The 2024-25 BIPOC Book Display, “The Black Artist,” curated by Neiman Mocombe ’26, opened with a kickoff event on Friday, September 27 at Hawthorne-Longfellow.
Curator’s Statement
Neiman Mocombe ’26
The Black Artist
This exhibition aims to exemplify, appreciate, and celebrate the individual accomplishments of black artists from the precolonial period to the present. Similar to how Edison, Beethoven, and Da Vinci are archetypes ingrained in our societal consciousness for what it means to be an inventor, artist, or icon – black people around the world have created invaluable objects, genres, and methods, which we commonly overlook, intentionally or passively.
The collection of books I have curated exemplifies the extraordinary tenacity, intellect, and resilience of black artists. The collection also tackles (broadly) what it means to be an artist. Since art as we know it is usually constricted into painting, sculpture, and drawing, I wanted to expand the possibilities of who could be considered an artist. For this reason, I have included works that showcase athletes, orators, academics, scientists, business tycoons, etc.
The achievements of these (black) individuals become even more remarkable when we consider that these artists accomplished them while enduring unimaginable levels of bigotry, violence, and animosity solely due to the color of their skin.
Through this exhibition, I hope you can learn that the world around you, the words you hear, and the things you see resulted from black creativity and, by extension, the black artist.