Black Earth Rising explores the splendor of nature through paintings, sculptures, films, and works on paper by some of today’s most celebrated artists of African diasporic, Latin American, and Native identity. 

Each of these works demonstrates a form of resisting social and environmental injustices and reclaiming connections to the natural environment against the legacy of European settlement of the New World. Organized by guest curator and renowned author Ekow Eshun, this exhibition both sheds light on the historical trajectory of today’s climate crisis and celebrates the beauty of the natural world and our ties to it. Among the artists featured are Firelei Báez, Alejandro Piñeiro Bello, Teresita Fernández, Sky Hopinka, Tyler Mitchell, Wangechi Mutu, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Yinka Shonibare.

The show takes its title from terra preta, Portuguese for “black earth,” which refers to a type of fertile soil created by ancient Indigenous civilizations in the Amazon basin thousands of years ago. Recently rediscovered by scientists, it remains more fertile than ordinary land.

The works in Black Earth Rising are as vividly colored, dynamic, and ecstatic as they are thoughtful and moving; they inspire optimism, even as they confront the history—and future—of climate change. A companion catalog, published by Thames & Hudson, will be available at the BMA Shop in May.