Just above Midtown : changing spaces
(Book)

"Just Above Midtown, or JAM, was an art gallery and self-described laboratory for experimentation led by Linda Goode Bryant that foregrounded African American artists and artists of color. Open from 1974 to 1986, it was a place where an expansive idea of contemporary art flourished and debate was cultivated. The gallery offered early opportunities for artists recognized as pivotal figures in late-20th-century art-including David Hammons, Butch Morris, Senga Nengudi, Lorraine O'Grady and Howardena Pindell-as well as a nonhierarchical approach to art that welcomed artists without stylistic proscription. Published in conjunction with the first museum exhibition to focus on this visionary gallery and its ongoing impact, JAM: The Process as Art, 1974 to the Present showcases rarely seen material from JAM's history-artworks, ephemera and photographs- that collectively document the gallery's communal and programmatic activities. This richly illustrated catalogue includes essays that contextualize JAM and consider its legacy, a conversation between Goode Bryant and Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem, a complete exhibition chronology written by MoMA and Studio Museum staff with nearly 50 annotated entries, and excerpts from oral histories with JAM staff and artists conducted especially for this project"--