Our Story

Launched in 2020 the Kehinde Wiley Shop began as a partnership between Kehinde Wiley and Black Rock Senegal to create limited-edition apparel and merchandise featuring a selection of the artist’s personal favorite compositions from his archive that would support Black Rock Senegal, the non-profit artist-in-residence program founded by Wiley in Dakar, Senegal in 2019. Conceived, curated, and created for those who desire art and color in their lives, this collection offers a new opportunity to engage with Wiley’s bold and beautiful paintings while supporting Black Rock’s mission: to bring together artists, thinkers and innovators from around the world; to offer a platform for these artists to engage in cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary creative processes; and to build new global discourses about Africa and the African-Diaspora.

The collection is available at https://kehindewileyshop.com and at select museum shops around the world. For further information about distribution and availability, please contact shopinfo@kehindewiley.com. Thank you for your support!

About the program

Established in 2019, Black Rock Senegal is a multidisciplinary artist-in-residence program founded by Kehinde Wiley in Dakar, Senegal. The program brings together international artists to live and work at Wiley’s coastal compound for 1-3 month residencies. Designed by Senegalese architect Abib Djenne, the complex includes a residence and studio space for Wiley along with 3 single-occupancy residency apartments with adjacent studio spaces. Our mission is to support new artistic creation through collaborative exchange and to incite change in the global discourse about Africa. More information about Black Rock is available online at www.blackrocksenegal.org.

About the artist

Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977, Los Angeles) is a world-renowned visual artist, best known for his vibrant portrayals of contemporary African-American and African-Diasporic individuals that subvert the hierarchies and conventions of European and American portraiture. Working in the mediums of painting, sculpture, and video, Wiley’s portraits challenge and reorient art-historical narratives, awakening complex sociopolitical issues that many would prefer remain muted. In 2018 Wiley became the first African-American artist to paint an official U.S. Presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Former U.S. President Barack Obama selected Wiley for this honor. In 2019, the artist debuted his first large-scale public sculpture in Times Square, New York, a bronze equestrian monument honoring the heroism of young black men in America. In 2020, Wiley received France’s distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. Wiley has held solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally and his works are included in the collections of over 40 public institutions around the world. Wiley is the Founder and President of Black Rock Senegal. He lives and works in Beijing, Dakar, and New York. More information about the artist is available online at www.kehindewiley.com.