A Brief History of Black British Art

Black artists have been making major contributions to the global art scene since at least the middle of the twentieth century. While some of these artists - of African and Caribbean descent - have been embraced at times by the art world, they have mostly been neglected or have not received the recognition they deserve.

Taking its starting point as the Windrush-era Caribbean Artists Movement, and considering and contextualising the political, cultural, and artistic climate from which it emerged, this concise introduction showcases the work of seventy Black-British artists from the 1930s until the present. Artworks in a range of media offer a lens through which to understand some of the events and issues confronted and explored, shedding light on the unique Black-British experience. Constructed around contemporary ideas on race, national identity, citizenship, gender, class, sexuality and aesthetics in Britain, this book interrogates themes at the heart of Black-British Art, revealing art in dialogue with a complex past and present. Featuring some of the most prominent and influential Black-British artists of recent decades, as well as less well-known artists, it also includes work from a new generation of artists at the forefront of contemporary art. At a time when visibility within the art world has taken on a renewed urgency, this is a timely and accessible introduction celebrating Black-British artists and their outstanding contribution to art history.