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BLACKLANDIA How to Write About Black Art: An Introductory Course with Richard Allen May III and Natasha Gural


August 28, 2021

Saturdays, August 14, 21 & 28, 2021 (4:00-5:30 PM)

Inlandia Institute’s Blacklandia Event Series Presents

How to Write About Black Art: An Introductory Course with Richard Allen May III and Natasha Gural

THREE Virtual Workshops on Zoom

FREE and open to the public but registration is required.

To register: https://tinyurl.com/BlacklandiaEvents

Workshop 1

This workshop will address general questions, such as: What is art criticism? What is its value? What are its approaches and evolution as it correlates to African American art? Participants will be introduced to the historical challenges of approaching the practice of describing, interpreting, critically analyzing, and unpacking Black art for the reader/viewer. Participants will begin journals that contain brief (one-page) descriptions and interpretations of African American art, as viewed in person or online.

Workshop 2

The second workshop will briefly discuss the traditional approaches to writing about Black art that have saturated this practice – along with the significance and impact of Alain Locke as it pertains to his influence as a theorist, writer, and key strategist of the Harlem Renaissance. Through this workshop, participants will understand the role and challenges faced by art writers who “unpack” Black art.

Workshop 3

The final workshop in this series will introduce students to additional approaches to writing about art, the “language” of describing art, and the guidelines for interpreting it. Additionally, participants will be introduced to criteria for judging art – and to individuals, whose writing on Black art was, and still is, significant. Students will keep a diverse file of Black art exhibition reviews to understand the various approaches by writers to make the art accessible for viewers.

Artist and educator, Richard Allen May III comes with a wealth of knowledge about the AfriCOBRA Movement, having written the forward to AfriCOBRA: Experimental Art Toward a School of Thought, published by Duke University, 2020. He is a staff writer at Artillery magazine and his work has been displayed in art galleries throughout the Inland Empire, as well as exhibits throughout the United States. May has taught courses in community colleges, universities, and prisons and will discuss his artwork in the context of community.  https://richardmayart.com/

This program made possible with funding by Inland Empire Community Foundation through Arts for IE, a joint project of Riverside Arts Council and Arts Connection.

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