Colorful abstract geometric pattern with shapes like circles, squares, waves, leaves, and lines in orange, green, black, and teal.

ABOUT BADC

& OUR MISSION

A woman with a orange headwrap holding a wooden carved bust sculpture in front of a colorful abstract art background.
A diverse group of four people, including an older man with glasses, a young woman with glasses, a young woman with natural hair, and a young man with a notepad, gathered around a laptop in a room with a colorful geometric mural and circular artwork on the wall.

Mission In Action

The mission of the Black Artists of DC is to educate and enrich the local, regional and global community to the cultural heritage and contemporary practices of artists of African descent. This is achieved by sponsoring public exhibitions, educational programs and community events that increase the awareness and documents of the various forms of visual expression.

  • A group of four people in an art studio creating colorful African-inspired artwork. They are surrounded by vibrant geometric and floral patterns in orange, green, and black on the wall.

    Goals & Objectives

    - Meet regularly

    - Learn and teach art skills

    - Share resources

    - Preserve & promote our artistic legacy

    - Encourage collaboration and creativity

    - Create cross-generational training

    - Support each other’s work and success

    - Advocate for Black artists through community action

    - Use cultural and creative energy to uplift our people

    - Support individual and group growth

    - Align with Afrikan progress worldwide

    - Build & sustain a market for Afrikan art

  • A diverse group of four African American people at an art studio, two women and two men, with two women painting on small canvases, one man observing, and the other man working with clay. The background features colorful geometric and abstract art.

    Membership Benefits

    ✓ Workshops

    ✓ Classes

    ✓ Studio Visits

    ✓ Critiques

    ✓ Business Meetings

    ✓ Excursions

    ✓ Group Exhibitions

    ✓ Mentoring

    ✓ Summer Bridge Training Program

    ✓ Archiving your achievements

    ✓ Attend lectures with world class artists

    ✓ Posting on the BADC Blog

  • A woman with dark skin, wearing an orange headwrap, working on a wooden sculpture of a face, with a colorful abstract background and a purple and blue butterfly floating nearby.

    Weekly Listings

    1. Artists’ Opportunities

    2. Calls for Exhibitions

    3. Residencies

    4. Grants & Fellowships

    5. Employment

    6. Art Related Articles

    7. Invitation to Artist’s Events

    8. Subscription to Jembe (the annual list of accomplishments)

    9. Work Opportunities Fellow Artists

    10. Supportive International Community

    11. Gain hands-on experience across art management, public relations, advertising, web development, and print production.

Our Board of Directors

  • A smiling Black woman with short gray hair, wearing turquoise earrings, a matching turquoise necklace, and a white top, standing against a plain white background.

    Claudia (Aziza) Gibson-Hunter

    PRESIDENT

  • Close-up portrait of a middle-aged man with glasses, a beard, and short curly hair, wearing a beige jacket over a black shirt.

    Akili Ron Anderson

    BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • Smiling man wearing glasses, tuxedo, and bow tie.

    Magruder Murray

    TREASURER

  • A man standing with his arms crossed, smiling, wearing glasses and a multicolored striped shirt.

    Claude Elliott

    CHAIR OF GRANTS COMMITTEE

Our Legacy

BADC: Committed to Building a Community of Dynamic Black Artists

Black Artists of DC (BADC) was founded in 1999 by artists Viola Leak, PLANTA, and Claudia Aziza Gibson-Hunter to address the need for greater communication, visibility, and mutual support among local Black artists. Since its inception, BADC has grown to include members, associates, and supporters from a wide range of artistic disciplines who have lived, worked, or been educated in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

The group meets monthly to discuss collective projects, critique new work, and examine issues impacting the local arts community. Support is offered to artists at all stages of their careers—emerging, mid-career, and mature practitioners alike. BADC members work across a broad spectrum of media, including painting, sculpture, abstraction, landscape, installation, glass, and video.

BADC has a deep understanding of the power of images to educate, encourage, inspire, and foster critical thinking, while also affirming beauty as an essential cultural force. Guest speakers regularly join meetings to share insights on artistic practice, the business of art, and scholarly research, expanding dialogue and strengthening professional development. Together, members plan and execute exhibitions, publish catalogs, and organize art events that engage the broader community. Through this work, BADC reflects and contributes to the cultural richness of a cosmopolitan nation’s capital.

THE PURPOSE of Black Artists of DC is to create a Black artists’ community to promote, develop and validate the culture, artistic expressions and aspirations of past and present artists of Black-Afrikan ancestry in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Black and white portrait of an elderly woman with glasses, wearing a colorful painter's apron, holding a paintbrush, surrounded by colorful paintings and yarn.