Celebrating the Work of Black Women Artists in the Second-Wave Feminist Movement

Last year, the Brooklyn Museum introduced their “Year of Yes” programming, a year-long commitment to celebrating and reimagining feminism through art. The second-to-last exhibition in the series celebrates black women artists and activists during the second-wave feminist movement, as a means to distinguish and highlight women of color from “the primarily white, middle-class mainstream feminist movement.”

“We Wanted a Revolution” covers 1965 through 1985 and features works from Faith Ringgold, Lorraine O’Grady, Lorna Simpson, Kay Brown, Ana Mendieta, and an array of other women who made art during the politically charged era. On opening day, the museum will host a day-long symposium of performances and talks by scholars and artists in the exhibition. Don’t live in New York and can’t make it out? It’ll be livestreaming all day.

For a preview of the exhibit, check out our slideshow of selected works here:

“We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-1985” opens at the Brooklyn Museum on April 21 and closes on September 21.