Our Work
In collaboration with The Black Canon, the significant collection of activist, collector, and historian James E. Wheeler, BAA's archival and exhibition efforts illuminate the lives and careers of numerous Black artists across diverse mediums.
We are also collaborating with Michael Cortor, son of renowned Black Chicago Renaissance painter Eldzier Cortor, to curate a virtual exhibition that examines Cortor's prints and paintings in dialogue with the works of his contemporaries from Chicago.
Learn more about our current projects below.
Vinyl Legacies
January 2025
Spearheaded by David Ellis, Vinyl Legacies, BAA's inaugural archival initiative, focuses on the comprehensive cataloging, digitization, and preservation of The Black Canon's extensive collection of over 12,000 vinyl records showcasing Black music.
Candid Culture
Photography from The Black Canon
The James E. Wheeler Collection stands as one of the most extensive archives of Black film and memorabilia globally. Comprising over 40,000 artifacts spanning from the 1920s onward, the collection includes a remarkable array of films, books, vintage posters, photographs, magazines, & more, offering a comprehensive chronicle of Black cultural and cinematic history.
Curated by Dr. Kelli Morgan, Candid Culture is a virtual exhibition that delves into The Black Canon's expansive archive of candid photography, highlighting the vibrancy of Black performance, community activism, and artistic exhibitions in Detroit during the pinnacle of the Civil Rights Era.
Eldzier Cortor
A Dialogue Among Friends
The Black Chicago Renaissance, spanning from the 1930s to the 1950s, was a cultural movement that fostered the flourishing of African American art, music, literature, and intellectual thought in Chicago. It was characterized by the emergence of influential figures like Eldzier Cortor, and several other artists, writers, and activists, who contributed to the broader Black cultural awakening in the United States.
A Dialogue Among Friends is a virtual exhibition curated by Michael Cortor & Dr. Kelli Morgan that explores the visual and cultural dialogues Eldzier Cortor engaged in with his contemporaries, including Gwendolyn Brooks, Lorraine Hansberry, Charles White, Margaret Burroughs, and Archibald Motley.
Arts Extended Gallery Inc.
Forthcoming
Inspired by the transformative power of art, the founders of Arts Extended—a collective of artists, arts educators, and collectors—established a space to showcase their work, receive professional feedback, teach their students, and engage in discussions about emerging trends in art collecting. Seventy-two years later, the organization remains active, operating from the living room of Dr. Cledie Taylor’s home on Detroit’s west side. BAA is in the process of securing the Arts Extended organizational archive.
