Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces – Paperback

Edited by Thomas (T.) Jean Lax and Lilia Rocio Taboada in collaboration with Linda Goode Bryant. With contributions by Eric Booker, Brandon Eng, Thelma Golden, Linda Goode Bryant, Marielle Ingram, Kellie Jones Yelena Keller, and Legacy Russell

Just Above Midtown (or JAM) was a New York art gallery and self-described laboratory for experimentation established in 1974 by Linda Goode Bryant with the intention of presenting African American artists “on the same platform with other established artists.” A hub for conceptual art, abstraction, performance, and video, JAM was a Black space open to artists of different races, generations, and educational backgrounds. The gallery, which was open until 1986, cultivated debate and prioritized process, collaboration, and the needs of artists over the demands of the art market.

Published in conjunction with a path-making exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, this richly illustrated catalogue provides the most complete account to date of the gallery’s history, with an emphasis on rarely seen artworks, archival materials, and the recollections of those who were there. 184 pp.; 219 illus.