The Black Arts Council (BAC) was an arts organization located in Los Angeles and founded in 1968, to advocate for African-American artists and support their community. [1] Founded by Cecil Fergerson and Claude Booker (black art preparators who worked at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA), the organization comprised African-American artists, staff members, and other city residents who aimed to promote African-American art in Los Angeles. When the Black Arts Council was founded in 1968, every LACMA board member was white. [2]
The organization grew to over 1,000 members in two years. [3] It not only pressured LACMA to organize exhibitions for African-American artists, but also did extensive work supporting artists outside the museum. [4] The BAC organized student field trips to art exhibits, gave lectures at schools, and curated art exhibitions at various community locations and events. [4]
The BAC's advocacy produced results in the form of two LACMA exhibitions: Three Graphic Artists: Charles White, David Hammons, and Timothy Washington in 1971, [1] and Panorama in 1972, featuring Noah Purifoy, John Outterbridge, and Betye Saar. [5] These exhibits paved the path for LACMA's 1976 exhibition Two Centuries of Black American Art , which traveled to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, and the Brooklyn Museum. [5]
The BAC ceased activities in 1974 following Booker's death. [4]