"RESPECT: Celebrating 50 Years of AfriCOBRA" examined the history and current iteration of the AfriCOBRA artist collective.

“RESPECT: Celebrating 50 years of AfriCOBRA” featured a tribute to the contributions of Arkansas native and cofounder of AfriCOBRA, Jeff Donaldson. Donaldson shares an alma mater, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, with current AfriCOBRA artist Kevin Cole.

AfriCOBRA is the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists. It is a collective of African American artists formed in 1968 to define and identify a uniquely black aesthetic in visual arts that reflected shared needs, aspirations and experiences of black American citizens.

Current collective members continue to embody the shared visual language for positive revolutionary ideas. Contemporary AfriCOBRA artists are Akili Ron Anderson, Adger Cowans, Kevin Cole, Michael D. Harris, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, James Phillips, Frank Smith, Nelson Stevens and Renee Stout.

“RESPECT: Celebrating 50 years of AfriCOBRA” was guest curated by Garbo Hearne of Hearne Fine Art. This exhibit was made possible through a grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, funded by the Arkansas Real Estate Transfer Tax.