Culture

The stories, perspectives, people and happenings that preserve, highlight and shape Black culture around the world.

The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism
Culture Tala Arfaj Culture Tala Arfaj

The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism

 The first exhibition to recognize the Harlem Renaissance as the first African American-led movement of international modern art, "The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism” is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from February 25 to July 28, 2024. The exhibition emphasizes the critical role the movement takes in shaping modern Black identity and its far-reaching influence on transatlantic modernism.

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West African Roots: A Closer Look at the Origins of the Fiddle Leaf Fig
Culture Jeanine Hays Culture Jeanine Hays

West African Roots: A Closer Look at the Origins of the Fiddle Leaf Fig

For most of us, it was around 2010 that today’s trendiest houseplant came onto the scene. The ficus lyrata, better known as the fiddle leaf fig started a revolution, quickly replacing the old, outdated palm tree of virtually every home and office of the 1990s. While the fiddle leaf fig has enjoyed soaring popularity over the past decade — even getting recognized by The New York Times as the go-to plant of top interior designers — its history is much longer and deeper than that. In fact, this stylishly modern plant is millions of years old and traces its roots to West Africa, specifically modern day Cameroon and Sierra Leone.

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Gee’s Bend Quilts: African American Works of Early Modern Art
Culture Jeanine Hays Culture Jeanine Hays

Gee’s Bend Quilts: African American Works of Early Modern Art

One of the potential hazards of loving art is the tendency to see it as something separate from everyday life — a thing apart, with no ability to function practically beyond what it stirs in us emotionally or intellectually. Sometimes that can be true, but often our most inspired works are the ones inspired by a practical need, like the patterned rugs of the Middle East and Central Asia. Similarly, the African American quilts of Gee’s Bend, hailed as pivotal works of modern art in museum exhibitions around the country, were inspired by the simple need to stay warm.

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Freedom Summer:An  Interview with Naeem Douglas, the Brookladelphian
Culture Bryan Mason Culture Bryan Mason

Freedom Summer:An Interview with Naeem Douglas, the Brookladelphian

The summer of 2020 marks an incredible moment in history, seeing the birth of one of the largest civil rights movements the world has ever known. After years of what seemed like an endless cycle of Black death and white apathy, something new has happened. Cries of support for Black lives have begun to come from places that were once deathly silent as the terrifying immunity with which the police could kill Black people was proven over and over, one video at at time. The outrage of a community used to suffering alone has been felt by others and together they are beginning to stand up, not in one city or one nation, but all over the world.

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A Day at the Beach: Sag Harbor with  Mr. Baldwin Style
Culture Bryan Mason Culture Bryan Mason

A Day at the Beach: Sag Harbor with Mr. Baldwin Style

There are some days that are magic. Days when it all goes right - the perfect setting, the perfect weather, and the perfect group of friends gathered to mark an important occasion. For Donnell and Courtney Baldwin, New York fashion stylists known for their brand, Mr. Baldwin Style, that moment came on a sunny day at Havens Beach in Sag Harbor. The idyllic location, set among bright white sands, long blades of grass, and even a few deer roaming by the ocean, was perfect for the couple’s celebration of their six-year wedding anniversary.

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