On Thursday 28th October 1982, a group of black art students hosted The First National Black Art Convention at Wolverhampton Polytechnic. Their purpose was to discuss 'the form, function and future of black art'.

Thirty years later almost to the day, on Saturday 27th October 2012, artists, curators, art historians and academics gathered, once again in Wolverhampton to attend a conference entitled 'Reframing the Moment: Legacies of the 1982 Blk Art Group Conference'. The aim of this event was to share scholarship and research the 'black art movement' of the 1980s, its core debates, precursors and legacies.

The Blk Art Group Research Project was set up by former 'Blk Art Group' members, Claudette Johnson, Marlene Smith and Keith Piper in 2011.

This coincided with a retrospective exhibition held at the Graves Gallery Sheffield entitled 'The Blk Art Group' from August 2011 – March 2012, and a symposium examining the history and activities of the group held on the 22nd February, 2012.