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Exhibits at the Boston College Libraries

O'Neill Reading Room Back Wall

There are three horizontal cases against the Back Wall of the O’Neill Reading Room.
Return to the O'Neill Reading Room Back Wall Past Exhibits

Black Artists in the Boston Area: Cultural Enrichment in the 20th and 21st Centuries

February 2016

Exhibit poster

"This exhibit highlights the works of a limited number of 20th and 21st century black artists who have lived, studied (and in many cases, taught), and created in the greater Boston area.  The paintings, sculptures, and other works seen here might be described as representational or abstract, as politically charged or personally spiritual, as somber or light-hearted.  The techniques, subjects and tone are as varied as the backgrounds of the artists themselves.  What brings them together here is their association with Boston.  Strong fine arts programs at several local universities and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and the concentration of museums (the MFA, the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, the Institute of Contemporary Art) and galleries attract talented artists to this city.  The black artists featured here, together with countless others living and working in Boston, demonstrate the cultural enrichment we all enjoy thanks to that attraction."

-- Lawrence Busenbark, Black History & African Diaspora Librarian, O'Neill Library

"This exhibit highlights the works of a limited number of 20th and 21st century black artists who have lived, studied (and in many cases, taught), and created in the greater Boston area.  The paintings, sculptures, and other works seen here might be described as representational or abstract, as politically charged or personally spiritual, as somber or light-hearted.  The techniques, subjects and tone are as varied as the backgrounds of the artists themselves.  What brings them together here is their association with Boston.  Strong fine arts programs at several local universities and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and the concentration of museums (the MFA, the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, the Institute of Contemporary Art) and galleries attract talented artists to this city.  The black artists featured here, together with countless others living and working in Boston, demonstrate the cultural enrichment we all enjoy thanks to that attraction."

-- Lawrence Busenbark, Black History & African Diaspora Librarian, O'Neill Library

Exhibit poster