With Sovereign Ground The Future Is Black confronts the thorny question of arts funding

Organized by The Future Is Black and curated by Ari Bahta, the Sovereign Ground exhibition, now on view through Sat., Oct. 24, at Brew House Arts , features “Global Majority” artists exploring their ties to land, ancestors, and spirit. The show begins by questioning what people can claim as their own. For Ahmed Tacumba Turner Jr., founder of The Future Is Black, that can mean history, memory, ritual, or a way of understanding yourself that has survived displacement. “In this show, sovereignty is less about owning land and more about the right to defend your relationship to yourself: to your history, and to ways of knowing and being that came before Western cultural norms or have always existed alongside them,” Turner tells Pittsburgh City Paper . The show features work by DS Kinsel of BOOM Concepts , Jameelah Platt, AIM$, Kaceem Barnett, Tyler Princeton Belizaire, Barbados Black, Norman Brown, Chazzlyn, Akudzwe Chiwa, Danaeshia, Percy Echols II, Henny, Ishara Henry , Ifeoma, Naomi C. Ilochi, Romii Link, Kalyn Menifee, Kay Spain, Ruofu Sun, Maraiah Torres, Janet Watkins, and Alexus Wright. The exhibition uses the term Global Majority, rather than “people of color,” to describe the broader group of artists it hopes to reach. Turner says that language makes more room for Latino, Asian, and Pacific Islander artists, while avoiding a phrase he sees as dated and distancing. However, he also acknowledges the term’s shortcomings. “One limitation is that it can decenter Black artistry in perception, even if not in practice,” he says. In Sovereign Ground , all but one of the more than 20 participating artists are Black. For Turner, that does not make the broader language irrelevant. Instead, he believes it demonstrates how even the language meant to create more room can raise questions about who remains centered. Aaron Jackson attends the opening for Sovereign Ground at Brew House Arts on Sept. 24, 2026. Cred