Phyliss North, Rhonda Sewell and Patricia Andrews-Keenan during the Museum Leaders Meet & Greet at the Vjosa Café in Bridgeport during Pigment International’s exhibition Revolutionary. On Friday, August 14, Pigment International welcomed a distinguished group of museum professionals and DEI practitioners to Vjosa Café & Events in Bridgeport for an intimate meet-and-greet focused on Black art, cultural leadership and the work of building more inclusive museum spaces. Organized

The Pigment International art team - Barrett Keithley, Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Brenda Dickerson, Amorion Bell and Phyliss North; Dickerson and Fred Hampton Jr. view the mural; Barrett Keithley and Ray Thompson, whose University of Iowa number is on the basketball court at Wharton Elementary School; Dickerson and her mother Delilah and with April Kates-Ellison with the Nubian Nine an d The Lights On Collective. (photo credit Doug Kenney) A ribbon cutting at Argo Park marked

Above: Norman Teague in conversation with Pigment International will be one of the featured artists at this year's Butter Art Fair; Bottom row: Bianca Marks will be a curator for Butter. Middle and right, Truss Chair and Ibaaka AKA Mule by Norman Teague Design Studios. (Teague image by Big_X_Tsu. Furniture images courtesy of Norman Teague Design Studio) Guest curator Bianca Marks helps shape an expanded Labor Day weekend fair in Indianapolis, as Teague's full profile debuts i

Edo will be in conversation with D. E. Simmons about his series C.O.L.O.U.R.S. exploring racism in animation this Friday at Vjosa Cafe. Board games, good company, and a conversation that matters — that's the lineup for Pigment International's Revolutionary Game Night on Friday, August 14, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Vjosa aCafe 1010 W. 35th Street in Bridgeport. Bring your competitive spirit for an evening of games, then settle in for a special artist talk with longtime Pigment colla

Monetta White, executive director of MoAD (bottom right) visited Chicago last week Monetta White, Executive Director of the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, brought her vision for Black artistic economic empowerment to Chicago this summer, meeting with Pigment International and a gathering of local artists and arts leaders, including Monique Brinkman-Hill, Executive Director of the South Side Community Art Center.  White's visit centered on building na

Top: Barrett Keithley, Cassandra Wilson, Patricia Andrews-Keenan and Edo; Middle: Edo; Bottom: Ruby Simmons and Gyamfuah Melisiziwe; Right: Jesse Howard. Photos by Tafari Melisiziwe The conversation continues at REVOLUTIONARY, Pigment International's thought-provoking summer exhibition at Vjosa Café & Events. Curated by P. Andrews-Keenan, the exhibition features an extraordinary roster of painters, photographers, and mixed-media artists whose work examines 250 years of Black

The mural and pavilion refresh at Wharton Elementary in Summit's Argo Park arrives in time for the 85th Anniversary of Emmitt Till's birth. For the past six months, the Village of Summit has demonstrated what can happen when artists, residents, and community organizations come together with a shared vision. Through the Creative Placemaking Initiative, funded by Cook County Arts, local partners have worked to reimagine public spaces while placing community voices at the center

Top left - Patricia Andrews-Keenan, September Gray and Diane Dinkins Carr; Revolutionary opened at Vjose Cafe and continues through August 15; Middle row - Sculptor Joseph Kersey, great uncle of Anita Mauro board member of Chicago Sculpture Exhibit. The public art group is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. More scenes from Revolutionary - Phyliss North and Audra Wilson; and bottom row the Simmons - D.E., Ruben and Ruby. New Pigmented merch includes our bucket hat. Orders your

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

44th created by James Nelson. In the Land of the Free T-Shirts created by Reggie McFly honor the escaped slave Gordon, aka "Whipped Peter". Pigment International is proud to participate in the Obama Presidential Center's (OPC) Grand Opening Ceremony Official Watch Party on Thursday, June 18, at Midway Plaisance Park in Chicago's Hyde Park community. As one of a select group of local businesses, cultural organizations, and restaurants invited to be part of this historic commun

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

Call For Art and Advertisers Two hundred and fifty years. That is the span of American history this nation is marking in 2026 — and Pigment International® is marking it on our own terms. Pigment Magazine Issue VI, our Collector's Edition, arrives this August themed America 250: We ARE The People. At a moment when the contributions of Black Americans risk being minimized or erased from the national record, this issue centers Black artists as essential narrators of where this

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.

Work by Max Sansing, Norman Teague, and Sura Dupart The final week of I Used to Live in Chicago at Blanc Gallery in Bronzeville brings a powerful close to one of the season’s most resonant exhibitions, culminating with two special public programs before the exhibition ends May 24. An innovative dialogue In Conversation with the Work will take place on Tuesday, May 19 from 6 - 9 pm., followed by the Film Screening and Community Forum: What We Built, featuring a screening of th

Pigment International artists Marlon Tobias, Brenda Dickerson and Jeff Koonz guided residents through an exercise that will inform creative placemaking in Summit. On Saturday, April 25th, the Summit Community Network's creative placemaking initiative came alive with color, conversation, and community. Approximately 30 Summit residents gathered for a preliminary visioning session — painting, crafting mosaics, and assembling collages that will directly inform the design directi

Pastor John Hannah's New Life Covenant Church is actualizing the creation of Life in Color Gallery in the city's Grand Crossing neighborhood. A House Blessing ceremony marks the beginning of a new cultural chapter on Chicago's South Side Before a single painting is hung or a sculpture placed, the floor of Life in Color Gallery was already carrying something sacred. In a special ceremony, community members gathered at 7644 S. Greenwood Avenue in Chicago's Grand Crossing neighb

Pigment Salon Talk Glory! Glory! at Adler University. From left Phyliss North, Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Jane Carpenter-Rock, Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM); State Rep. Kimberly du Buclet; Lisa Coleman, PhD. President of Adler University; Artist D. Lammie-Hanson; Patrica Jones Blessman, PhD.; Valerie Francis, Knowhere Gallery, and Allison Casselberry. Spring Art Week Chicago 2026: A Roundup We go deeper on specifics in later issues — this week, let the photos do the

Martha Wade at William Blair, her 3D chair, and work by Briana McNeil Scott. On Wednesday, at William Blair , Martha Wade debuted not just new work, but her work took new form when she created a chair. Wade's calm, consistency and commitment to community shone through in her interview with Blair’s curator Isidora K. Lagos under the theme Expressive Journeys: The panel of self-taught artists also included Grace Federighi, Briana McNeil, and O’Neil Scott.

Sonja Henderson and Sadie Wood's Lakefront installation. Sadie Woods and Sonja Henderson’s We Still Here is a temporal monument response situated along Chicago’s lakefront at Lake Shore Drive and Belmont, in the shadow of General Philip Sheridan. The installation reclaims space through an evocative assembly of bones, metal, and feathers, honoring layered histories while challenging dominant narratives. A diverse crowd gathered in celebration of spirituality and environmental

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