Black Art Library

Asmaa Walton is not only the creator and founder of Black Art Library, an exhibition resource project located in Detroit, Michigan - she is a great example of someone who trust their ideas. That being said, Asmaa has demonstrated through her successful journey setting up the Black Art Library project - what you see as something that really matters, there’s others who will agree! The difference reveals those who seizes hidden or not so…opportunity to address a call of action - or respond to unvalued, or less represented talent work & give audible voice where it may be better heard. In addition create a needed resource - first, perceiving a good idea, AND nurturing it through to it’s birth. While Asmaa’s project focus on works of black artists - some not well known, it’s all part of art literature. Entrepreneurship, business savvy and education comes into play here. As a bright, motivated change maker, here’s one creative individual who not only think ‘out-of-the box,’ but designed the box. Deciding what valuable gems go in to be retrieved. Here’s what Asmaa has to say in her words about the Black Art Library…

Toward the very end of 2019 I started to think about how I wanted to use my social media to celebrate Black art during Black History Month. For 2018 I made daily posts showing works by Black artists paired with a few words about them. In 2019, I did the same thing for Black history month but I created a separate Instagram account to post on. For 2020 I wanted to do something a little more, and finally the idea for the Black Art Library came in mind. I wanted to create some sort of educational resource that others could use to learn about all the wonderful Black artists that I’m just beginning to learn about. This idea seemed like something that could have longevity, but I did not plan out all of the details from the beginning. I decided I didn’t want to wait until the perfect time to create it. I decided that I would just go with the flow, and see where the process takes me. A year later I’m super surprised at how far the project has come.

The collection includes exhibition catalogue, children’s books, artist memoirs, artist biographies, art history texts, and other art related ephemera that focuses on Black artists/Black art history. There are items that would interest not only art historians but individuals who may be new to the arts. The collection is meant to be accessible for people at all levels of education to reduce the intimidation that many may feel when entering art institutions, and other art spaces. The Black Art Library was inspired by spaces such as The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and projects such as the Free Black Women’s Library. It’s niche in the sense that is zeroed in on Black visual art and the history that informs it. The Black Art Library will eventually be a physical space that acts as a non-lending library based in Detroit.

This project seeks to fill those gaps in the access to visual arts education. I want to create a space where people of all ages can come spend time with these books, and learn things that they did not have the opportunity to learn in school, or at home. I want the Black Art Library to be a place local students can come to do research for a project, self taught artists can come be inspired by images that they see between pages. Where art lovers can spend a day falling in love with the work of an artist they have never even heard about before.

I had no idea that the Black Art Library would have grown into what it is today when I began collecting last year. I honestly think the pandemic as well as the reckonings o 2020 drove more people to exploring different ways to learn from, and support the Black community. For people who enjoy art and reading my project was a great thing to support in a way that could feel genuine. I made so many connections virtually and have been given so many opportunities during what has been a tough year for everyone. I’m grateful that this project has been something that so many people have been able to discover, and fall in love with the library.

Currently, the project is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit until May 2, 2021. I would love for everyone to get a chance to see what the project is all about. There are 400 plus books with a wide range of artists on display to read. Check it out and tell a friend to tell a friend, because the Black Art Library is truly a labor of love that I want to share with my community…with my home Detroit.

Article contributor,

Asmaa Walton