A conversation with Los Angeles-based artist Umar Rashid, who blends historical research with world-building. Umar’s practice -- which includes painting, sculpture and writing -- engages with colonial history, global interconnections, and alternative historical narratives, focusing on the period from 1648 to 1880. His work often incorporates elements of time travel and cosmic exploration. In this episode, Alayo and Umar discuss his upbringing on the South Side of Chicago in an artistic family, a recent exhibition he curated of Robert Colescott’s work at BLUM Gallery in LA, and the influence of figures such as Frantz Fanon and Federico Fellini on his practice.This special season focuses on the themes which are at the heart of Alayo’s upcoming book, 'Reframing Blackness: What’s Black About History of Art?', which unpacks the relationship between Blackness and “Western” art history through the lenses of: Museums, the curriculum, feminist art movements, muses and exhibitions. In this season Alayo will speak to artists who re-think, reposition and reframe Blackness and Black figures in this context.Pre-Order Reframing Blackness here.Keep up with us:Umar Rashid: @frohawktwofeathersAlayo Akinkugbe: @ablackhistoryofart @alayoakinkugbe
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Modupeola Fadugba
A conversation with Lagos-based artist Modupeola Fadugba, whose multidisciplinary practice spans installation, painting, film, and social engagement. Modupeola's work often explores subjects of race and pedagogy, as seen in her acclaimed 'Synchronized Swimmers' series and her Emmy-winning documentary on the all-Black senior synchronised swimming group, the Harlem Honeys and Bears. Modupeola's latest exhibition ‘Of Movement, Materials and Methods’ — on view at Gallery 1957 in London until June 29 — draws on her research into the Ojude Oba Festival in Ijebu Ode, Nigeria. The show marks a vibrant shift in her palette and incorporates intricate beading techniques she first encountered while interning with Maasai beadworkers in Tanzania during school holidays. Alayo and Modupeola discuss the Nigerian education system, the symbolic power of swimming in Modupeola's work and the influence of artists such as Nike Davies-Okundaye.This special season focuses on the themes which are at the heart of Alayo’s upcoming book, Reframing Blackness: What’s Black About History of Art?, which unpacks the relationship between Blackness and “Western” art history through the lenses of: Museums, the curriculum, feminist art movements, muses and exhibitions. In this season Alayo will speak to artists who re-think, reposition and reframe Blackness and Black figures in this context.Pre-Order Reframing Blackness here.Keep up with us:Modupeola Fadugba: @modupeola.fadugbaAlayo Akinkugbe: @ablackhistoryofart @alayoakinkugbe
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Qualeasha Wood
A conversation with Philadelphia-based artist Qualeasha Wood, whose multidisciplinary practice spans textiles, digital media, and performance. Qualeasha’s work investigates Black femme identity, Catholic iconography, and the psychological effects of the internet, often rendered through intricately tufted and woven tapestries. Her recent solo exhibition Malware at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London presents a series of glitch-heavy, hyper-pixelated works that reflect on digital anxiety, image control, and online mediation. In this episode, Alayo and Qualeasha discuss art school at RISD, the politics of self-presentation in virtual spaces, and the development of her debut performance bedrot, staged during the opening night of Malware.This special season focuses on the themes which are at the heart of Alayo’s upcoming book, Reframing Blackness: What’s Black About History of Art?, which unpacks the relationship between Blackness and “Western” art history through the lenses of: Museums, the curriculum, feminist art movements, muses and exhibitions. In this season Alayo will speak to artists who re-think, reposition and reframe Blackness and Black figures in this context.Pre-Order Reframing Blackness here.Keep up with us:Qualeasha Wood: @qualeashaAlayo Akinkugbe: @ablackhistoryofart @alayoakinkugbe
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Roméo Mivekannin
A conversation with Béninois artist Roméo Mivekannin, who works primarily in painting and installation. Roméo’s practice centres on marginalised Black figures in canonical European paintings, which he reimagines with his own self-portrait. His first exhibition in Italy, Black Mirror, at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia is on until the 27th of July. It features a new series of paintings on black velvet, marking a new chapter in his practice. In this episode, Alayo and Roméo discuss subjects including Italian cinema, the choreography of Pina Bausch, the universality of dance and his grandmother’s stories of European colonial injustice in Africa.This special season focuses on the themes which are at the heart of Alayo’s upcoming book, Reframing Blackness: What’s Black About History of Art?, which unpacks the relationship between Blackness and “Western” art history through the lenses of: Museums, the curriculum, feminist art movements, muses and exhibitions. In this season Alayo will speak to artists who re-think, reposition and reframe Blackness and Black figures in this context. Pre-Order Reframing Blackness here.Keep up with us:Roméo Mivekannin: @romeomivekanninAlayo Akinkugbe: @ablackhistoryofart @alayoakinkugbe
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Victor Ehikhamenor
A conversation with Victor Ehikhamenor. Victor is a multidisciplinary artist based in Nigeria; his practice encompasses painting, installation, writing and unique forms of mark making, such as perforation. On the occasion of his solo exhibition ‘The Enigma of Time Remembered’ at Maruani Mercier gallery in Brussels in 2024, Victor and Alayo discuss his life and practice.Victor shares how his upbringing in Edo State, surrounded by rich cultural traditions of art-making, has influenced his work. From the sacred wall paintings by women born in his hometown, to his series of perforated drawings and innovative use of materials like rosaries, Victor's work explores the duality of external projections and internal beliefs. Victor and Alayo also discuss his philanthropic efforts through the organisation Angels and Muse, and the diverse influences that shape his work, which include Nigerian Modernist artists and the writings of Ben Okri.Keep up with us:Victor: @victorsozaboyAlayo: @ablackhistoryofart @alayoakinkugbe
About A Black History of Art Presents: A Shared Gaze
Conversations with Black contemporary artists from across the globe hosted by Alayo Akinkugbe, the author of 'Reframing Blackness' and creator of the instagram platform A Black History of Art.
South Africa