday, March 13, 2022 – Croqueta Nation (World Premiere)

1:00 p.m. – Media Check-In

1:30 p.m. – Red Carpet 

2:25 p.m. – Post-screening Q&A with Emilio Estefan, Bruno del Granado, Guillermo Alfonso, Carlos Gazitua 

WHERE:

Silverspot Cinema

300 SE 3rd Street, #100

Miami, FL. 33131

***PARKING*** Met 3 parking lot, located at 250 SE 3^rd Avenue (Whole Foods parking lot). Miami Film Festival is validating parking tickets ($10). 

LOCAL MEDIA CONTACTS:

Rachel Pinzur / Pinzur Communications

305-725-2875 or [email protected]

Andrea Salazar / Pinzur Communications

954-756-0652 or [email protected]

About Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival

Celebrating cinema in two annual events, Miami Film Festival (March 4-13, 2022) and Miami Film Festival GEMS (November 3-9, 2022), Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival is considered the preeminent film festival for showcasing Ibero-American cinema in the U.S., and a major launch pad for all international and documentary cinema. The annual Festival welcomes more than 45,000 audience members and more than 400 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals. It is the only major festival housed within a college or university. In the last five years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 300 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. Major sponsors of Miami Film Festival GEMS include Knight Foundation, Telemundo, American Airlines, Estrella Damm, Telemundo, NBC6 and Miami-Dade County. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. For more information, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456). 

A Very Abbreviated Version of Black Art History

By Shantay Robinson

When Africans were brought to the United States, their culture was stripped from them. As the enslaved people were packed into the bottom of ships, they were chained to other people who did not speak the same languages or share the same cultures. There was a concerted effort on the part of the enslavers to keep like-people separate in order to weaken them and eliminate communication between them for fear of an uprising. Once enslaved, they were prohibited from performing rituals or practicing the religions they had before being captured, so they became creative in how they could hold on to some of their culture without being punished. From the start of this country, African American culture developed separately from that of the dominant culture because black people were prohibited from participating except if they were the main attractions singing or dancing for the entertainment of white audiences. While African Americans have been producing visual art in this country since slavery, only recently have they been accepted into mainstream culture.

Early African American painters like Robert S. Duncanson, (b. 1821), who was best known for his landscape paintings, had no formal training. He learned to paint by copying prints and European artworks. He is the first internationally known African American artist. And today his work hangs in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Artist, Edward Mitchell Bannister (b. 1828) was able to gain some education in the arts at the Lowell Institute, and while slavery was still an institution until 1865, he created ties with abolitionists to establish a livelihood as an artist. Henry Osawa Tanner (b. 1859), the first internationally acclaimed African American painter, attended the Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts and studied in Paris. Tanner’s most famous work, The Banjo Lesson, is a painting of an elderly black man teaching a young black boy how to play the banjo. While we’re able to look at these artists’ works in museums today, they faced hardships to be artists. According to the Smithsonian American Art Museum website, Edward Mitchell Bannister was harshly critiqued by a reviewer who said, “… the negro has an appreciation for art while being manifestly unable to produce it.” This statement was published in the New York Herald in 1867.

While the 19th century canon of black artists is scant, the most celebrated time for the arts in black history, the Harlem Renaissance (1918-1937), ushered in a wave of black visual artists. At the time, African American people were better able to afford education to obtain degrees in the arts. Because Alain Locke was a champion of the arts, his assessments of the movement established norms for black art. While the visual artists of the Harlem Renaissance tend to be overshadowed by authors and musicians, the visual arts of the period were salient to the time, as well. Artists like Aaron Douglas, Hale Woodruff, and Augusta Savage played a huge role in establishing black aesthetics in an art world that wouldn’t readily accept them. While they created their own opportunities in Harlem, their presence made it known that African Americans can create great art and that they possess the artistic and cognitive skills to do so. The Harlem Renaissance was a time for visual artists to create aesthetics distinct to the black experience in the U.S. This movement also steered the art of Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden who would go on to be well-known African American artists within the dominant culture. Although the Great Depression (1929-1939) devastated the country, it also created opportunities for African American artists. With aid from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Augusta Savage was able to lead the Harlem Community Center and The New Deal’s Federal Arts Projects encouraged black artists to create art for upliftment.

The 1950s and early 1960s saw a decrease in the emergence of African American artists, as the country became more concerned with equality and race relations. But there was a movement to preserve the legacy of African Americans through the establishment of museums. In order to preserve the rich history of African Americans, the following museums were established: The African American Museum (formerly the Afro-American Cultural and Historical Society Museum) in Cleveland, Ohio was formed in 1953; the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, California (formerly the East Bay Negro Historical Society, Inc.) started as a private collection in 1946, and opened to the public in 1964; and DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois was founded in 1961.

As the Black Power Movement surged in the late 1960s, so did the Black Arts Movement. According to the MoMA website, one of the most famous artists of the time, Charles White, who is known for chronicling African American subjects in his work, stated, “Art must be an integral part of the struggle. It can’t simply mirror what’s taking place. … It must ally itself with the forces of liberation.” Jeff Donaldson one of the founding members of AfricCOBRA also emerged from the movement as a major artist. The collective of African American artists, AfriCOBRA, which is still in existence today, formed in Chicago in 1968 because they wanted to develop a black aesthetic and serve black liberation. This period was a time of black revitalization. The Civil Rights Movement had gained some traction, and The Black Power Movement attempted to establish black pride and racial empowerment among the people. And the artists of the period wanted the same.

The 1980s, we can say, belonged to Jean-Michel Basquiat. The ever-present art star that passed away too soon, Basquiat is the patron saint for many black artists today because he did the unprecedented: He achieved art world superstar status as a black man. The myth of this man is what will make this era in black art history especially remembered. He allowed those black artists successful in contemporary art today, the space to do that.

The postmodern era of the 1990s, saw the dominance of the black female artist. Black women artists, Emma Amos, Deborah Willis, and Renee Cox gained recognition for their work in a way that black women hadn’t done before then. Today, African American women can be found exhibited around the world. In 1990, Lorna Simpson was the first black woman to present art at Venice Biennale, allowing the most marginalized of people in the United States, black women, to take center stage as the world looked on. From the outside it might have seemed all was right in the world. During the 1990s more marginalized artists than ever were accepted into the mainstream art world, allowing them exposure, and thus the compensation to create lives as full-time artists. There were and continue to be a compendium of voices and perspectives on exhibit that attempt to critique the establishment.

And as Thelma Golden and Glen Ligon put it as we entered into this millennium, the arts were in a state of post-blackness. But what of the aesthetics that the intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement tried to instill? Have they been co-opted? Are we taking them for granted? How have they morphed as they’ve been more widely accepted into the mainstream? While more African Americans than ever are making art today, do they tend to play to the dominant culture? Are there any successful black contemporary artists relishing in black culture, or would that be too black to be accepted? Can black artists today get away with being unapologetically black?

The Guardian published, “The roots of the US black art renaissance: ‘It wouldn’t have been OK in any other city’” an article by Patrice Worthy on October 23. The article, about the Atlanta art scene, describes the proliferation of black art in the city. More people moving to urban centers across the country seems to be having a positive effect on the visual art world. The decentralization of New York as the art world, and the rise of social media as a networking tool has helped artists around the country to gain some traction with their careers in art. But it also seems to be destabilizing as there is no general consensus as we’ve seen with the Harlem Renaissance or Black Arts Movement. Although the artists working at either period were able to move and spread their awareness to other parts of the country or world, and often did, the New York area served as the center. Worthy is pronouncing that Atlanta is the center of the contemporary black art renaissance.

Because black people were ostracized from the dominant culture through slavery, the culture they create has formed isolated from mainstream culture. Throughout history, African American culture has formed in the confines of the black community and may have entered the mainstream culture, but for the most part, it is developed in isolation from the influence of the dominant culture. Is this still the case? Black people have contributed greatly to the larger American cultural landscape by way of their culture. While some of it may be co-opted and filtered into a whole new form by the dominant culture, it’s important for black people to be aware of their history and they should be made known of the contributions they do make to the fabric of the country.

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BAIA FOUNDATION

WHO WE ARE

BLACK ART IN AMERICA™ (BAIA) is the leading portal and network focused on African American Art in the nation. BAIA’s mission is to document, preserve and promote the contributions of the African American arts community. THE BLACK ART IN AMERICA (BAIA) FOUNDATION is a 501c3 organization that applies what we’ve learned over our 12 years as a multifaceted arts company to facilitate the growth of artists while cultivating the relationships and opportunities that bring Black artists and communities together.

THE BAIA FOUNDATION believes that a significant challenge for communities of color is their lack of access to and education on the visual arts, particularly those that effectively reflect and represent themselves. 

Goals of THE BAIA FOUNDATION: 

1. To center the legacy of African-American art and artists through visual art, literature, lesson plans, oral histories, and the distribution of our bi-monthly magazine
2. To promote intersections between art and activism in Black neighborhoods and schools while encouraging a strong sense of purpose and unity and using art as a catalyst for economic development
3. To create opportunities for Black artists and writers to grow by facilitating their skill sets, giving them the space and tools to create, and expanding their professional networks.

2022 – Initiatives:

• Distribute BAIA, the mag, to the 107 HBCUs in the country
• Design art centered lesson plans for middle schools, summer camps, and homeschoolers 
• Fund artists lead community impact based workshops and programs targeting the youth and seniors 
• Launch (virtual) professional development series
• Institute marketing assistance for African American Museums and Cultural Centers.

How to Get Involved:

1. Become a stakeholder who helps us transform lives through art. 
2. Make a one-time donation or sign up for scheduled monthly contributions.

• Tomma Abts
• Vito Acconci
• Horst Ademeit
• Anni Albers
• Josef Albers
• Peter Alexander
• Pedro Álvarez
• Francis Alys
• Francis Alÿs
• Mamma Andersson
• Diane Arbus
• Wifredo Arcay
• Arman
• Lucas Arruda
• Ruth Asawa
• Morton Bartlett
• Larry Bell
• James Bishop
• Karla Black
• Paul Bloodgood
• Michaël Borremans
• Carol Bove
• Marcel Broodthaers
• Leonard Bullock
• Chris Burden
• Werner Büttner
• Mario Carreño
• John Chamberlain
• Christo
• George Condo
• Bruce Conner
• Ron Cooper
• Joseph Cornell
• Salvador Corratgé
• Mary Corse
• Njideka Akunyili Crosby
• R. Crumb
• Sophie Crumb
• Walter Dahn
• Sandú Darié
• Noah Davis
• Roy DeCarava
• Philip-Lorca diCorcia
• Phillip-Lorca diCorcia
• Laddie John Dill
• Jim Dine
• Jiri Georg Dokoupil
• Stan Douglas
• Marcel Duchamp
• Marlene Dumas
• Marcel Dzama
• William Eggleston
• Dan Flavin
• Günther Förg
• Suzan Frecon
• Isa Genzken
• Tina Girouard
• Robert Gober
• Felix Gonzalez-Torres
• Robert Graham
• David Hammons
• Suzanne Harris
• George Herms
• Georg Herold
• Jene Highstein
• Jenny Holzer
• Yun Hyong-keun
• Robert Irwin
• Donald Judd
• Craig Kauffman
• On Kawara
• Mike Kelley
• Raoul De Keyser
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• Martin Kippenberger
• Konrad Klapheck
• Paul Klee
• Aline Kominsky-Crumb
• Jeff Koons
• Barbara Kruger
• Yayoi Kusama
• Greg Kwiatek
• Sherrie Levine
• Roy Lichtenstein
• Nate Lowman
• Rosa Loy
• Konrad Lueg
• Kerry James Marshall
• Gordon Matta-Clark
• John McCracken
• Alberto Menocal
• José Mijares
• Larry Miller
• Joan Mitchell
• Piet Mondrian
• Giorgio Morandi
• Juan Muñoz
• Oscar Murillo
• Bruce Nauman
• Alice Neel
• Barnett Newman
• Jockum Nordstrom
• Jockum Nordström
• Albert Oehlen
• Chris Ofili
• Claes Oldenburg
• Pedro de Oraá
• Eric Orr
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• Helen Pashgian
• Luis Martínez Pedro
• Raymond Pettibon
• Sigmar Polke
• Richard Prince
• Neo Rauch
• Required Reading
• Long Reads
• Ad Reinhardt
• Jason Rhoades
• Gerhard Richter
• Michael Riedel
• Bridget Riley
• Larry Rivers
• José Ángel Rosabal
• Dieter Roth
• Thomas Ruff
• Fred Sandback
• Alan Saret
• Katy Schimert
• Jan Schoonhoven
• Kurt Schwitters
• Annabelle Selldorf
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• Richard Serra
• Seeing Shakespeare
• Cindy Sherman
• Tamuna Sirbiladze
• Josh Smith
• Loló Soldevilla
• Rafael Soriano
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• Al Taylor
• Diana Thater
• Miroslav Tichy
• Tillmans
• Wolfgang Tillmans
• Jean Tinguely
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• Bill Traylor
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• Luc Tuymans
• Alan Uglow
• De Wain Valentine
• Andy Warhol
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• HC Westermann
• Doug Wheeler
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• Liu Ye
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• Portia Zvavahera