A Brief History of Black British Art

Black artists of African and Caribbean descent and major contributions to the British art scene

Black artists have been making major contributions to the global art scene since at least the middle of the 20th century. While some of these artists of African and Caribbean descent have been embraced at times by the art world, they have mostly been neglected or have not received the recognition they deserve. Taking its starting point as the Windrush-era Caribbean Artists Movement, and considering and contextualizing the political, cultural, and artistic climate from which it emerged, this concise introduction showcases the work of 70 Black-British artists from the 1930s to the present. Artwork in a range of media offer a lens through which to understand some of the events and issues confronted and explored, shedding light on the Black-British experience. Constructed around contemporary ideas on race, national identity, citizenship, gender, sexuality, and aesthetics in Britain, this book interrogates themes at the heart of Black-British art, revealing art in dialogue with a complex past and present.

Featuring some of the most prominent and influential Black-British artists of recent decades, as well as less well-known artists, it also includes work from a new generation of artists on the cutting edge of contemporary art. At a time when visibility within the art world has taken on a renewed urgency, this is a timely and accessible introduction celebrating Black-British artists and their outstanding contribution to art history.

Rianna Jade Parker is a critic, curator, and researcher based in South London. She was previously a Tate Collectives Producer and a founding member of the interdisciplinary art collective Thick/er Black Lines, whose work has been exhibited at Tate Exchange and in the landmark exhibition Get Up, Stand Up Now: Generations of Black Creative Pioneers. She is a contributing editor of Frieze magazine and associate lecturer in the Department of Art at Goldsmiths, University of London.

• Publisher: Tate Publishing (April 19, 2022)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 160 pages
• ISBN-10: 1849767564
• ISBN-13: 9781849767569
• Item Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Dimensions: 5.5 x 7 inches