Kudos to Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley Receives Medal of Arts Award

Washington, D.C./Los Angeles

Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley is still making noise in the art world. On Jan. 21, 2015, Wiley received the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts award. 

Secretary of State, John Kerry, handed out the award to Wiley, and six other artists, during a luncheon ceremony in the department’s Benjamin Franklin Room in Washington, D.C.

The Department of State’s office of Art in Embassies honored Wiley, Xu Bing, Mark Bradford, Sam Gilliam, Maya Lin, Julie Mehretu and Pedro Reyes for their “commitment and contributions to the Art in Embassies program and international cultural exchange. 

Who is Making Noise in the Art Scene: Kehinde Wiley

When you put your ear up to the walls of the multicultural art world, things are a bit quiet. Switch to the walls of the Black American art scene and you could probably hear a pin drop. “Quite honestly, I don't think anyone made any noise since Basquiat. …Maybe Ernie Banks,” award winning photo journalist Miki Turner recalled during an earlier interview with TC’s View. 

Turner’s comment got me obsessed with finding multicultural artists who are making some kind of noise.