AfriCobra

AfriCobra was founded in the late 1960s by Jeff Donaldson, Wadsworth Jarrell, and Barbara Jones-Hogu, among others. AfriCobra is an acronym for African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists, originally derived from combining "Afri" as it relates to Africa with "Cobra" (Coalition of Black Revolutionary Artists). In AfriCobra's 1970 manifesto, written by Jeff Donaldson, the group's objectives were to develop a new African American aesthetic and commit to the principles of social responsibility, local artistic involvement, and promotion of pride in Black self-identity. To fulfill those principles, certain aesthetic qualities are emphasized: the sublime image, innovative approaches to rhythm, and the use of high-energy colors. In addition, the fusion of Pan-African elements in the works parallels the improvisational and stylistic innovations found in contemporary African and African American music.

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Spiral

Romare Bearden called a meeting in his New York studio during the Civil Rights era in the early 1960s to discuss the role of Black artists and other issues of concern. Spiral was formed on July 5, 1963 as a result of that meeting. The group's name is based on the Archimedean spiral that "moves outward embracing all directions, yet constantly upward." Spiral brought together a dynamic group of artists divergent in terms of age, background, interests and style of work, which ranged from abstractionist to realist.
    Their biweekly meetings became forums for debate and an exchange of ideas on aesthetics, artistic standards, and the question of social responsibility vis-à-vis artistic freedom. A concern for racial equality and affirming Black identity in a white-dominated art world unified the group. Their goal was to search for points of intersection that allowed them to work together while preserving their individuality as artists. After two years, the group had an exhibition in which all members showcased works executed only in black and white. Despite the success of the showing, Spiral ceased to exist after two years when the artists believed they had outgrown the aesthetic limitations and urgent concerns of the period.

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"Where We At"
Black Women Artists (WWA)

While many Black male artists were gaining attention by the late 1950s and early 1960s, the majority of Black female artists were commonly underrepresented at the onset of the Black Arts Movement. In the spring of 1971 a group of 14 African American women organized a landmark exhibition at the Acts of Art Gallery in Greenwich Village entitled, "Where We At" Black Women Artists, the first of its kind. Inspired by the popularity and success of the earthy, grassroots show, the group, which included artists such as Dindga McCannon, Kay Brown, Faith Ringgold, Jerri Crooks, Charlotte Kâ (Richardson), and Vivian E. Browne, formed an artists' collective, retaining the exhibition title as its name. The history and mission of the organization was published in the catalogue entitled "Where We At" Black Women Artists: A Tapestry of Many Fine Threads. In their artwork, themes such as the unity of the Black family, Black male-female relationships, contemporary social conditions, and African traditions have been central to their artistic explorations. The group served as a source of empowerment for African American female artists as they controlled their representation and foregrounded issues concerning Black women’s sensibility and aesthetics. Like AfriCobra, the group was active in bringing art to the community and using it as a tool of awareness and liberation. The group organized workshops in schools, hospitals, and cultural centers, as well as art classes for youth in their communities.

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Kindred Spirits and Pan-African Connections

While many African American artists in the 1960s and 1970s joined in forming groups and movements, many Kindred Spirits worked independently within a similar aesthetic and ideological framework. In this exhibition, the works of David Hammons, Melvin Edwards, Elizabeth Catlett, Dana Chandler, and others exemplify the richness and diversity of the Black Arts Movement during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s.
    Newly independent African countries in the late 1950s and early 1960s inspired a tremendous solidarity among artists of African descent in the United States. The rise of a modern post-colonial African art, which encompasses a new visual vocabulary and symbols rooted in the African experience, has its cross influences among artists of the Black Arts Movement. The African continent became a home and a place of pilgrimage to which several African American artists embarked on a journey to study and reclaim their rich African heritage. Participation in major Pan-African forums such as First World Art Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar 1966 and FESTAC'77 in Lagos, Nigeria exposed African American artists to African masters like Skunder Boghossian, Malangatana, Papa Ibra Tall, Ibrahim El-Salahi, and Bruce Onobrakpeya. Also influential were artists such as Cuban Wifredo Lam, whose work creatively synthesizes African and western imagery within a Caribbean perspective. All of these Pan-African artists have impacted the style and aesthetic of the Black Arts Movement.

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