Black History Painting: Glossing the Outlines

'Black history Painting: Glossing the Outlines' was a paper presented by Dr Kimathi Donkor on 27th March, 2026 to 'Histories & Painting: Contemporary Negotiations - A Painting Symposium' in the Triskel Arts Centre, Cork City, Ireland. The symposium was organised by MTU Crawford College of Art and Design. See the attached flyer and websites for more details about the symposium.

Donkor's key argument was that 'Black History Painting' is a vibrant but under-recognised genre of international, multi-generational practice, characterised by its depiction or representation of factual or mythic narratives which centre people from those global, African, indigenous and diaspora communities who are identified as black. The artists who create black history paintings usually intend to celebrate human dignity and integrity, although that noble aim can sometimes be filtered through an ironic or critical lens. The paper discusses how the specific term 'Black History Painting' is rarely used, even though the literature demonstrates wide recognition of the historical content in Black Painting. The paper outlines an initial survey of artworks and artists that characterise the genre and proposes ancient, African antecedents.

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