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Celebrate Blackness

In 1975, the founders of Black Dimensions in Art, Inc., engaged and inspired by the Black Arts Movement, civil rights movement, and Black liberation movement, applied this energy to create a supportive space to showcase nationally known Black Artists as well as their own community of Black artists. Author Mars Hill and artist Margaret Cunningham (founder of Hamilton Hill Arts Center) likely did not imagine, back in 1975, that nearly fifty years later the work of Black Dimensions in Art, Inc. would be thriving.

BDA will celebrate its 50th Anniversary in 2025. For the first time since BDA’s founding, we are organizing and archiving a comprehensive history of the organization. This archive is the foundation of our 50th Anniversary vision and its assembly will guide our efforts as we plan a series of anniversary exhibitions, related programs and a documentary film. We will reflect on who BDA has been, who BDA is now, and who BDA will become. Our anniversary exhibitions will be held at The Tang Teaching Museum and the Albany Institute of History and Art. We will also organize intergenerational talks as part of our public programming, reuniting our founders and introducing them to young and up and coming artists from the local community. 

We want to recognize the 50th anniversary of Black Dimensions in Art, Inc. in a manner that reflects its significance–honoring the legacy of artists who marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. all the way up to the contemporary struggle for civil rights. Through our work we support our community by reminding and inspiring its youth and elder generations to recognize and celebrate the role that Black artists and arts organizations play in enriching people’s lives. We aim to empower our community to discover, activate, and nurture the creative potential within themselves. 

In addition to our ongoing programming, in our 50th anniversary year we are seeking support to help fund our documentary film, two major exhibitions and the corresponding public programming planned for this 50th anniversary project.  Both the film and exhibitions will present BDA as part of an artistic continuum of historic significance in the visual arts. Thank you for your support as we continue the work of uplifting Black histories, legacies, and the future of Black excellence in the arts!