KWAME BRATHWAITE

b. 1938, United States

Kwame Brathwaite Biography

Kwame Brathwaite is a photographer and activist who has helped set the stage for the Black Arts and Black Power movements—notably popularising the ‘Black is beautiful’ movement in the 1950s and 60s.

Brathwaite spread this idea through his writings and photographs, as well as the activities of the two organizations he helped co-found: AJASS (1956) and the Grandassa Models (1962). His career spanning over 6 decades has allowed him to document the intersection of music, fashion, activism and art globally throughout the diaspora.

In the late 1950’s Brathwaite and AJASS became active in the African Nationalist Pioneer Movement (ANPM) led by Carlos Cooks. Throughout the 60s Kwame Brathwaite produced reporting and pictorials for leading black publications such as The Amsterdam News, City Sun and The Daily Challenge. By the 70’s, Brathwaite was one of the top music and cultural photographers, shaping the images of such public figures as Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, James Brown and Muhammad Ali.

Kwame Brathwaite Pricing / Available Works

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Explore Kwame Brathwaite's Exhibitions

Contemporary art exhibition Group Exhibition Ideas of Africa Portraiture and Political Imagination at Museum of Modern Art New York United States

Group Exhibition Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination Museum of Modern Art 14 December 2025–4 April 2026
New York

Representative Artworks

Kwame Brathwaite, Untitled (Photo shoot at a school for one of the many modeling groups who had begun to embrace natural hairstyles in the 1960s) (c. 1966). Archival pigment print. 38 x 38 cm. Edition 8 of 10. Courtesy Salon 94 Design.
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Kwame Brathwaite in Ocula Magazine

Spotlight Rencontres d’Arles Puts America Under Special Scrutiny Tom Seymour Long known as one of the world’s preeminent photography events, this year’s edition of Rencontres d’Arles put an interrogative spotlight on the U.S. through the work of image‑makers like Nan Goldin and Kwame Brathwaite.

News From Brooklyn Museum to the Super Bowl: A Giant Week for Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz J. Scott Orr A glimpse into the collection of two‑larger‑than life entertainers culminates in an exhibition that seeks to transcend race and succeeds.

News Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys’ Collection to Show in Brooklyn Sam Gaskin Explaining why he got into art collecting, Beatz said, ‘there’s not enough people of colour collecting artists of colour.’

Spotlight FOG Design+Art Selections 2023 As FOG Design+Art opens at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, Ocula Advisory takes a look at the artworks that sparked interest ahead of the fair.

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