Series 39: African American Artist Community Supports, 2021
Scope and Contents
D.C. Oral History Collaborative (DCOHC) is a citywide initiative to train community members in oral history skills, fund new and ongoing oral history projects, connect volunteers with oral history projects, and publicize existing oral history collections. DCOHC is a project of DC Public Library, HumanitiesDC, and the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. This collection contains oral history interviews, transcripts, and indexes produced by DCOHC grantees.
Dates
- Creation: 2021
Creator
- Elliott, Claude L. (Person)
Extent
From the Collection: 1.13 Terabytes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Drawing on art historical background, six African American artists, both native Washingtonians and transplants, give voice to diverse paths toward academic training, career opportunities, and validation as professional artists. These interviews provide insight into how African American artists established support systems that produced opportunities to create, critique, exhibit, and sell work outside of established cultural institutions - museums, galleries, and visual art spaces - that did not embrace them. Their experiences offer examples of several generations that thrived within the legacy of the New Negro Movement (1918--1937) and Black Arts Movement (circa the 1960s - 1980s).
Repository Details
Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository