Skip to main content

Horace Tapscott: Musical Griot with Barbara McCullough

Horace Tapscott Musical Griot
Getty Center
1200 Getty Center Dr
Los Angeles, California 90049
https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 6:30 PM -
Free

Los Angeles Rebellion pioneer and filmmaker Barbara McCullough’s documentary Horace Tapscott: Musical Griot is a poetic meditation on the life of Los Angeles jazz musician, composer and community activist, Horace Tapscott (1934–1999). Screened in conjunction with the Getty’s exhibition Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–85, the film—four decades in the making—is a loving portrait of Tapscott, Black Los Angeles, and musical history. After the screening, McCullough will be joined on stage in conversation with Kristin Juarez, senior research specialist for the African American Art History Initiative at the Getty Research Institute.

This program is part of the Art on Screen series, which celebrates moving-image media and its intersection with art and art histories, as well as the series Black Visions: Film as Archive. In addition, Barbara McCullough is featured in the Getty Research Institute’s oral histories collection as related to the 2008 program Modern Art in Los Angeles: African American Avant-Gardes, 1965–1990.

DIRECTED BY: Barbara McCullough. PRODUCED BY: Barbara McCullough and Chephren Rasika. EDITED BY: Scott Brock. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Johnny Simmons, Al Santana, Charles Burnett, Bernard Nicola. 16mm to HD, color, sound, 72 minutes, 2017.

Stay informed. Sign up for the Editor's Picks email newsletter.
Support Provided By
Related
The Ark playing at The Immanuel United Church of Christ on January 30, 1977, where they played on the last Sunday of every month for around 8 years. | Courtesy of Mark Weber

Passing the Magic: Horace Tapscott's Spiritual Jazz Music

Though Horace Tapscott died in 1999, his legacy of music and focus on community burn brighter than ever because of the rising popularity of contemporary jazz artists like Kamasi Washington.
Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra on stage at Grand Park during a New Year's Eve celebration | Samantha Lee sls ep9 preview
59:12

Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra N.Y.E.L.A.

Mekala Session and the "Ark" ring in the new year with a jazz music celebration.



Upcoming Events

Talking Neighbor To Neighbor: Connecting with our Street Vendor Community

Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural (Sylmar)
Free

Explore housing and financial stability through the lived experiences of street vendors.

Fowler Out Loud: Grupo Folklórico de UCLA

The Fowler Museum at UCLA (Los Angeles)
Free

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with vibrant music and dance honoring Mexican traditions.

Lita Albuquerque: Cosmic Land

Palm Springs Art Museum (Palm Springs)
Children 17 & under: Free, Adults: $25

Cosmic Land traces the relationship between Earth and cosmo.

OC Japan Fair

OC Fair & Event Center (Costa Mesa)
$15.71

Grab your friends, and celebrate the largest Japanese cultural festivals in Southern California.