The liquid blackness project is a nonprofit research group collaboratively studying blackness and aesthetics.
Yanique Norman, Fatherlessness 1 (2010), photographed by Mike Jensen, courtesy of the artist
Still. Nickel Boys (2024) directed by RaMell Ross.
liquid blackness is excited to announce our Opticality: Seeing in the Way of Things Portfolio, a rigorous expression of how we were thinking, preparing, and conceptualizing our March 2026 Opticality event and research project.
To mark our portfolio release, we invite you to join us virtually for our Studying for Opticality Teach-In:
Mission Statement
The liquid blackness project builds on the study of arts and artists from the Black Diaspora to explore the intersection of aesthetic theory and the most radical agenda of Black Studies. Through research projects, public events, and online publication, it seeks to mentor the next generation of scholars of color and other scholars fully committed to the agenda of black studies, while creating a vibrant, extended, and sustainable community.
Artists in Conversation
Curating for Blackness
liquid blackness in the Community
Research Projects
What Is Liquid Blackness?
liquid blackness Journal
liquid blackness: journal of aesthetics and black studies
In 2021, the liquid blackness journal was relaunched as liquid blackness: journal of aesthetics and black studies. Now published by Duke University Press, our peer-reviewed, open access journal still seeks to carve out a place for aesthetic theory and the most radical agenda of Black studies to come together in productive ways, with the goal of attending to the aesthetic work of blackness and the political work of form. In this way, the journal develops innovative approaches to address points of convergence between the exigencies of Black life and the many slippery ways in which blackness is encountered in contemporary sonic and visual culture. Learn more about the revamped journal, our submission guidelines, our Editorial and Advisory Boards, and our current calls for papers.
Donate
The liquid blackness project is a non-profit organization that supports students, teachers, artists, and curators working toward ethical engagement with Black art.
Join us in our mission by making a tax-deductible contribution today.