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Celebrating Black History 2023: Black Excellence and Artistry from the Institute

Celebrate Black History Month (and CalArts’ 50th anniversary) this year by exploring these materials from the CalArts Library’s collections that feature some of the Institute’s Black creators and thinkers, past and present.

Among Others: Blackness at MoMA by Darby English (Editor); Charlotte Barat (Editor); Mabel Wilson (Text by)
Martine Syms (School of Art faculty)
Black Cultural Traffic: Crossroads in Global Performance and Popular Culture by Harry Justin Elam (Editor); Kennell Jackson (Editor)
Donald Byrd (School of Dance faculty)
Black Is, Black Ain't by Huey Copeland; Darby English; Greg Foster-Rice; Amy M. Mooney; Kimberly N. Pinder; Krista Thompson; Hamza Walker; Kenneth W. Warren
Edgar Arceneaux (School of Art, MFA 01)
Carrie Mae Weems: Kitchen Table Series by Carrie Mae Weems
Carrie Mae Weems (School of Art, BFA 81)
Charles Burnett: A Cinema of Symbolic Knowledge by James Naremore
Charles Burnett (School of Film/Video faculty)
Charles Gaines: Palm Trees and Other Works by Charles Gaines
Charles Gaines (School of Art faculty)
Chorus: A Literary Mixtape by Saul Williams (Editor); Dufflyn Lammers (Editor); Aja Monet (Editor)
Emmanuel "Def Sound" Ricketts (School of Music faculty)
In the Black Fantastic by Ekow Eshun
Kandis Williams (School of Art faculty)
Is God Is: A Play by Aleshea Harris
Aleshea Harris (School of Theater, MFA 14)
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
Vashti Harrison (School of Film/Video, MFA 14)
Mark Bradford: End Papers by Mark Bradford
Mark Bradford (School of Art, BFA 95, MFA 97)
Notes (8 pieces) : source : a new world : music : creative music by Wadada Leo Smith (Text by); John Corbett (Text by)
Wadada Leo Smith (School of Music faculty)
Rodney McMillian by Rodney McMillian
Rodney McMillian (School of Art, MFA 02)
The Shadows Took Shape by Naima J Keith; Zoé Whitley; Tegan Bristow; Studio Museum in Harlem.
Cauleen Smith (School of Art faculty)
Sir by Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle
Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle (School of Art + School of Critical Studies, MFA 12)
Theatrical Jazz: Performance, Àṣẹ, and the Power of the Present Moment by Omi Osun Joni L. Jones
Daniel Alexander Jones (School of Theater faculty)
Todd Gray: Euclidean Gris Gris by Todd Gray
Todd Gray (School of Art, BFA 79, MFA 89)
Unexplained Presence by Tisa Bryant
Tisa Bryant (School of Critical Studies faculty)
Violet by James Newton
James Newton (School of Music faculty)
Voice and Speech Training in the New Millennium: Conversations with Master Teachers by Nancy Saklad
Fran Bennett (School of Theater faculty)
“Waiting for the Bus” (from Social Text 18, no. 2 [2000]) by Sikivu Hutchinson
Sikivu Hutchinson (School of Critical Studies faculty)

Almost Utopia: 18th Street Arts Center 2009 Program Annual by 18th Street Arts Complex
William Ransom (School of Art faculty)
Asphalt by Carl Hancock Rux
Carl Hancock Rux (School of Theater faculty)
Black Acting Methods: Critical Approaches by Sharrell Luckett (Editor); Tia M. Shaffer (Editor)
Nataki Garrett (School of Theater, MFA 02)
Black American Portraits: From the Los Angeles County Museum of Art by Dhyandra Lawson; Jeffrey C. Stewart
Dhyandra Lawson (School of Art faculty)
Black Performance on the Outskirts of the Left by Malik Gaines
Malik Gaines (School of Critical Studies, MFA 99)
Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis; read by Don Cheadle; foreword read by Andrew Young; afterword read by Kabir Sehgal
Don Cheadle (School of Theater, BFA 86)
The Déjà Vu: Black Dreams & Black Time by Gabrielle Civil
Gabrielle Civil (School of Critical Studies faculty)
Gary Simmons by Thelma Golden (Contribution by); Maurice Berger (Editor); Gary Simmons (Artist)
Gary Simmons (School of Art, MFA 90)
Henry Taylor: The Only Portrait I Ever Painted Of My Momma Was Stolen by Henry Taylor; Zadie Smith (Contribution by); Charles Gaines (Contribution by)
Henry Taylor (School of Art, BFA 95)
L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema by Jacqueline Najuma Stewart, Jan-Christopher Horak, Allyson Nadia Field, eds.
Billy Woodberry (School of Art faculty)
Lyle Ashton Harris: Excessive Exposure: The Complete Chocolate Portraits by Okwui Enwezor; Lyle Ashton Harris
Lyle Ashton Harris (School of Art, MFA 90)
Noah Purifoy: Junk Dada by Noah Purifoy (Artist); Dale Davis (Contribution by); Franklin Sirmans; Yael Lipschutz; Kristine McKenna (Contribution by); Lowery Stokes Sims (Contribution by)
Noah Purifoy (School of Art alumnx [Chouinard 56])
The Outstanding Actor: Seven Keys to Success by Ken Rea
Damian D. Lewis (School of Theater faculty)
Sadie Barnette: Legacy and Legend by Sadie Barnette
Sadie Barnette (School of Art, BFA 06)
SENSES V by Edwin Livingston
Edwin Livingston (School of Music faculty)
Someone Took They Tongues: 3 Operas by Douglas Kearney
Douglas Kearney (School of Critical Studies, MFA 04)
Sound American No. 29: The Roscoe Mitchell Issue by Nate Wooley (Editor); Anthology of Recorded Music, Inc..
Roscoe Mitchell (School of Music faculty)
Transcending Boundaries: My Dancing Life by Donald McKayle
Donald McKayle (School of Dance faculty)
Venus: A Play by Suzan-Lori Parks
Suzan-Lori Parks (School of Theater faculty)
Young, Gifted and Black: A New Generation of Artists by Antwaun Sargent, ed.
Lauren Halsey (School of Art, BFA 12)

A. Gravgaard Madsen / P. Gudmundsen-Holmgreen by Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Bancroft (School of Music, BFA 11, MFA 13)
Ants Will Not Eat Your Fingers by California Institute of the Arts
Derek Webster (School of Theater, BFA 93)
The CalArts African Ensemble's Farewell Concert to Kobla Ladzekpo by CalArts World Music Festival; Yeko Ladzekpo; Alan Eder
Yeko Ladzekpo-Cole (School of Music faculty); Kobla Ladzekpo (School of Music faculty)
Fred Tinsley by Fred Tinsley
Frederick D. Tinsley (School of Music faculty)
The Jewel in the Lotus by Bennie Maupin
Bennie Maupin (School of Music faculty)
Murray's Steps by David Murray Octet; David Murray, Henry Threadgill, et al.
Curtis Clark (School of Music alumnx)
Nope: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Michael Abels
Michael Abels (School of Music alumnx)
Phfew by Michael Cain, Peter Epstein, Ralph Alessi
Michael Cain (School of Music, BFA 88, MFA 90)
Return from the Stars by Mark Turner, Jason Palmer, Joe Martin, and Jonathan Pinson
Jonathan Pinson (School of Music faculty)
Spirit Fiction by Ravi Coltrane
Ravi Coltrane (School of Music, BFA 90)
Suite for Max Brown by Jeff Parker
Jeff Parker (School of Music faculty)
Sunburst by Eddie Henderson
Alphonso Johnson (School of Music faculty)
Thanks for the Dance by Leonard Cohen
Sharon Robinson (School of Music alumnx)
Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt
Gabrial McNair (School of Music, BFA 95)
Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.
Francis Awe (School of Music alumnx)

Alonzo King's LINES Ballet: Choreography of Alonzo King by Alonzo King; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alonzo King (School of Dance, BFA 72, Honorary DFA 07)
Bamboozled by Spike Lee
Thomas Jefferson Byrd (School of Dance, MFA 82)
Brother to Brother by Rodney Evans
Rodney Evans (School of Film/Video, MFA 96)
Fefe: An African Musical Opera by Alfred Ladzekpo; California Institute of the Arts School of Music; CalArts African Ensemble
Alfred Ladzekpo (School of Music faculty)
Jackie Brown by Quentin Tarantino; Pam Grier; Samuel L Jackson (Actor); et al.
Lisa Gay Hamilton (School of Theater faculty)
Leimert Park: The Story of a Village in South Central Los Angeles by Jeannette Lindsay
Ben Caldwell (School of Film/Video faculty)
Me Broni Ba by Akosua Adoma Owusu; Adowa Adu-Gyamfi
Akosua Adoma Owusu (School of Art + School of Film/Video, MFA 08)
This is the Life by Ava DuVernay
Mone "Medusa" Smith (School of Music faculty)