End of Year Exhibition
Friday, April 13 Sterling Memorial Library 10 AM – 12 PM

Join us on Friday, April 13, in Sterling Memorial Library from 10 AM until 12 PM for a special end-of-year event. We are taking over the hallway between the Gilmore Music Library and the Center for Teaching and Learning for an exhibition of black sound archives, both real and virtual.

On one side of the hall, the Black Sound and the Archive Working Group will be presenting an exhibition of web-based “sound archives,” curated by our year-long participants. Students will present a series of short talks about their archives and visitors will have the opportunity to visit the online exhibition.  On the other side of the hall, the  Gilmore Music Library’s exhibition Black Sound and the Archive will be opening. The exhibit  will feature archival objects from the Gilmore’s collection that explore some of the working group’s central themes. The description is included below:

The Black Sound and the Archive Working Group at Yale University is a two-year initiative (supported by Yale’s 320 York Humanities Grant) that focuses on the history and significance of African-American sonic practices in tandem with critical examination of the nature of archives. The group seeks to augment the very notion of what constitutes a black sound archive. Beyond historical sound recordings as such, African-American sonic practices are also embedded in a rich yet often opaque archive of extraordinary and everyday objects, photographs, narratives, performances, and repertoires. The group is led by Professors Daphne Brooks (African American Studies, American Studies, Theater Studies, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) and Brian Kane (Music), and includes faculty, graduate students, and undergrads from Yale and beyond. It produces a variety of events, including workshops, performances, and this exhibit at the Gilmore Music Library, also entitled Black Sound and the Archive. The exhibit features an array of rare and unusual items from the library’s collections, such as an arrangement written by Mary Lou Williams, a document in Duke Ellington’s hand, and several surprising objects (ranging from a walking stick to pajamas) that belonged to J. Rosamond Johnson, the composer of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Special thanks to the staff of the Gilmore Music Library and the Center for Teaching and Learning for their cooperation and support.

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