:focal(400x301:401x302)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/44/65/44655b1e-09e4-4c52-aaa3-1e2030fa38ab/water_color_portrait.jpg "Long Before Jazz, Frank Johnson Was Playing the Hottest Music in America | Arts & Culture")
An anonymous watercolor portrait of Francis Johnson keeping an early 19th-century horn Courtesy NYPL On March 9, 1819, a supremely gifted musician named Francis “Frank” Johnson performed a concert at the Masonic Hall on Chestnut Road in Philadelphia. Johnson and his bandmates have been absolutely free Black adult men the […]
Culture
Smithsonian showcases American pop culture in ‘Entertainment Nation’
When curators at the National Museum of American History began planning an exhibition gallery called “Entertainment Nation” — a destination that would fill 7,200 square feet of space with items from its vast holdings of musical instruments, movie costumes and sports memorabilia — they quickly agreed on what they didn’t […]
How Graphic Artist Brandy Brown Celebrates Black Culture
Courageous, creative and bold are just a few of the words that describe the Seattle-based artist Brandy Brown and her brand Marabou Design. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Brown’s approach to creating art is simple: follow your heart. She tends to focus on making pieces that speak to the […]
New Culture Wing Showcases Role of Entertainment in American Life
The new Society Wing at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will showcase how enjoyment plays a part in shaping the national conversation as a result of two new exhibition galleries opening Dec. 9. The Ray and Dagmar Dolby Hall of American Lifestyle will host “Entertainment Nation/”Nacion del espectaculo” […]
From Haiti to Redcar: a complete guide to this week’s entertainment | Culture
Going out: Cinema Kanaval: A People’s History of Haiti in Six ChaptersOut nowA documentary evolution of Leah Gordon’s black-and-white photography series capturing carnival performers in beautiful and sometimes eerie masks and costumes. Here Gordon joins forces with co-director Eddie Hutton-Mills to blend striking imagery (above) with an impressionistic look at […]