With most of the 150 artworks on display in the UK for the first time, Soul of a Nation introduces more than 50 exceptional American artists, including influential figures Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis, Lorraine O’Grady and Betye Saar, among numerous others. Opening from 1963, the height of Civil Rights movement and its notorious representatives such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Angela Davis, John Coltrane and sporting heroes like Jack Lohnson and Muhammad Ali, the exhibition shines a bright light on the vital contribution of Black artists to a dramatic period in American art and history.
Artists responded to the wake of African American pride, autonomy and solidarity by confronting, and confounding expectations leading the audience through a visual journey of vivacious paintings, compelling murals, photography, revolutionary clothing designs and sculptures.
The variety of artworks reflects the many viewpoints of artists and collectives at work during these explosive times exploring crucial topics, Black pride, Black feminism and Black aesthetic among others, that are still the beating art of the artistic debate in the African American creative community all over the world.
When: 12 July – 22 October 2017 Where: Tate Modern (Bankside, SE1 9TG)
Tickets: £13.10 – £16.50 (FREE for Members and Under 12s)
Family tickets available (two adults and two children 12–18 years) by telephone or in the gallery.
Image credit: Barkley L. Hendricks Icon for My Man Superman (Superman Never Saved any Black People – Bobby Seale) 1969 Private Collection; © Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks. Courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Superman S-Shield © & ™ DC Comics. Used with permission.
Visit the website for more info: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/soul-nation-art-age-black-power
