Brooklyn Museum's 'We Wanted a Revolution' Examines Black Radical Women Artists 1965-85
From April 21 to September 17, 2017, the Brooklyn Museum showcased 'We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women 1965-85,' curated by Catherine Morris and Rujeko Hockley. This exhibition was part of the Sackler Center for Feminist Art's 'Year of Yes' and highlighted artists such as Emma Amos, Barbara Jones-Hogu, and Carrie Mae Weems. Divided into five sections, it included archival items like a 1979 open letter denouncing racist practices. Notable pieces featured were Elizabeth Catlett's 'Target' (1970) and Faith Ringgold's 'For the Women's House' (1971). The exhibition addressed the artists' estrangement from mainstream feminism and referenced Audre Lorde's 1985 essay, which critiqued institutional responses to structural exclusion.
Key facts
- Exhibition ran April 21 – September 17, 2017 at Brooklyn Museum
- Curated by Catherine Morris and Rujeko Hockley
- Part of Sackler Center for Feminist Art's 'Year of Yes' tenth anniversary programming
- Featured over 15 black women artists including Emma Amos, Elizabeth Catlett, Faith Ringgold
- Included archival materials like 1979 Artists Space protest letter and 1971 museum forum broadsheet
- Showed Howardena Pindell's video 'Free, White and 21' originally exhibited in Ana Mendieta's 1980 AIR Gallery show
- Referenced collectives including Spiral (founded 1963) and the Black Arts Movement
- Examined tensions between institutional display and radical political art practices
Entities
Artists
- Jared Quinton
- Audre Lorde
- Georgia O'Keeffe
- Marilyn Minter
- Judy Chicago
- Beverly Buchanan
- Emma Amos
- Barbara Jones-Hogu
- Samella Lewis
- Elizabeth Catlett
- Hannah Black
- Dana Schutz
- Ana Mendieta
- Senga Nengudi
- Howardena Pindell
- Faith Ringgold
- Betye Saar
- Lorna Simpson
- Carrie Mae Weems
- Blondell Cummings
- Yvonne Rainer
- Judith Butler
- Stuart Hall
- Malcolm X
- Rosa Parks
- Fred Hampton
- Mark Clark
- Emmett Till
Institutions
- Brooklyn Museum
- ARTMargins Online
- Sackler Center for Feminist Art
- Artists Space
- Whitney Museum
- AIR Gallery
- Black Panther Party
- Judson School
Locations
- New York
- Chicago
- United States
- Ohio
- Kennebunkport
- Maine
- Los Angeles
- Cuba