Black Literary Art

C.O.L.O.U.R.S and Smile Like You Mean It by Edo See His Work This Friday at Revolutionary Among the most intellectually compelling bodies of work in Pigment International's upcoming exhibition Revolutionary, opening July 17 at Vjosa Cafe & Events in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood, is C.O.L.O.U.R.S., a new series of work by Chicago artist Eddie ‘Edo’ Santana White. The exhibition explores the ongoing evolution of Black resistance, identity, and self-determination across Am

As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, Pigment International steps into the center of the conversation with back-to-back appearances in mid-July that ask the same question from two different stages: who gets to tell America's story? On July 16, Founder and CEO Patricia Andrews-Keenan joins the open mic lineup for "America @ 250: A Journalism Reckoning," hosted by NABJ Chicago and the Field Foundation at Impact House in downtown Chicago. Set against a backdrop of press fre

The Reluctant Ribbon Merchant by Jesse Howard and Patrice Lumumba by Candace Hunter are works in Revolutionary opening July 17th at Vjosa Cafe and Events. Pigment International opens REVOLUNTARY, a bold new group exhibition on July 17 at Vjosa Cafe and Events, 1010 W. 35th Street in Bridgeport. The show runs through August 15th REVOLUNTARY is an extension of Pigment’s February 2026 exhibition Glory! Glory!, which drew national attention for its exploration of the American fl

Blooming Through It by Ingrid Mathurin and bottom work by Alexandria Eregbu. The Art of Blackness at Block 37 is a celebrated exhibition platform that continues its mission of amplifying Black artists while creating space for dialogue around identity, history, and the future. Curated by LaShun Tines, Justin Dwaun Redding, and Anefertiti Bowman, this year's exhibition asks audiences to consider what emerges when truth is honored, memory is preserved, and imagination is embrace

Harmonica & Thelonius by Chris Devins Where music ends, and painting begins, Chicago artist Chris Devins refuses to draw a line. On Friday, July 17, Devins will debut his oil painting “Harmonia and Thelonius” at Bridgeport Art Center’s prestigious 4th Floor Gallery as part of Color Songs: Musicians as Visual Artists, an exhibition curated by Dr. Yaoundé Olu running through September 4, 2026. The work belongs to Devin’s ongoing series “Into the Black,” a body of work committed

Photo top left - Taroue Brooks, crafted the forward for Thomas Lockhart's coffee table book Painting In the Spirit, Verlena Mooney Newell, Actor Leon, Pigment International's Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Tenia Davis, owner of Beyond the Book in Homewood, and artist Thomas Lockhart, whose work is showcased in the coffee table book. Top right - Lockhart's original work "The Past Illuminates the Future" created for the Pigmented Black Fine Art Show. Over a career spanning 25 years,

Artists Edo and Reggie McFly were part of a panel discussion the MentalHood Cultural Initiative Art and advocacy converged at Josephine’s on East 79th Street when the MentalHood Cultural Initiative hosted its Masculine Male Brunch—a morning of honest conversation, community, and the kind of radical vulnerability Black men are too rarely given space to express. Among the voices in the room were Pigment International artists Reggie McFly and Eddie “Edo” Santana White, who spoke

Work by Jamele Wright, Sr., Preston Sampson, and Gabrielle Torres will be featured in What the Eye Beholds. Curator September Gray brings a landmark group exhibition to Chicago, exploring perception, memory, and the human experience What the Eye Beholds is a compelling group exhibition presented by Atlanta based September Gray Fine Art Gallery opens in Chicago in July. Curated by September Gray, the show brings together seven visionary contemporary artists whose work interrog

Danny Simmons - 1953 - 2026 Daniel Dwayne Simmons Jr. — abstract expressionist painter, poet, published author, and philanthropist — passed away on June 14, 2026, at the age of 72. For those who knew his work, not just his famous last name, the loss is seismic.  In New York, he was the oldest Simmons brother — the quiet one who watched Russell build Def Jam and Joey become Rev Run of Run-DMC — while he built something altogether different: a life in paint, a gallery, a movem

The opening of Mickalene Thomas' Beneath the Moonlight at the Shepherd in Detroit. Pigment International recently went to Detroit for the opening of Beneath the Moonlight, a solo exhibition of new work by Mickalene Thomas, presented by Library Street Collective at the Shepherd — a breathtaking arts center carved from a 1912 Romanesque Revival church in Detroit's East Village neighborhood. For more than two decades, Thomas has cultivated a signature visual language rooted in p

Wooden quilts by Jean-Marcel St. Jacques will be part of a fundraising auction by Blacks in Green (BIG) on Juneteenth. On Friday, June 19, 2026, the Woodlawn & South Lakefront Tourism Center in Chicago's Obama Presidential District will host a special Juneteenth Wine, Cheese & Storytelling Fundraiser celebrating history, resilience, and the transformative power of art.  The evening will feature the unveiling of three new works by renowned New Orleans artist Jean-Marcel St. J

Top row: Artist Bryant Lamont with Pigment's Patricia Andrews-Keenan, work by Roger Carter, artists Paul Branton, Gerald Griffin and Bryant Lamont, work by Lamont; second row work by Bernard Williams, work by Paul Branton, Faye Edwards of Faiè Afrikan Art with photographer Tonika Johnson, artist Roger Carter; third row Bertha Thomas, Chair of the Board the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute with exhibition curator Raymond A. Thomas, work by Max Sansing, Claudette Rop

Six Featured Artists Bring Depth, Beauty, and Cultural Legacy to Hyde Park Pigment International will again be exhibiting at the 57th Street Art Fair, one of the city's longest-running fairs, on June 6 & 7. Now in its fourth year at this beloved Hyde Park institution, Pigment's exhibition is a celebration of the country's 250th Anniversary — a showcase of the depth and breadth of our artists. The fair runs Saturday, June 6, from 11 am–6 pm and Sunday, June 7, from 10 am–5 pm.

Nathaniel Mary Quinn's A Love Letter to My Mother at the National Public Housing Museum RUN — don't walk — to experience Chicago native Nathaniel Mary Quinn's first solo museum exhibition at the National Public Housing Museum (NPHM). A Love Letter to My Mother is precisely what its title promises: a deeply personal elegy to the woman whose faith made an artist. Quinn grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes, once the largest public housing complex in the country. What opened as an

Designer Norman Teague When Chicago designer Norman Teague arrives in Lagos this October he carries the weight of a legendary history — and the creative fire to match. Not a stranger, but a creative heir. Teague, founder and principal of Norman Teague Design Studios, has been named curator of Design Week Lagos 2026— Africa's leading platform for design, innovation, manufacturing, and creative industry development. Running October 18–25 at the iconic National Theatre in Lagos,

When Dr. Kelli Morgan returned to Detroit in 2023 to look after aging family members, she didn't come back to build an empire. She came back to sit down and breathe. What happened instead was the founding of the Black Artists Archive and its groundbreaking learning center, the Black Curatorial Institute — an online platform that has quietly grown into one of the most radical and rigorously structured professional development programs in the arts sector today. In a May 2026 co

An artist's depiction of the sewing of the Star Spangled Banner. Grace Wisher is one of the girls in the upper right. Before the Star-Spangled Banner became America's most recognizable symbol, a ten-year-old free Black girl named Grace Wisher helped stitch it into existence. Apprenticed to Baltimore flag-maker Mary Pickersgill around 1810, Grace spent six weeks sewing the flag that would later inspire Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem. When the story was told, ho

As the United States stands on the threshold of its 250th Anniversary, Pigment International® invites Chicago’s cultural community to a landmark gathering during Spring Art Week 2026. The Pigment International Salon Talk will convene artists, institution leaders, policymakers, and patrons for an intimate morning of dialogue, reflection, and celebration—timed to coincide with Spring Art Week in the city. Pigment International continues its focus on national identity, ancestr

Ra Joy, Executive Director Bronzeville Center For The Arts (BCA) This year America will celebrate its semi-quincentennial and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. As the nation reflects on its founding, it also finds itself wrestling with fundamental questions around what we choose to remember, who we choose to honor, what we collectively celebrate, and why it all matters. With America’s 250th birthday rapidly approaching, the stakes are high. Poli

Artwork Orbiting by Alma Thomas Curators, artists, and arts professionals gather for a landmark series of conversations during Spring Art Week Dialogues, presented by Northern Trust, brings together curators, artists, and arts professionals for a series of panel discussions, forums, and artistic discourse on the themes defining contemporary culture. Highlights include a reflection on the legacy of Alma Thomas featuring artists Lindsay Adams and Amanda Williams alongside cur