A painting by Kerry James Marshall was sold at an auction in 2018 for $21 million. This was the most money ever paid for art by a living Black artist.

However, barely any individuals appear familiar with Marshall and other African American visual artists, indicating an issue with black visual artists' visibility in mainstream media.

This lack of visibility isn’t just the case now but also historically. For instance, not many people know that a group of writers, artists, and activists established the Organisation of Black American Culture (OBAC) in the latter part of the 1960s. Their work included revolutionary outdoor murals that emphasised the ideals of liberation, community and Afro centricism.

Despite movements like Black History Month, not enough is being done to teach young artists of colour about organisations like OBAC, and it crosses generational political influences.

Fortunately, few players in the arts recognise this and are changing things. One of them is an American art historian, Kanitra Fletcher , who is an associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Fletcher aims to popularise the works of black artists by displaying their art and showing the world how the black artists of old showed expression through their art.

Hopefully, such actions will inspire more black artists to produce art that aligns with these expressions. And that, in time, there’ll be a deeper awareness of black artists and their respective historic contributions to the arts and cultural scenes internationally