Black cultural icons across music, sports, and more are being commemorated in LEGO form in a new book from Richard Dryden and Dave Kaleta.
You may recognize the collaborators’ names from their Awesome Black Creativity (ABC) project, which first began on Instagram in 2022 and saw the duo building on their mutual appreciation for LEGO bricks and Black cultural history. The collaboration quickly leapt from social media to something more tangible, with ABC earning the Best Artwork award with its exhibition debut in Chicago later that same year.
Since then, the project has further ballooned into an acclaimed traveling exhibition, which makes now the perfect time for it to expand even more.
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On Jan. 12, No Starch Press will release Awesome Black Creativity: A Celebration of Black Cultural Icons in LEGO Bricks, a new book featuring writing by Dryden and artwork from Kaleta. The Penguin Random House-distributed title, organized alphabetically, honors 27 familiar names who’ve each left an indelible mark on the world at large through their work.
You can expect to see artworks honoring Colin Kaepernick, Halle Berry, Issa Rae, Janelle Monáe, Questlove, Ryan Coogler, Virgil Abloh, Serena and Venus Williams, Yasiin Bey, and more.
Pre-order the book here. Complex CCO Noah Callahan-Bever has already seen it, praising the project as “an epic, necessary bridge between culture and LEGO, brick by brick.”
Still to come are book tour dates, plus additional exhibition locations, all set for 2027. Details will be announced soon.
