I Too Sing America

the long version

The exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance, a period of cultural blossoming that occurred in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920-50s. Curated by Columbus native and highly acclaimed writer Wil Haygood, the exhibition includes work by Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, Augusta Savage, and others who interpreted the lives of African Americans during this time. In addition, the exhibition includes unprinted photographs by James Van Der Zee obtained through the artist's estate and a private collection of vernacular photographs of African American life. A selection of books, sheet music, and print ephemera from this period further showcases the innovative and expansive cultural output produced in Harlem during this unforgettable epoch of American history. The exhibition explores the religious, political, and cultural activism of the period, everyday life, and the extraordinary individuals such as poet Langston Hughes and philosopher Alain Locke whose words and scholarship contributed to the development of this period so rich in art, music, and literature. "'I Too Sing America' celebrates the visual art and material culture of the Harlem Renaissance, illuminating the lives of its people, the art, the literature, the music, and the social history through paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, and contemporary documents and ephemera. Included are works by cherished artists such as James Van Der Zee, William Henry Johnson, Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, Archibald Motley, Palmer Hayden, Elizabeth Catlett, and Romare Bearden. The project is the culmination of decades of reflection, research, and scholarship by Wil Haygood, acclaimed biographer and preeminent scholar on Harlem and its cultural history. In thematic chapters, the author captures the range and breadth of the Harlem Renaissance, a sweeping creative movement that saw an astonishing array of black writers, artists, and musicians gather over a period of a few intense years, expanding far beyond its roots in Harlem to unleash a myriad of talents on the nation."