Kehinde Wiley’s photo essay for Paper magazine, Black Lives Have Mattered For Thousands Of  Years is as he says a question of “what it is to be Black in 2015”  Check out Paper to read his full statement and see all of the photos by clicking here.

30 Americans One Nation, Thirty Experiences, is a collection of contemporary African-American art from The Rubell Family Collection currently being shown at the Detroit Institute Of Arts. Thirty of the most relevant African-American artists use humor, social commentary, beauty and history to question and re-formulate notions of identity. Whether it’s Gary Simmons likening the deadly racism of the KKK to the casual fun of the children’s game, Duck Duck Goose, or Mickalene Thomas finding glamour in Black women deemed pedestrian by society each installation seeks to explode Black convention. The show will run from October 18th to January 18,2016 with special events for members and community events including a concert from Tunde Olaniran on October 22nd and a daylong conference with a keynote address from Toure on November 6th. Tickets for the exhibit and the events can be purchased here. See some of the pieces below:

An Economy Of Grace is the filmed documentation of Kehinde Wiley’s project of painting women for a first time. Wiley chose Black women as his subject and he shares the process of scouting and conceptualizing the women on canvas.

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Kehinde Wiley, who’s become known for his paintings of African-American men inspired by classic portraits, recently made Black women his subjects. Wiley’s first time making portraits of women is the focus of the documentary, An Economy Of Grace. Women from New York City are dressed in couture gowns and depicted in Wiley’s unique vision of Black femininity. The documentary will air on PBS September 5th.