Hale Center Art Collection

Larry Williamson, for many years the director of the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center (HBCC), commonly called the Hale Center, more than a quarter century amassing what is now considered one of the nation’s largest collections of Black art made by African and African-American artists. Recognized by the Association of Black Cultural Centers as one of the top collections of its kind in the country, it features work by Ralph Bell, Queen Brooks, Smoky Brown, Elizabeth Catlett, Anku Golloh, Kojo Kamau, Aminah Robinson, Sam Gilliam, Abdi Roble and many others.

The Hale Center will be committing itself over the next several years to archiving the collection, including interviews with and oral histories of the artists represented there, and to making both the work and its archive publicly accessible. We are grateful to all of the artists over the years who have contributed to making the collection the remarkable resource it is today.