ICA BOSTON: Say It Loud: AAMARP, 1977 to Now Feb 12 – Aug 2, 2026
Founded in 1977 by influential artist, educator, and activist Dana C. Chandler, Jr., the African American Master Artists-in-Residence Program (AAMARP) at Northeastern University is one of the few longstanding residency programs for Black artists in the United States. For nearly five decades, AAMARP has stood at the intersection of art, activism, and community. A vital outgrowth of the Black Arts Movement in Boston, AAMARP was envisioned as both an artistic haven and a cultural force—it provided what its founder called a “living focus” on “the diverse dynamics of African American aesthetics.”
Conceived as a Black artist-run alternative art space, AAMARP offered more than free studio space—it nurtured a thriving hub for exhibitions, poetry readings, dance performances, lectures, films, workshops, and public gatherings. From its earliest days, AAMARP and generations of associated artists have championed themes of racial justice, Black self-determination, and Pan-Africanism. Today, the program is still supported by Northeastern University and operates as a vibrant, intergenerational collective of thirteen artists. Their work spans figurative painting, historically conscious collage, fine woodworking, experimental textile art, street photography, public murals, and more—together offering a rich and varied reflection of the arts of Africa and its diaspora.
This exhibition presents a dynamic, chronological survey of AAMARP-affiliated artists and their artwork from 1977 to the present. Tracing the evolution of AAMARP through the artists’ voices, their engagement with global artistic and political movements, and their deep-rooted sense of community, the exhibition illuminates a living archive of creative resistance, cultural memory, and Black artistic excellence.
Artists include: Benny Andrews, Ellen Banks, Gloretta Baynes, Calvin Burnett, Ambreen Butt, Dana C. Chandler Jr., Jeff Chandler, Allan Rohan Crite, Milton Derr, Sharon Dunn, Marlon Forrester, L’Merchie Frazier, Tyrone Geter, Ricardo “Deme5” Gomez, Paul Goodnight, Reginald L. Jackson, Michael Jones, Shea Justice, Kofi Kayiga, Khalid Kodi, Marcia Lloyd, Vusumuzi Maduna, Bryan McFarlane, Stanley Pinckney, Hakim Raquib, James Reuben Reed, Rudolph R. Robinson, Renée Stout, Edward Strickland, Susan Thompson, Arnold Trachtman, Wen-ti Tsen, Barbara Ward, Keith Morris Washington, Don West, Rene Westbrook, John Wilson, Richard Yarde, and Theresa-India Young.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue surveying the program’s rich history through scholarly texts and an extensive chronology illustrated by archival materials and artworks.
Out of The Fire
"Out of the Fire" represents the transformative journey of resilience and rebirth within the world (A.A.M.A.R.P.) The African American Master Artist Residency Program has been able to sustain since 1970’s. A dreamchild of the artist Dana Chandler, the imagery of fire symbolizes the trials and tribulations that our ancestors endured, from the harsh realities of slavery to the ongoing struggles for justice and equality. Yet, just as fire can destroy, it also has the power to purify, cleanse, and give birth to new life. The reality of black art being constructed within a time in which institutionalized racism in local and national museums and galleries remain absent of black art, captures the moment of emerging from the flames, embodying a sense of strength, survival, and regeneration.