Paris Noir 1950 – 2000

This richly illustrated catalog, Paris Noir: Circulations artistiques et luttes anticoloniales, 1950–2000, explores the influence of Black artists in France and the vibrant cultural landscape of “Black Paris” during the second half of the 20th century. Published by the Centre Pompidou, the volume traces artistic exchanges and anti-colonial movements through the work of over 150 African, African American, Caribbean, and Latin American artists active in Paris between 1950 and 2000.

Challenging institutional erasure, the catalog brings to light artists whose practices, rooted in the Négritude movement and pan-African/transatlantic aesthetics, infused the creative and political fabric of a cosmopolitan Paris.

Reflecting broader struggles—from African independence movements to the U.S. civil rights era and the fight for racial equality in France—this catalog is an essential contribution to the postcolonial history of modern and contemporary art