Written by award-winning Black British children’s author Sharna Jackson, Black Artists Shaping the World celebrates the diversity of work being produced today by Black artists from around the globe, introducing young readers to twenty-six contemporary artists from Africa and of the African diaspora.

Sharna Jackson’s experience as a children’s author who has worked for over a decade in the cultural sector, both at Tate in London and at Site Gallery in Sheffield, is combined here with the curatorial expertise of Dr Zoé Whitley, Director of London’s Chisenhale Gallery and co-curator of the landmark Tate exhibition ‘Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power’. Their book features artists working in a variety of media from painting, sculpture and drawing to ceramics, installation art and sound art. Artists featured include British Turner Prize-winning painters Lubaina Himid and Chris Ofili; renowned South African visual activist Zanele Muholi; Nigerian sound artist Emeka Ogboh; Sudanese painter Kamala Ibrahim Ishag; Kenyan-British ceramicist Magdalene Odundo; African-American artists Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley; performance artist Harold Offeh; and moving image artist Larry Achiampong.

The result is a refreshingly contemporary celebration of Black artists at work today that will serve as inspiration to a new generation of aspiring young artists.

Winner of five prestigious awards, including the SLA Information Book Award (Judges Award and Children’s Choice, Age 13–16 category, 2022), SLA Judges Choice Award, Junior Design Awards Gold Medal, and Made for Mums Gold Award.

Sharna Jackson is an award-winning children’s author and curator. She is the author of four books for children, including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020 winner High-Rise Mystery (2019) and Mic Drop (2020). Dr Zoé Whitley is the Director of London’s Chisenhale Gallery and co-curator of ‘Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power’ (2017).