We’re halfway through February, and that means Black History Month is in full swing. Black History Month is recognized across the country and it serves as a “celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of blacks in U.S. history.” For museums of all kinds, and particularly institutions that feature art, history, and science, Black History Month is an important time to pay tribute to the vital contributions, triumphs, and creativity of African Americans.
We’re thrilled to shout out some of our partners who are celebrating Black History Month with special exhibitions, events, and more. Read on to be inspired by various ways museums are honoring Black History Month.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is going all out this February, and has a full calendar of events scheduled for Black History Month. This includes community conversations, special talks, and other programming. The special Gallery Program, “African American Art and the Power of the Written Word” will be put on multiple times throughout the month, as will the Family African American Read-In, which allows families to “experience African and African American children’s literature read by members of the community.”
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has taken it to the next level with this full month of special programming!
SFMOMA is celebrating Black History Month by opening the museum free of charge all day on Thursday, February 20th and participating in the “Culture for Community” initiative. This is a “coalition of more than a dozen Yerba Buena neighborhood arts and cultural institutions offering a community day of free admission.” In this community-wide extravaganza, visitors will be able to experience a diverse range of exhibitions, activities, and events to honor and show solidarity this Black History Month.
SFMOMA has also opened the special exhibition "Dawoud Bey: An American Project" this month in celebration of black history. This exhibition “showcases Bey's earliest bodies of work, such as ‘Harlem, U.S.A.’, as well as more recent photography and video projects that explore landscapes as sites of memory to evoke African-American history.”
We’re so proud to have SFMOMA as part of the Cuseum family as they pursue such vibrant programming this month!
This month, our friends at MoAD in San Francisco are also hosting some special events. One highlight is the special event, Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era, a special evening that commemorates African American musical heritage.
Additionally, MoAD is celebrating with a free admission day on February 29th, as well as special curator-led tours.
The Davis Museum at Wellesley College (our neighbors in greater Boston!) is celebrating Black History Month with special highlight tours throughout the galleries. As a university museum, the Davis has student guides who are offering tours that “focus on the arts of Africa and the African Diaspora in the Davis Museum permanent collections.”
All through this month, you can join a student guide for a drop-in tour celebrating Black History Month!
We’re so proud of all the organizations in the Cuseum family who are doing incredible things to celebrate Black History Month. This month, make sure to check out your local museums to honor this important time of year.