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Find definitions of over 400 terms, including art movements, styles and techniques

Diaspora British black arts movement Black Audio Film Collective Identity politics The Blk Art Group Diaspora Altermodern Relational aesthetics Postcolonial art Feminist art Creolisation Afrofuturism
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Donald Rodney, ‘In the House of My Father’ 1996–7

Diaspora

Diaspora is a term used to describe movements in population from one country to another and is often cited in discussions about identity

British black arts movement

The British black arts movement was a radical political art movement founded in 1982 inspired by anti-racist discourse and feminist critique, which sought to highlight issues of race and gender and the politics of representation

Black Audio Film Collective

The Black Audio Film Collective is a pioneering arts initiative founded in 1982 whose ground-breaking experimental works engaged with black popular and political culture in Britain and the black / Asian Diasporas
Sonia Boyce OBE, ‘From Tarzan to Rambo: English Born ‘Native’ Considers her Relationship to the Constructed/Self Image and her Roots in Reconstruction’ 1987

Identity politics

Identity politics is the term used to describe an anti-authoritarian political and cultural movement that gained prominence in the USA and Europe in the mid-1980s, asking questions about identity, repression, inequality and injustice and often focusing on the experience of marginalised groups
Donald Rodney, ‘How the West was Won’ 1982

The Blk Art Group

Formed in Wolverhampton, England, in 1979, The Blk Art Group was an association of young black artists who, inspired by the black arts movement, raised questions about what black art was, its identity and what it could become in the future
Donald Rodney, ‘In the House of My Father’ 1996–7

Diaspora

Diaspora is a term used to describe movements in population from one country to another and is often cited in discussions about identity
Bob and Roberta Smith, ‘Make Art Not War’ 1997

Altermodern

Altermodern is a term coined by curator Nicolas Bourriaud in 2009, to describe art made as a reaction against standardisation and commercialism, in the context of globalisation
Philippe Parreno, ‘6.00 PM’ 2000–6

Relational aesthetics

Term created by curator Nicholas Bourriaud in the 1990s to describe the tendency to make art based on, or inspired by, human relations and their social context
Cildo Meireles, ‘Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project’ 1970

Postcolonial art

Postcolonial art refers to art produced in response to the aftermath of colonial rule, frequently addressing issues of national and cultural identity, race and ethnicity
Guerrilla Girls, ‘Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?’ 1989

Feminist art

Feminist art is art by artists made consciously in the light of developments in feminist art theory in the early 1970s
Wifredo Lam, ‘[no title]’ 1975–6

Creolisation

Originally a Caribbean concept, creolisation describes the mixing together of different people and cultures to become one
Ellen Gallagher, ‘Bird in Hand’ 2006

Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic that combines science-fiction, history and fantasy to explore the African-American experience and aims to connect those from the black diaspora with their forgotten African ancestry

Art In The Collection

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  • Lubaina Himid, ‘Between the Two my Heart is Balanced’ 1991

    Women and Art

    Delve into stories and achievements of women artists in our collection and how they contributed to the art world
  • Maggi Hambling, ‘2016’ 2016

    Migration and Art

    Learn how artists have responded to the idea of migration through art within Tate's collection
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    Weather and Art

    See how artists respond to the seasons and our changing environment
  • Duncan Grant, ‘Bathing’ 1911

    Queer Lives and Art

    Discover LGBTQ+ artists and the queer art within Tate's collection
  • Vija Celmins, ‘Ocean’ 1975

    Wellbeing and Art

    Explore mindfulness through the art and artists within Tate's collection

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