Asmaa Walton

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Asmaa Walton is an art educator and founder of the Black Art Library, a collection of resources about Black visual artists. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Walton grew up in Detroit. Although she frequently spent time in the Detroit Institute of Arts, she lacked arts education in school. [2] She attended a culinary school before enrolling at Michigan State University. [3] After graduating with a BFA in art education, she then completed a master's degree in arts politics from New York University. [4] She was the KeyBank Diversity Leadership Fellow at the Toledo Museum of Art and the Saint Louis Art Museum’s 2019-2020 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow. [4]

Black Art Library

Walton noticed that there were few works on display by Black artists in major museums, and that few Black visitors found these museums accessible. [3] In an effort to improve arts education, she founded the Black Art Library during Black History Month in 2020, posting images of books and resources about Black visual culture and Black aesthetics to an Instagram account. [2] [5] She eventually collected over 200 resources. [6] Walton created the online project for people seeking to know more about Black art, which is often excluded from the permanent collections of museums: "I really wanted to create a resource for our education. I wanted Black people to be able to use this resource and find an interest in art, or to do research, or just sit down and learn some things they might have already known but learn some new information about it." [2]

While the project was digital in its first iteration, Walton opened a physical pop-up version of the Black Art Library in Highland Park, Michigan, in summer 2020. It was then displayed at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit from January 21 to April 18, 2021. [3] Walton sees the archive as a "hybrid" community space where people can be comfortable while learning. [2] Visitors can interact with and touch artist monographs, exhibition catalogs, children's books, artist memoirs, artist biographies, art history texts, and other art-related ephemera. [7]

In 2021, Walton collaborated with Bottega Veneta, the Italian luxury fashion house, on a Black Art Library display at a pop-up store in Detroit. [8] [9] [10] Walton was also named as a contributor to the Shepherd, a new arts complex in Detroit. A version of the Black Art Library at the Shepherd will be called the East Village Arts Library. [11]

References

  1. Diakite, Parker (8 January 2021). "Meet The Woman Behind Detroit's New Black Art Library". Travel Noire . Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Harrison, Mia Imani (5 November 2020). "How a Black Art Library Quickly Gained Momentum". Hyperallergic . Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Bozick, John (30 December 2020). "Talking the Black Art Library Project with Asmaa Walton". Detroitisit. Archived from the original on 16 October 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 Valentine, Victoria L. (2 August 2019). "Latest News in African American Art: Asmaa Walton Named Bearden Fellow, Addressing Diversity Challenges, Solange Collaborating with Museums & More". Culture Type. Archived from the original on 23 May 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  5. Sargent, Antwaun (1 December 2021). "Asmaa Walton: Black Art Library". Gagosian Quarterly. ISSN   2475-1715. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  6. Giles, Paris (5 February 2021). "Black Art Library Presents Over 200 Texts on Black Art". BLAC Detroit Magazine. ISSN   2768-6434. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  7. Hamra, Jennifer (10 February 2021). "Our Visit to Asmaa Walton's 'Black Art Library' Exhibition at MOCAD". Good Life Detroit. Archived from the original on 4 May 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  8. Feighan, Maureen (20 December 2021). "Black Art Library spreads the word about Black artists one book at a time". The Detroit News . Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  9. Newbold, Alice (25 October 2021). "Five things to know about Bottega Veneta's Detroit SS22 show". Vogue Australia . Archived from the original on 21 October 2025. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  10. Friedman, Vanessa (22 October 2021). "Why Is an Italian Luxury Brand Having a Show in Michigan?" . The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  11. Sheets, Hilarie M. (26 October 2021). "New Arts Complex Aims to Build Community in Detroit" . The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. ProQuest   2585940266. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.