We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85 was an exhibition held at the Brooklyn Museum of Art from April 21, 2017, through September 17, 2017. The exhibition surveyed the last twenty years of black female art. Forty artists and activists who dedicated their work to fight against racism, sexism, homophobia, and class injustice were presented. It was organized thematically, not chronologically or by authorship.
The structure of the exhibition
We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85 was organized by Catherine Morris, Sackler Family Senior Curator for the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, and Rujeko Hockley, former Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, with Allie Rickard, Curatorial Assistant, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum. The exhibition was part of A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum, a yearlong series of exhibitions celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. Leadership support was provided by Elizabeth A. Sackler, the Ford Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Anne Klein, the Calvin Klein Family Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Mary Jo and Ted Shen, and an anonymous donor. Financial support was also provided by Annette Blum, the Taylor Foundation, the Antonia and Vladimir Kulaev Cultural Heritage Fund, Beth Dozoretz, The Cowles Charitable Trust, and Almine Rech Gallery.
Among the diverse media showcased were conceptual art, performance, film, video, printmaking, photography, and painting. Despite substantial distinctions between these mediums, the exhibition's overarching objective of amplifying the voices of Black female artists and shedding light on the oppression faced by Black female or non-binary artists within the art world and broader culture unified the showcased artworks. "We Wanted a Revolution" encompassed nine sections, each dedicated to a particular theme or medium.
Artists and movements
Spiral and The Black Arts Movement
Spiral is a group of Black artists that was active between 1963 and 1965. It was formed by Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis, Hale Woodruff and Charles Alston on July 5, 1963.
Emma Amos, born 1938
Emma Amos was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1938. She is an African American postmodernist painter and printmaker. Some of her works were exhibited including:
Flower Sniffer, 1966
Sandy and Her Husband, 1973
Elizabeth Catlett, 1915–2012
Elizabeth Catlett was a Mexican-American Modernist sculptor whose subject matter was often concentrated on black female experience. Elizabeth was born in Washington, D.C.
Homage to My Young Black Sisters, 1968
Jeff Donaldson, 1932–2004
Jeff Donaldson was an African-American visual artist of the Black Arts Movement.
Wives of Shango, 1969
"Africobra: African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists; 10 in Search of a Nation" Black World 19, no. 12 (October 1970)
Rudy Irwin (Baba Kachenga), d. 1969
WEUSI Art Creators, undated
Jae Jarrell, born 1935
Ebony Family, 1968
Urban Wall Suit, 1969
Wadsworth A. Jarrell, born 1929
Revolutionary, 1971
Lois Mailou Jones, 1905–1998
Ode to Kinshasa, 1972
Ubi Girl from Tai Region, 1972
Lary Neal, 1937–1981
"Any Day Now: Black Art and Black Liberation", Ebony (August 1969)
Faith Ringgold, born 1930
Early Works #25: Self-Portrait, 1965
Jeanne Siegel, 1929–2013
"Why Spiral?" Artnews 65, no.5 (September 1966) First Group Showing: Works in Black and White, 1963 Jet, 1971 Weusi Group Portrait, 1970s
Prints and Posters
Emma Amos, born 1938
Summer 1968, 1968
Kay Brown, 1932–2012
Sister with Braids, the late 1960s – early 1970s
Willowbrook, 1972
Elizabeth Catlett, 1915–2012
Malcolm X Speaks for Us, 1969
Harriet, 1975
There Is a Woman in Every Color, 1975
Madonna, 1982
Barbara Jones-Hogu, born 1938
I'm Better Than These Motherfuckers, 1970
Nation Time, 1970
Relate to Your Heritage, 1971
Unite, 1971
Black Men We Need You, 1971
Carolyn Lawrence, born 1940
Uphold Your Men, 1971
Samella Lewis, born 1924
Family, 1967
Field, 1968
"Where We At" Black Women Artists
Kay Brown, 1932–2012
"Where We At' Black Women Artists". Feminist Art Journal 1, no. 1 (April 1972) Kick of Life, 1974 She Sees No Evil; She Hears No Evil; She Speaks No Evil, 1982 Sister Alone in a Rented Room, undated