How a Black Art Library Quickly Gained Momentum

After realizing that arts education in the United States was not only failing the Black communities today but the conservation of Black histories, Detroit native Asmaa Walton sought to create an alternative education. Black Art Library started as a Black History Month experiment where Walton would post the covers of anthologies, art books, exhibition catalogues, and monographs from Black visual culture. As more people began to follow the page and show interest in her hobby, Walton began to expand the scope of the project. I stumbled upon the page when I was doing my daily ritual of researching Black artists and was amazed to find that so much literature about something I find so dear exists without the need for a library card.  …

In the interview below, I talk to Walton about her project and the importance of art education and decolonial archive projects.

By Mia Imani Harrison, Hyperallergic