Eventos

Curatorial Statement

Curatorial statement by the National Black Theatre

“Where There is Love There Is No Fear”
- Dr. Barbara Ann Teer

Visualizing Legacies and Futures takes us through a visual timeline of the National Black Theatre (NBT) that captures the key layers shaping its identity. This collection of archival and contemporary images stands as a testimony to the power of love, and to the myriad ways that memory, artistry, and community intertwine to shape NBT’s foundation and legacy. This exhibition is part of The National Black Theatre’s residency at the Hemispheric Institute during Fall 2025.

Since its founding in 1968 by Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, the National Black Theatre has served as a living archive of Black creativity, activism, entrepreneurship, and imagination—its legacy sustained not only through performances, but also through the rare artifacts, manuscripts, photographs, and digital traces that tell its story.

At a time when images of the Black body and the American narrative are constantly altered and manipulated, this exhibition, Visualizing Legacies and Futures, offers materials that affirm our history. It invites us into an ongoing conversation, urging us to reflect on what is preserved, what continues to unfold, and how images and documents carry the weight of memory. Each photograph provides a glimpse into the vision of those who came before, while pointing us toward new possibilities and helping us understand how we can shape the future. This future is filled with new stories, new forms, and new layers of legacy yet to be written.

In honoring these roots, we recognize that history is not static. It is a living, breathing continuum that reminds us of the power of Black theatre as both a record of the past and a catalyst for what is to come. This gathering of images and ephemera is both a celebration and a call: to remember, to reflect, and to carry the work forward—together.

@NatblackTheatre #KeepSoulAlive

The National Black Theatre is the Fall 2025 Arts Institution in Residence at the Hemispheric Institute. Click here to see the full National Black Theatre Collection in the Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library (HIDVL). 

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