Black Rock, the artists’ retreat in Dakar, Senegal, is about to welcome 16 artists from around the world into its second residency. Formed by acclaimed artist, Kehinde Wiley, best known for painting President Obama’s portrait, Black Rock seeks to promote the work of artists whose work focuses on societal change. A Congolese painter whose art reflects how globalization and consumerism have transformed African society. A Nigerian-American filmmaker whose work focuses on cultures and experiences of Africans and the diaspora. A visual activist from Texas who forces her viewers to confront issues that are deemed difficult to tackle. The artists, who will spend several weeks at the lavish studio along a volcanic-rock-lined shore, express themselves in a variety of formats and come from across the globe. But many in this year’s group share Wiley’s passion for using art to explore social change. His most recent works include the stained glass fresco of breakdancers in the Moynihan Train Hall and his “Rumors of War” statue in Richmond, Va. — a Black man with ponytailed dreadlocks on horseback in the style of monuments to Confederate war generals.
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES