2 Books Published by Thames & Hudson on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

Through fourteen stories, this picture book edition of the multi-award-winning Black Artists Shaping the World makes the work and lives of Black artists accessible to younger readers.

Featuring full-color reproductions of fourteen artworks and illustrations of the artists at work, this picture book is an ideal introduction to contemporary art for young children, and a fantastic tool for teachers wishing to decolonize and diversify their classroom.

Sharna Jackson’s experience as a children’s author who has worked for over a decade in the cultural sector, both at Tate in London and at Site Gallery in Sheffield, is combined here with the curatorial expertise of Dr. Zoé Whitley, Director of London’s Chisenhale Gallery and co-curator of the landmark Tate exhibition “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power.” Their book features artists working in a variety of media from painting and sculpture to ceramics and installation.

The result is a refreshingly contemporary global celebration of Black artists at work today that will serve as inspiration to a new generation of aspiring young artists.

Illustrated in color throughout

Written by the acclaimed Black children’s author Sharna Jackson, this captivating book introduces young readers to twenty-six contemporary artists from Africa and the African diaspora. These artists work in various mediums, including painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, installation art, and sound art.

Among the featured artists are renowned figures such as Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, Amy Sherald (known for her portrait of Michelle Obama), and Kehinde Wiley. The book also highlights the accomplishments of British Turner Prize-winning painters Lubaina Himid and Chris Ofili, South African visual activist and photographer Zanele Muholi, Nigerian sound artist Emeka Ogboh, Sudanese painter Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq, Kenyan-British ceramicist Magdalene Odundo, Afrofuturist-inspired performance artist Harold Offeh, and moving image artist Larry Achiampong, among others.

With Sharna Jackson’s expertise as an award-winning children’s author and the curatorial knowledge of Dr. Zoé Whitley, co-curator of the groundbreaking exhibition "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power," this book serves as an essential introduction to the work of Black artists today. It is sure to inspire and enlighten a new generation of aspiring young artists.