Tate to release curator's history of Black British art

Tate Publishing is to release A Brief History of Black British Art by critic, curator and researcher Rianna Jade Parker.

The book showcases the work of over sixty Black British artists from the 1960s until the present, taking the London-based Caribbean Artists Movement as its starting point. 

"The works included here offer a lens through which to understand and contextualise the political and cultural climate, while shedding light on the unique Black British experience," the publisher explains. "Constructed around contemporary thoughts on race, nationhood, citizenship, gender, class, sexuality and aesthetics in Britain, this book explores themes at the heart of Black British art."  

Tate Publishing holds world rights to the book, and will publish in paperback later this month.

Parker is a founding member of the interdisciplinary art collective Thick/er Black Lines, whose work was displayed at the "Get Up, Standup Now: Generations of Black Creative Pioneers" exhibition at London's Somerset House. She is a contributing editor at Frieze Magazine, and co-curated "War Inna Babylon: The Community's Struggle for Truths and Rights" at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. 

Parker noted: "Before we can acutely assess the status of Black artists in Britain today, we have to look plainly and honestly at our art histories. I believe that my sensibilities as a Black woman born in Britain have enabled a balanced and respectful interpretation that is essential for a general audience - especially as we move from a time of cold reception and contentiousness that greeted Black artist in British institutions, to the overdue iconising of our best cultural producers."