Black Women in Art (BWIA) see pdf for more info on each

Bisa Butler isn’t just an artist—she’s a storyteller, weaving Black history, culture, and identity into stunning quilted masterpieces. Known for her life-sized, technicolor portraits, Butler reimagines historical and everyday Black figures with fabric, turning quilting into a powerful medium of fine art.

Howardena Pindell: A Visionary Breaking Boundaries in Art & Activism

Howardena Pindell’s journey in the art world is one of resilience, innovation, and unwavering commitment to both abstraction and activism. From breaking barriers as MoMA’s first Black curator to creating groundbreaking works that challenge racism, sexism, and exclusion, Pindell’s legacy is undeniable.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: The Visionary Painter Reshaping Black Portraiture

🖼️ Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, a distinguished British artist and writer, is renowned for her evocative portraits of imagined individuals. Her work has been showcased in numerous exhibitions worldwide. 

🔥 Trailblazer. Innovator. Legacy Maker. 🔥

At 69, when most consider slowing down, Alma Thomas was just getting started. She devoted herself fully to painting and made history as the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in 1972.

Lorna Simpson didn’t just enter the art world—she transformed it. 📸✨ Emerging as a pioneer of conceptual photography in the 1980s, Simpson disrupted traditional narratives, using image and text to challenge perceptions of race, gender, identity, and memory.

𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵 has been named the 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗢𝗿𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝘁 (𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗔)—making history as the 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 individual to lead its curatorial department.