Rita Keegan (born 1949) is an American-born artist, lecturer and archivist, based in England since the late 1970s. She is a multi-media artist whose work uses video and digital technologies. Keegan is best known for her involvement with in the UK's

Black Arts Movement The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The movement expanded from ...

in the 1980s and her work documenting artists of colour in Britain.

Biography

Born Rita Morrison in the Bronx, New York City, to a

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

n mother and Canadian father, she described her upbringing in the Bronx as having "more in common with an English/Commonwealth background". She graduated from the

High School of Art and Design The High School of Art and Design is a career and technical education high school in Manhattan, New York City, New York State, United States. Founded in 1936 as the School of Industrial Art, the school moved to 1075 Second Avenue in 1960 and more ...

focusing on illustration and costume design, then obtained a fine arts degree at the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

, where her teachers included the photographer Imogen Cunningham and the African-American artist Mary O'Neill. Keegan moved to London, England, in the late 1970s. Keegan originally trained as a painter but in the 1980s begin to incorporate lens-based media, using the photocopier and computer in both 2D and installation work. In 1984 she worked at "Community Copyart" in London. The GLC-funded organisation was an affordable resource centre for voluntary groups to create they own print material in addition to working with artists who wanted to use the photocopier as a form of printmaking. Keegan was a founding member of the artists' collectives Brixton Art Gallery in 1982, and later Women's Work and Black Women in View. She went on to co-curate ''Mirror Reflecting Darkly'', Brixton Art Gallery's first exhibition by the Black Women Artists collective. From 1985 Keegan was a staff member at the Women Artists Slide Library (WASL), where she established and managed the Women Artists of Colour Index. She was Director of the African and Asian Visual Arts Archive from 1992 to 1994. In 2021 she had a solo exhibition ''Somewhere Between There and Here'' at the South London Gallery Keegan taught New Media and Digital Diversity at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she also helped establish the digital-media undergraduate course in the Historical and Cultural Studies department.

Selected exhibitions

* 1983: ''Women's Work'', Brixton Art Gallery, London * 1985: ''Mirror Reflecting Darkly: Black Women's Art'', Brixton Art Gallery, London * 1990: ''Let the Canvas Come to Life with Dark Faces'', Bluecoat * 1991: ''Family Album: An exhibition by Brixton Black Women Artists'', Copyart Resource Centre, London * 1991: ''Four X 4'' curated by

Eddie Chambers Edward Chambers (born March 29, 1982) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for a unified world heavyweight title in 2010. He was ranked as the fourth best heavyweight in the world by '' The Ring'' at the conclusion of 200 ...

, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton Diaspora Artists. * 1992: ''Trophies of Empire'',

Arnolfini Gallery Arnolfini is an international arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also a ...

, Bristol and

Bluecoat The bluecoat is a style of dress code, traditionally worn in Bluecoat schools (English private schools deriving from charity schools). The main element of the bluecoat is a long (dark blue or black) coat, belted at the waist, with white neck d ...

, Liverpool curated by Keith Piper * 1992: ''White Noise: Artists Working with Sound'', Ikon Gallery, Birmingham * 1993: ''Rites of Passage'',

ICA, London The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

(solo) * 1995: ''Time Machine: Ancient Egypt and Contemporary Art'', InIVA and British Museum, London * 1997: ''Transforming the Crown: African, Asian and Caribbean Artists in Britain, 1966–1996'',

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American art museum devoted to the work of artists of African descent. The museum's galleries are currently closed in preparation for a building project that will replace the current building, located at 144 W ...

Bronx Museum of the Arts The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art or simply the Bronx Museum, is an American cultural institution located in Concourse, Bronx, New York. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th-century works created by A ...

, and Caribbean Cultural Center (Manhattan), New York * 1998: ''Family Histories: Eating with Our Memories, Sleeping with the Ancestors'', 198 Gallery, London (solo) * 2006: ''Transformations'', Lewisham Arthouse and Horniman Museum, London (solo) * 2021: ''Somewhere Between There and Here'' solo exhibition at the South London Gallery

References

External links

"Rita Keegan"
(YouTube video, posted 9 August 2013), SamtheWheels, 2008.
Women of Colour Index
archive record at The Women's Art Library at Goldsmiths College, London. {{DEFAULTSORT:Keegan, Rita 1949 births Living people 20th-century British women artists 21st-century British women artists American archivists American emigrants to England Artists from New York City Black British artists British archivists Women archivists High School of Art and Design alumni San Francisco Art Institute alumni

Biography

Selected exhibitions

References

Further reading

External links