hooks’ Argument and Relevance Today
In her 1995 article, bell hooks reflects on how African American artists are often only valued within mainstream art criticism when their work addresses race or politics. Rather than being seen as complex creators, they are frequently positioned as reactive or oppositional. hooks calls for a form of art engagement that recognises nuance, imagination, and spiritual expression—approaches often denied to marginalised artists (hooks, 1995).
During our workshop discussion, we were divided on whether the article still applied today. Some of us felt that it could sadly be re-published today with very few updates; others argued that the past 30 years have seen real progress and that the text needs to be read with those evolutions in mind.
Reflections on African American Art Visibility
After the session, I engaged in further research and recalled two exhibitions I had seen in Paris that offered contrasting approaches to visibility. One was The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism at the Centre Pompidou (2023), which showcased over 150 works and aimed to reframe African American art history within a broader global modernist narrative (AP News, 2023). The other was Le Modèle Noir: de Géricault à Matisse (The Black Model: From Géricault to Matisse) at the Musée d’Orsay (2019), which focused on how Black figures were represented in French painting and explored the political and artistic implications of these depictions. While not centred on African American artists, it contributed to the ongoing institutional shift toward confronting representation and legacy in Western art.
These exhibitions made me reflect on the broader shifts occurring in major institutions—such as the National Gallery of Art and Tate Modern—which are increasingly integrating African American artists in ways that acknowledge their work beyond protest or identity frameworks (National Gallery of Art, 2023; Tate, 2022).
A Tangent Through Architecture and the Brazilian Case
Our group’s conversation unexpectedly branched into architectural education, particularly through a peer’s comment about gender equity in Brazilian architecture. She noted that, arriving in the UK 30 years ago, she was shocked by how male-dominated the field was—especially compared to Brazil, where she had experienced much greater balance in architectural schools.
This contrast piqued my interest. After the discussion, I began looking into the Brazilian context. On a first glance, data is limited, but early signs are promising: today, most registered architects and urbanists in Brazil are women (RMJM, 2021). It’s also significant that some of the few female architects I was taught about during my own studies—Lina Bo Bardi, Carmen Portinho, and Arinda da Cruz Sobral—were all Brazilian or worked predominantly in Brazil (ArchDaily, 2022). I would like to dive deeper into this case, particularly regarding the intersections of gender and class, and how inclusion plays out in different cultural contexts.
Source: Felipe C. Albuquerque, Fernanda C. Lourenço, Giorgia H. Ferreira, and Gustavo F. Cardoso
Towards Educational Practice
We didn’t have time during the workshop to fully address the implications of hooks’ argument on education itself, but the conversation was starting to move in that direction. Beyond teaching diverse student groups, we also began to think about our responsibilities as educators and peers to challenge internalised narratives—particularly those that might lead Black artists to believe their work is only valued when overtly political, or that critics will only engage with them through the lens of identity.
Can education be the space where that pattern is broken?
What conclusions could we draw, or adapt, when considering architectural and art education in the UK?
References
Albuquerque, F.C., Lourenço, F.C., Ferreira, G.H. and Cardoso, G.F. (n.d.) Lina Bo Bardi – Casa de Vidro, 1951. Available at: Lina Bo Bardi – Teoria do Design (Accessed: 11 March 2025)
AP News (2023) Paris’ Pompidou Center Explores Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/93630fed68ff5117ae4ea9bedb1ff319 (Accessed: 11 March 2025).
ArchDaily (2022) Pioneering Women Architects from Latin America to Spain. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/990570/pioneering-women-architects-from-latin-america-to-spain (Accessed: 11 March 2025).
Centre Pompidou (2023) The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism – Exhibition Poster. Available at: [The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism] (Accessed: 11 March 2025).
hooks, b. (1995) ‘Talking Art as the Spirit Moves Us’, in Women Artists at the Millennium. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Musée d’Orsay (2019) Le Modèle Noir: de Géricault à Matisse. Available at: https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/node/403 (Accessed: 11 March 2025).
National Gallery of Art (2023) Black Artists in the National Gallery Collection. Available at: https://www.nga.gov/features/black-artists.html (Accessed: 11 March 2025).
RMJM (2021) The Other Half of Design: Ana Mendes. Available at: https://rmjm.com/the-other-half-of-design-ana-mendes/ (Accessed: 11 March 2025).
Tate (2022) African American Artists and the Collection. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/african-american-artists (Accessed: 11 March 2025).