Focusing on the work of black women artists, We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85 examines the political, social, cultural, and aesthetic priorities of women of color during the emergence of second-wave feminism.

It is the first exhibition to highlight the voices and experiences of women of color—distinct from the primarily white, middle-class mainstream feminist movement—in order to reorient conversations around race, feminism, political action, art production, and art history in this significant historical period. The exhibition features a wide array of work, including performance, film, and video art, as well as photography, painting, sculpture, and printmaking by a diverse group of artists and activists who lived and worked at the intersections of avant-garde art worlds and radical political movements.

Artists include Camille Billops, Elizabeth Catlett, Julie Dash, Maren Hassinger, Jae Jarrell, Lorraine O’Grady, Howardena Pindell, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Lorna Simpson, and Carrie Mae Weems, among many others.