AfriCOBRA and TransAtlantic Connections

Since its beginning in 1969 in Chicago, Afri-COBRA has espoused an Afrocentric aesthetic vision. At the same time, it has deemed demeaning any art that posits African peoples as hapless victims, and therefore it has sought to produce a celebratory art—one that reflects cultural balance and aesthetic hegemony. This concept of art and imagery has resonated with many African and African-descent artists throughout the world, and that continuum has created an international concordance in contemporary art that Donaldson describes as a “trans-African” style or movement. This article outlines the development of that movement and AfriCOBRA’s connection to it, as well as the artists with whom its members have come into contact and enjoyed mutual inspiration and influence.