Black Pulp! Collects 100+ Years of Black Art

The dazzling new exhibition at the African American Museum opens Friday.


“Game Changing Aces” by Derrick Adams. Black Pulp! runs through April 29.

The new Black Pulp! exhibition at the African American Museum in Philadelphia promises to be a dazzling and thought-provoking trip through the not-so-distant past. Curated by William Villalongo and Mark Thomas Gibson, the show includes magazines, comic books, posters and other artwork by Black artists and publishers, plus other artists who “foreground the Black experience.”

Black Pulp! includes historical and contemporary contributions — by Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Alain LeRoy Locke, Jackie Ormes and more — to rebut and contextualize the images. Among the artists whose work will be displayed are Derrick Adams, Laylah Ali, Renee Cox, William Downs, Felandus Thames, Hank Willis Thomas, Kara Walker and dozens more.

When the exhibition was in New York, the Huffington Post sang its praises: “Displayed in glass, like rare jewels of a past filled with conflicted realities are imaginative displays of adventure, charm, tenderness, and talented artistry — this show unveils hidden treasures while speaking tombs.”

The show opens Friday, February 2 with a free (with RSVP) reception, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Black Pulp! @ African American Museum in Philadelphia | February 2-April 29

Left: “Chillin’ with Liberty” by Renee Cox. Right: “Power of Fantastic” by William Downs.