What is Black art and why don't we know more about it? Museums, galleries and publications are overflowing with art from white and predominantly male artists. This has been the case for centuries. The summer of 2020 brought British history and its presentation in these public spaces, and in educational contexts under scrutiny, but it can be difficult to locate voices that have been overlooked for so long.

What Is Black Art? presents the histories, methodologies and socio-political perspectives of a generation of artists and writers who operated with and against the mainstream British art systems during the 1980s. Featuring work from artists such as Lubaina Himid, Sonia Boyce, Eddie Chambers and Rasheed Araeen, this book will provide access to a diverse and multifaceted set of voices that have been locked away in archives until now and resonate profoundly today.