CONNECTING MUSEUMS, ARTISTS & COMMUNITY | | Phyliss North, Rhonda Sewell and Patricia Andrews-Keenan during the Museum Leaders Meet & Greet at the Vjosa Café in Bridgeport during Pigment International’s exhibition Revolutionary. | | |
On Friday, August 14, Pigment International welcomed a distinguished group of museum professionals and DEI practitioners to Vjosa Café & Events in Bridgeport for an intimate meet-and-greet focused on Black art, cultural leadership and the work of building more inclusive museum spaces.
Organized by Rhonda Sewell of the Toledo Museum of Art, the gathering brought together museum leaders visiting Chicago for programming connected to the Obama Presidential Center, along with artists featured in Pigment’s current exhibition, Revolutionary.
Guests learned more about Pigment International, the mission behind Black Fine Art Month and the artists represented in Revolutionary, creating an opportunity for meaningful conversation and exchange between artists and museum professionals.
Among those attending were Yuma I. Tomes, PhD, Horning Chief of Institutional Culture and Civic Responsibility at The Phillips Collection; Virajita Singh, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Minneapolis Institute of Art; Marquis Miller of the Obama Presidential Center; and Miller’s wife, Pamela.
Pigment also shared a preview of Issue VI of Pigment Magazine, along with plans for October’s Black Fine Art Month, expanding the conversation around the visibility, collection, presentation and preservation of Black art.
The evening was a reminder that meaningful connections between artists and institutions begin with conversation—and that Chicago remains a powerful meeting ground for shaping the future of Black art.
| | ART & STORYTELLING INVIGORATE COMMUNITY IN SUMMIT | | The Pigment International art team - Barrett Keithley, Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Brenda Dickerson, Amorion Bell and Phyliss North; Dickerson and Fred Hampton Jr. view the mural; Barrett Keithley and Ray Thompson, whose University of Iowa number is on the basketball court at Wharton Elementary School; Dickerson and her mother Delilah and with April Kates-Ellison with the Nubian Nine an d The Lights On Collective. (photo credit Doug Kenney) | | |
A ribbon cutting at Argo Park marked the culmination of Summit Together Creative Placemaking, an eight-month initiative supported by Cook County Arts and administered by SGA Youth & Family Services through the Summit Community Network. The project transformed three public spaces through art, gardening, storytelling and community engagement.
Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar set the tone, emphasizing the power of community, art and storytelling—principles that are foundational to Pigment International and its work. Pigment was proud to be an integral partner in bringing the project to life, led by COO Phyliss North.
Artist Brenda Dickerson created the central Argo Park mural, honoring the residents, organizations and shared history that shape Summit. Barrett Keithley brought that same spirit to a mural on the basketball court. Artists Marlon Tobias, Blake Lenoir and Amorion Bell also contributed, with Dorian Sylvain providing project consulting.
The mural features historic figures including Emmett and Mamie Till and Fred Hampton. Fred Hampton Jr. joined the group to celebrate the mural’s unveiling. Hampton shared that having Chairman Hampton’s picture on this mural speaks to his enduring legacy. He believes it will engender conversation among Argo residents and visitors for years to come.
The celebration continued with a trolley tour highlighting the youth mosaic at Summit Park and the community garden at Summit Public Library.
Community partners included Lights On Collective, The Old Timers and Nubian Nine. Home Depot donations supplied paint and furnishings. Together, artists, residents, youth organizations and community groups demonstrated how creative placemaking can reclaim public spaces while strengthening connection, belonging and community pride.
| | AFROBOHEMIAN HOME | A LIVING ARCHIVE OF BLACK AMERICAN LIFE TO OPEN IN FORT COLLINS | | |
What if the Black home could be read as a museum—one filled not with objects behind glass, but with the furniture we inherit, photographs we keep, textiles we make, books we read, and traditions we pass from one generation to the next?
That question sits at the center of AfroBohemian Home: An Installation by Zsudayka Nzinga, opening September 2 at the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art at Colorado State University. Curated by Louise Cutler, the exhibition transforms the gallery into an immersive domestic environment where Black history, creativity, family, beauty, and memory converge.
Nzinga brings together handcrafted furniture, paintings, textiles, photographs, books, and personal artifacts to explore the Black home as sanctuary, classroom, creative space, and cultural archive. Drawing from anthropology, historical research, and family history, she examines the traditions, rituals, aesthetics, and acts of care that have sustained Black communities across generations.
The installation also reflects intergenerational creativity. Nzinga and her daughter, multidisciplinary artist Satra Terrell, handcrafted many of the furnishings, making the transmission of artistic knowledge and cultural memory part of the work itself.
AfroBohemian Home offers a powerful reminder: Black art does not exist only on gallery walls. It lives in our homes, objects, neighborhoods, craftsmanship, and stories.
AfroBohemian Home runs September 2–December 13, 2026. The opening reception and artist talk take place September 2. Admission is free.
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ARTIST BARRETT KEITHLEY’S MURAL FOR CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM DOCUMENTS DEMOCRACY | Barrett Keithley in front of his mural The People We Are at the Chicago History Museum. | |
Chicago artist Barrett Keithley brings art, history and civic dialogue together in a powerful mural celebrating democracy commissioned for the Chicago History Museum. In his mural, The People We Are: Democracy, Justice a More Perfect Union, Keithley explores how the framers developed the US Constitution at a time when Indigenous people, women, and African Americans were not considered citizens. Keithley, founder of Paint the City, has consistently used public art as a vehicle for community engagement, cultural expression and storytelling.
The mural combines changemakers from early US history with everyday Chicagoans demonstrating that democracy is an ongoing, collective effort. Keithley’s work reflects a belief that art belongs in the places where people live, gather and shape their communities. That commitment is especially resonant in a mural centered on democracy—a subject that invites viewers to consider participation, representation, freedom and the ongoing work of building a more inclusive city.
Keithley’s work is part of a larger conversation about the importance of Black artists in shaping the nation’s visual landscape. His practice demonstrates how murals can move beyond decoration to become public records of community, identity and aspiration.
Keithley founded Paint the City in 2020, expanding his commitment to creating opportunities for artists while transforming shared spaces through public art. His latest mural continues that tradition, connecting contemporary creativity with Chicago’s rich history of civic engagement.
Keithley’s work reminds us that public art can be both a reflection of where we are and a vision of where we hope to go.
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MORE ART & ABOUT IN THE VINEYARD | Carl Payne, DJ Dolla Bill, Steve Capers, Paul Branton, and Damon Williams; Artists Dwayne Glapion, Thomas Lockhart and Paul Branton; Tony West and Yasmin Curtis of Two Fish Restaurant. |
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BRING THIS ITALIAN HOME
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