AFRICOBRA: Messages to the People

A psychedelic cornucopia on the revolutionary art collective that defined a new Black aesthetic in late 1960s Chicago

AFRICOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) was founded on the South Side of Chicago in 1968 by a collective of young Black artists, whose interest in Transnational Black Aesthetics led them to create one of the most distinctive visual voices in 20th-century American art. The key characteristics of what we now consider the classic AFRICOBRA look--vibrant, "cool-ade" colors, bold text, shine and positive images of Black people--were essential to everyday life in the community from which this movement emerged. It is a movement with roots in the soil, streets, classrooms, studios and living rooms of the South Side of Chicago, yet its influence has extended around the world.

This survey represents the first major appraisal of AFRICOBRA's work in Europe and builds on the exhibition AFRICOBRA: Messages to the People, which premiered at MOCA North Miami during Art Basel Miami 2018.

Artists include: Jeff Donaldson, Jae Jarrell, Wadsworth Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Nelson Stevens and Gerald Williams.