Since its founding in 1976, the African American Museum in Philadelphia has been committed to telling the diverse and challenging stories of African American history and culture.  Over the last 35 years this commitment has resulted in a rich array of exhibitions and programs that have engaged and educated our audiences, while often making crucial contributions to scholarship and provoking new dialogue.

This year, as the African American Museum in Philadelphia celebrates its 35th anniversary, we are proud to present Free to Be:  The Artistry & Impact of African Americans in Paris, 1900 – 1940, one of the Museum’s most ambitious undertakings to date, offering a wide-ranging exhibit, stimulating programs, and Paris ‘til Sunday, a jazz summit showcasing the era’s most unique art form. Presented as part of the first Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, AAMP joins over 100 cultural partners from throughout the region in exploring the unprecedented innovation, artistic experimentation and uninhibited creativity that exploded in Paris at the turn of the century. Free to Be unravels the remarkable and often untold stories of African Americans’ cultural contributions in both The City of Light and The City of Brotherly Love during the time period.

The African American Museum is pleased to join with the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts and the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance to present this exhibition.

The Exhibit
Free from slavery but still shackled by discrimination, numerous early-twentieth-century African American artists crossed racial barriers and the Atlantic Ocean in search of better opportunities in the cultural capital of Paris.  With rarely seen paintings from its own permanent collection, loans from prestigious institutions such as New York’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Howard University’s Art Gallery, and objects and costumes borrowed from private collections, Free to Be will immerses you in the artists and artworks of turn of the century Paris, highlighting the contributions of Henry Ossawa Tanner, Josephine Baker, Paul Robeson, Julian Abele, Langston Hughes and others.

The Josephine Baker Film Festival
Experience the mesmerizing dances and charming comedic talent that made Josephine Baker a world-famous entertainer of the stage and screen during the Josephine Baker Film Festival.  La Revue des Revues (1927), Siren of the Tropics (1927), Zouzou (1934) and Princess Tam Tam (1935) feature the daring dance numbers and spectacular costumes for which Baker is most known, while Josephine Baker: Black Diva in a White Man's World (2006) explores her off-stage role as a member of the French Resistance and a civil rights activist.

Programs:
Deepen your appreciation of the Free to Be exhibit by attending one of several related programs, including Guest Curator Layla Bermeo’s Curator’s Walk Through during which she will provide special insights into the exhibit. Anna O. Marley from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts will present a lecture, Pittsburgh's Painter Takes Paris: Henry Ossawa Tanner and France, 1910-1920 and Anne Anlin Cheng, Professor of American Literature and African American Studies at Princeton University, will read from her ground-breaking new book Second Skin:  Josephine Baker & the Modern Surface.  Descendents of several of the artists and cultural figures featured in the exhibit will discuss the lives and legacies of their relatives during the Voices of Family and Legacy panel discussion.

Paris ‘til Sunday: AAMP’s Jazz  Summit Weekend
Early essence of early Parisian jazz will be captured with outdoor performances, lobby strolling musicians, and artist arrangements of the work of Sidney Bechet, father of the jazz soprano saxophone and one of the era’s most colorful  personalities.  Jazz bassist Gerald Veasley and Philadelphia’s own Heath Brothers headline, while several of Philadelphia’s most talented jazz musicians complete the weekend’s playbill.