Simone Leigh is known for creating large art works that represent and celebrate the experiences of Black women. Now she will be the first Black woman to represent the United States at the highly respected arts festival, the Venice Biennale. The State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) announced the decision Wednesday. Leigh lives in New York City and rarely speaks to reporters. However, she told The New York Times newspaper that the country’s bad racial climate, “doesn’t distract me from the fact of how amazing it is to be a Black artist right now.” Jill Medvedow is director of the Boston museum. She said in a statement: “At such a crucial moment in history, I can think of no better artist to represent the United States.” She praised Leigh’s work for the past twenty years “that centers the experiences and histories of Black women,” calling them “probing, timely and urgent.”
