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

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.

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

From top left: Robert Lewis Paige, Monica Haslip, Janell Nelson and Blake Lenoir are the honorees at this year's Black Art Love Affair. As Chicago’s creative community continues to shape global culture, ILA Creative Studio is once again bringing artists, patrons, and advocates together for an evening centered on celebration, sustainability, and collective investment. On June 17, the organization will host the fourth annual Black Art Love Affair (BALA) at Little Black Pearl un

Nick Cave In the company of greatness. Nick Cave at the opening of In Minor Keys — the 61st Venice Biennale, conceived by the late Koyo Kouoh. Cave's Two Points in Time at Once features five works displayed in Arsenale and two of his monumental bronzes installed outdoors. Here he stands with his works Amalgam Meditation and Origin Big Chief Demond Melancon Big Chief Demond Melancon — the first Black Masking Indian to participate in the Venice Biennale — at the opening of In

Installation by A'driane Nieves Review by Ming Joi Speechlessness is seldom experienced by a woman of words like me, but what is there to say when the artworks do all the talking / take the words out of my mouth / speak for the silent moments / phrase it in a way my tongue would never try? In Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language, a group show at Atlanta Contemporary, Bethany Collins, February James, adriene nieves, and Gabi Madrid challenge the unsaid; instead, the inner tho

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

Top left - Mama Lae by Lavar Munroe Studio; top right - Big Chief Demond Melancon in ceremonial suit — Photo credit: Sophia Germer / The Times-Picayune; Bottom left - Sammy Baloji, Bottom middle - the late Koyo Kouoh, 2026 Venice Biennale curator Cape Town, March, 2024; bottom right - Neo Ramshu. The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia opens this week under a title borrowed from music: In Minor Keys. Conceived by the late Koyo Kouoh — the first African

Top left Mother & Child (1944) by Elizabeth Catlett; top right Crowd (1988) by Lee Ungno; bottom left Exodus (1972) by Norman Lewis; bottom right Woman Pounding Grain (1957) by Park Son Keun. Standing inside the Art Institute of Chicago's landmark exhibition Korean National Treasures: 2,000 Years of Art, surrounded by 140 works spanning gilt bronze Buddhist sculpture, Joseon dynasty painting, and late 20th-century contemporary art, something unexpected happened — recognition.

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

Transcend by Salome Jaffe, 18" X 24" (2026) Artist Salome Jaffe enters a new phase of public engagement with her participation in The People’s Artist Award, an initiative led by Johnny Depp in collaboration with The Art of Elysium and Artforum. Distinct from traditional juried competitions, the award is determined entirely by public vote, positioning audience mobilization as the decisive factor in an artist’s advancement. Jaffe’s work stands apart for its materially driven pr

Top left - Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Pigment International, Claire Rice, Executive Director Arts Alliance Illinois, Nora Daley, Board Chair Illinois Arts Council, Vicki Heyman, Board Member Illinois Arts Council, Joshua Davis-Ruptero ED Illinois Arts Council. Top Middle - Antoinette Simmons, the Urban Ark Media Arts Center, State Representative Kimberly du Buclet, Middle Row Jen Tremblay Chambers, and Alison Cochran, Hyde Park Art Center, Middle Right - Erin Eveland, The Hub,

Pigment Int'l partners with European Cultural Centre (ECC) and plans updates on the exhibition featuring Big Chief Melancon's at the Biennale. Pigment International is proud to announce its return as media partner to the European Cultural Center for Personal Structures, the celebrated parallel program presented during the Venice Biennale. This marks Pigment's second editorial partnership with ECC. Additionally, Pigment plans to share updates on Big Chief Demond Melancon’s par

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

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