Interviews of AfriCOBRA founders

Object Details

Creator: Hudson Street Productions
Names: AFRICOBRA (Group of artists); TV Land (Television network); Harris, Michael D.; Jarrell, Jae, 1935-; Jarrell, Wadsworth, 1929-; Jones-Henderson, Napoleon, 1943-; Jones-Hogu, Barbara; Lawrence, Carolyn; Mallory, Howard; Sengstacke, Robert A., 1943- (Robert Abbott)

Provenance: The interviews of AfriCOBRA founders were donated to the Archives of American Art by TV Land/Hudson Street Productions, Inc. via Deva Newman, Executive Producer and Melissa Bear, Vice President, business and legal affairs, in 2010.

Sponsor: Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.

Summary: The interviews of AfriCOBRA founders measure 0.607 gigabytes and date from 2010. This collection includes digital transcripts and audio files of interviews with AfriCOBRA founders Michael Harris, Jae Jarrell, Wadsworth Jarrell, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Carolyn Lawrence, Howard Mallory, and Robert Sengstacke.

Biographical / Historical: AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) is an African American artist collective founded in 1968, first as COBRA (Coalition of Black Revolutionary Artists), in Chicago, Illinois. AfriCOBRA artists were associated with the Black Arts Movement and the group grew out of discussions on how their art could express a Black aesthetic. The AfriCOBRA philosophy emphasized positive revolutionary ideas and community effort.

Type: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Gigabytes; Interviews; Sound recordings; Transcripts

Citation: Interviews of AfriCOBRA founders, 2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Arrangement: Due to the small size of this collection the interviews are arranged as one series. Series 1: Interviews with AfriCOBRA Founders, 2010 (0.607 GB; ER01-ER09)

Processing Information: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews in 2018 with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019.

Rights: Hudson Street Productions, Inc. retains copyright and signed AAA Non-Exclusive License.; The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Scope and Contents: The interviews of AfriCOBRA founders measure 0.607 gigabytes and date from 2010. This collection includes digital transcripts and audio files of interviews with AfriCOBRA founders and artists Michael Harris, Jae Jarrell, Wadsworth Jarrell, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Carolyn Lawrence, Howard Mallory, and Robert Sengstacke. TV Land/Hudson Street Production, Inc. conducted these interviews with AfriCOBRA founders and artists about their experiences as African American artists and about the artistic community. In 2011, TV Land produced a documentary special AfriCOBRA: Art for the People. It is possible that these interviews are related to this project.

Restrictions: Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of born-digital records requires advance notice.