The Black Artists Group (BAG) was a multidisciplinary arts collective that existed in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1968 to 1972. BAG is known for the convergence of free jazz and experimental theater.[1][2]
Members Oliver Lake, Lester Bowie, and Floyd LeFlore studied music in the jazz program at Sumner High School. They continued music education at Lincoln University alongside Julius Hemphill. Several members were drafted into military service, and all played music in St. Louis through the 1960s. Frustration with discrimination and limited opportunities brought the musical artists together with black actors marginalized from the theater scene, and they began collaborating on artistic productions around LaClede Town, the Circle Coffee Shop, and Berea Church.[2]
While strongly influenced by Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, the Black Artists Group was unique in including artists from dance, theater, visual arts, and creative writing. They incorporated as a not-for-profit organization under the name "The Black Artists' Group, Inc" in 1968.[2] BAG received major grant funding from the Danforth Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. In July 1969, the group paid $1 annual rent for a building at 2665 Washington Blvd.[1]
Many of the BAG members relocated to Paris and then New York in the 1970s.[1] A recording of a 1973 performance in Paris was released on an LP titled In Paris, Aries 1973, the only album ever issued under the BAG name.[6]