Reframing Blackness: What’s Black about “History of Art”?

by Alayo Akinkugbe

‘Akinkugbe is a brilliant new writer and thinker challenging art history. This book is urgent, essential, accessible and it needs to be on every art history reading list' Bernardine Evaristo

‘A sparkling debut. Bold, eloquent, personal and clear-eyed, Alayo Akinkugbe is a major new voice in writing about art, museums and culture. This book will shift your frames of reference, expand your canvas, and give you hope for the future — changing how you look at art while also making you look again at your ways of seeing’ Dan Hicks, author of The Brutish Museums

‘Thorough, accessible, essential’ Katy Hessel, author of The Story of Art without Men

'To explore a history of Black communities across centuries of art is a love letter to the practice, a gift of knowledge and an ode to those who’s creative expressions give us much to be inspired by today' Sofia Akel, cultural historian and founder


Since the inception of mainstream art history, Blackness has been distinctly ignored.

In Reframing Blackness, art historian and founder of @ABlackHistoryOfArt, Alayo Akinkugbe challenges this void.

Exploring the presentation of Black figures in Western art, as well as Blackness in museums, in feminist art movements and in the curriculum, Alayo unveils an overlooked but integral part of our collective art history.

Refreshing and accessible, this promises to start a much-needed conversation in culture and education.

Genres: Nonfiction

167 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2025

Reviews

[kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book very interesting and enjoyable to read. Akinkugbe critiques the Eurocentric canon while highlighting the work of Black artists, curators, and thinkers. I found myself contrasting my own university experiences (at CU Boulder and ASU) in the US to that experienced by the author in the UK. The systemic and educational differences—how they appear (or fail) in coursework and institutional framing—were fascinating to observe, and added a valuable layer of reflection to a thought-provoking book.

[phebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

should be required reading!! I started uni only a few years after Akinkugbe did, reading the same subject, but at the Other university (although cambridge is always “the other one” in my mind). we share some academic interests so parts of it felt familiar to me, but there were still some new discoveries— and tbf it’s always enjoyable to revisit my favorite aspects of the history of art :•)

[Dominique Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative. Reflective. Accessible.

Akinkugbe shares detailed reflections of her time at university studying art history at Cambridge. She explores her experience of what it was like studying the subject and how her lived experience exposed inequalities about the way art history is taught as well as the representation issues surrounding which artists were studied.

The author reflects on efforts that artists, academics and curators have undertaken to interrogate the gaps in art history through art, literature and exhibitions in order to bring these issues to light. Akinkugbe emphasises the importance of representation in the arts across the industry, beyond hospitality roles - from restoration and care to archiving - in order to preserve history and reflect the perspective doesn’t begin and end with the white male gaze.

Written in such accessible language with clear examples and case studies to illustrate her points, Akinkugbe’s book clearly articulates how art education in its current iteration has failed many students (and art lovers) and advocates for change that is long overdue.

[Tutankhamun18 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short book with the aim to relook at art history and the way it is taught at university and the way large institutions (within the UK) present it with the question: Where is blackness? Where are the Black Artists? Where are the depictions of Black People? Throughout it intersperses the authors own experiences as a student of art history and what motivated her to create an instagram of the topic. I appreciated the author situating herself.

I think it does what it sets out to do fantastically and this book introduced me to so many great artists including Faith Ringgold, Kudzanai-Violet Mwami and Amoako Boafo.

Big recommend!

Only caveat is that there are not enough pictures in this book (as always in art books). I spent time while reading googling each artist and this really enhanced my experience of reading!

[gaverne Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly great book!