FOUNDER

The Black Beauty Archive® permanent collection includes 4000+ objects, including full-issue magazines, books, hair tools/hot tools, wigs, cosmetics, photographs, posters, oral histories, interviews, audio tapes, and more! A significant amount of our collection has been recovered, acquired, and donated by elders, artists, and collectors alike. All objects in the digital archive are primary sources preserved within BBA collections, digitized for educational purposes only.

ARCHIVIST

The Apollo celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Black women-led theatrical dance company and social activism ensemble, Urban Bush Women with a stunning visual exhibition in the Laura and Frank Baker Gallery. With special pop-up performances on select dates, Legacy Lineage Liberation: An Examination of Urban Bush Women’s Art-Making and Community Organizing Praxis contains rare photographs, performance footage, manuscripts, listening stations, and memorabilia representing the past, present, and future of the groundbreaking ensemble.

CURATOR & FACILITATOR

A multi-year initiative curated by the Institute’s Associate Research Archivist Camille Lawrence that seeks to center, preserve, and celebrate the work of the Black archivists, memory workers, and artists who have been the diligent stewards and keepers of the culture for decades.

This multi-year collaboration, made possible by the ongoing support of the Mellon Foundation, will highlight archivists who are forging new methodologies, honor iconic artists who have contributed to the creation and tapestry of ballroom culture, and celebrate elders of African dance and beauty practitioners who continue to reaffirm that beauty is performance art.

ARCHIVAL PRODUCER

The Crown We Never Take Off is a celebration of Black achievement and a strikingly brilliant exploration of hair customs and rituals so deeply entrenched that neither time nor distance have erased them. This exhibition was curated by Donnamarie Baptiste.

Camille Lawrence of the Black Beauty Archive completed a video commission to anchor the exhibition, which places emerging artists alongside established talents who already planned to show at the festivities…

MELLON CURATOR IN RESIDENCE

Agency + Process, a series of virtual conversations curated by Camille Lawrence celebrating individuals who are shaping the future of memory work, creating outside of traditional archival models. Those featured employ ethical methodologies to access and recover hidden Black histories. Lawrence refers to this intentional practice as “seeing in the dark,” where Black folks have the ability to see themselves where others cannot.

This series will explore, challenge, and celebrate the ways that Black memory workers are taking agency over the preservation, documentation, and representation of Black life, and will feature speakers who are transforming how communities interact and engage with archives and performance art. The series will begin with two events in which archivists discuss ways to address institutional inequities and share their reparative practices in the archives. The subsequent conversations will highlight creatives, archivists, and artists whose work centers Black visibility and the body as an archive.

PROJECT ARCHIVIST

DanceAfrica is BAM's longest running program and America's largest celebration of African dance, music, and culture representing the African diaspora. Founded in 1977 by Chuck Davis with the aim of heightening awareness of African culture, the festival has evolved into a beloved annual Memorial Day weekend event that brings together the entire community. Over the years, DanceAfrica has expanded with performances….