Weusi: Art, Activism and the Community

An artists' group, founded in Harlem in 1965, adopted the name Weusi (which means blackness in Kiswahili) and declared its objectives to preserve, develop, and promote African and African American culture through the visual arts. Weusi evolved out of The Twentieth Century Creators, a coalition of African American artists also based in Harlem, who called for the creation of positive "Black art for Black people." To reach out to the community, the group established the Annual Harlem Outdoor Art Festival in the mid-1960s, which continued to be held successfully for 14 years. Weusi was credited with the creation of the annual Harlem-based Black Ball, a fundraising event, which included dance, music, poetry readings, and a fashion show. The ball was originally developed as an alternative to Christmas, which had become a commercially oriented celebration.

In an effort to create independent spaces and institutions for African American art, Weusi established the Nyumba Ya Sanaa (House of Art) Gallery in 1967, and the Weusi-Nyumba Ya Sanaa Academy of Fine Arts in 1969. In addition to curating and hosting exhibitions of African and African American artists, Nyumba gallery served as a meeting place for Black artists to exchange ideas on issues ranging from African culture and aesthetics to artistic techniques. Weusi as a group valued individual creativity within an African-centered perspective and sought to promote cultural pride and self-reliance while protesting injustice. Weusi has developed a new iconography and visual vocabulary, which, like those of AfriCobra, have become expressive of Black aesthetics.