Black Women Who Rule the Art Scene

Tweet from @blackartdepot - The Most Influential Black Women in the Art World: http://ht.ly/4p8Ei [Very interesting information and photo gallery] #art #blackgirlsrock

 

From Faith Ringgold to Betye Saar, from Lorna Simpson to Thelma Golden, these women are having a big impact on the world of art.

Leslie King Hammond

King-Hammond, a foremost authority on African-American art and culture, is graduate dean emeritus of the Maryland Institute College of Art and founding director of MICA's Center for Race and Culture. The center invites scholars, doctoral candidates, artists, critics, musicians, actors and historians to research or create events that focus on the aesthetic dynamics of race and culture in order to break down racial barriers, build bridges of cultural understanding and prepare students for leadership roles in the international art world. 

Valerie Cassel Oliver

Oliver, senior curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, has become a powerful force in contemporary art. She made indelible impressions while co-curating the "2000 Whitney Biennial" and curating the "Double Consciousness" show, which explored the conceptual-art practices of African Americans -- a shout-out to Du Bois' theory that blacks don't need to look at themselves through the eyes of others. Her achievements earned her the coveted 2011 David C. Driskell Prize for original contributions to African-American art.

See the full slideshow here:  http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/influential-black-women-arts-culture