The Kinsey Collection

Decoration-Dedication-Memorial

From the Revolutionary War and throughout U.S. history, Black Americans have fought on the frontlines and sacrificed our lives to safeguard the ideals of this country, even though those ideals have never safeguarded us.

Perhaps that makes us some of the most patriotic of all…

In honor of the fallen, Happy Memorial Day from The Kinsey Collection 🇺🇸

Portrait of Private Nelson J. Campbell of the Sixth U.S. Colored Calvary, ca. 1860 | The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection®️ Los Angeles, California

Today we honor the life of Malcolm X and the power of his example, on what would be his 100th birthday. May we reflect on his transformative journey and harness the wisdom of his legacy.

Letter to Alex Haley, 1963 | Malcolm X | Ink on Paper | The Kinsey Collection®️ Los Angeles, California

Much love to everyone braving the rain to celebrate Juneteenth with The Kinsey Collection at today. The museum and exhibition is open until 7pm today and free to the public. Happy Juneteenth to the Black family!

It’s the last week to catch The Kinsey Collection at in Houston before it closes this Sunday 6/23.
Visit hmh.org for hours and tickets.

LEARN - USE - TEACH

Last few weeks to visit The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection while it’s in Houston - on view at through June 23rd, 2024

It’s the final weekend to visit The Huntington Library and Museum to see the beautiful and sweeping Sargent Claude Johnson exhibition, the first devoted to the artist in over 25 years. We are proud to be have been a contributor to the show, lending Untitled (1957) from the collection, an example of Johnson’s innovative exploration of industrial material in his practice.

Sargent Claude Johnson (1888-1967) was the first Black modernist on the West to gain national acclaim. The California artist’s career was devoted to sensitive, ennobling portrayals of people of color, and made him the West Coast’s key connection to the Harlem Renaissance.

On view through May 20th

The Kinsey family was honored to partner with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to host an event on March 21st at the Kinsey Collection Exhibition at Sofi Stadium at Hollywood Park. The collection’s Chief Curator Khalil Kinsey toured the Duke and Duchess, and an array of industry leaders around the exhibition which was followed by a conversation with Bernard, Shirley and Khalil, moderated by Christine Messineo, Director of Frieze LA and NY.

The group discussed the history and significance of Black art and how various communities can work together to preserve this vital piece of American history. 

The evening was brought together through a partnership between The Archewell Foundation and The Bernard and Shirley Kinsey Foundation for Arts and Education.

In February 2022, SoFi Stadium marked two milestones. The first was hosting the Los Angeles Rams’ home field victory in Super Bowl LVI. The second was opening an exhibition of the Kinsey African American Art & History Collection. En route to the bathroom or on a beer run, visitors to the stadium’s second level may find themselves taken off guard by letters from Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, photographs of L.A.’s early-20th-century Black firefighters, formal portraits of 19th-century Black men and women, and works by major Black artists.

What does it mean to juxtapose this experience with watching professional football players—over 50% of whom are Black—go to battle on the turf below? What have the Kinseys chosen to display, and why at SoFi? And how are other people and organizations, in fields from fine art to poetry, using Black narratives to inform and enrich our understanding of history and contemporary life in unexpected ways?

Artist and Bloom & Plume founder Maurice Harris, sports agent and former NFL player Jacques McClendon, and poet, lyricist, and activist aja monet visit Zócalo and Kinsey Collection at SoFi Stadium to discuss what one of the world’s largest private collections of Black art and historical objects is doing at one of the world’s grandest football stadiums, why it matters, and where similar efforts are scoring big.

This will mark the final event before at closes on March 31st. Free and open to the public with registration…link in bio.

Join us in honoring the vastness of Black History, Art and Culture with The Kinsey Collection at Black History Month Celebration on Thursday, February 22nd. Free with registration and featuring tours, food and drinks, and music by from 6-10pm. Register at the link in bio…we hope to see you there.

Special thank you to

The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection - now on view at through June 23rd, 2024.