Ted Sarandos

Miky Lee

Kimberly Steward

Jim Gianopulos

Patricia Bellinger Balzer

Jason Blum

Arnaud Boetsch

Laura Dern

David Dolby

Sidonie Seydoux Dumas

Sid Ganis

Olivier de Givenchy

Ray Halbritter

Tom Hanks

Dawn Hudson

Bill Kramer

David Linde

Eva Longoria

Ryan Murphy

Dominic Ng

Katherine L. Oliver

Alejandro Ramírez Magaña

David Rubin

Regina K. Scully

Emma Thomas

Kevin Yeaman

Doris Berger

Donald Bogle

Cara Caddoo

Rhea L. Combs

Terri Simone Francis

Michael Boyce Gillespie

Whoopi Goldberg

J. Raúl Guzmán

Shola Lynch

Ron Magliozzi

Ellen C. Scott

Jacqueline Stewart

Gary Dauphin

Lauren Girard

Erwin Hines

Yosuke Kitazawa

Kit Masaracchia

Adriana Siu de Olaso

Emily Rauber Rodriguez

Mike Schiro

Agnes Stauber

Chandini Tirunagaru

Connor Uretsky

Mike Vazquez

Savannah West

Dan Yalg

Something Good Negro Kiss

Bert Williams and Odessa Warren Grey in Lime Kiln Club Field Day (dir. Edwin Middleton, T. Hays Hunter, 1913), film stills. Courtesy Museum of Modern Art.

Bert Williams and Odessa Warren Grey in Lime Kiln Club Field Day

Louise Beavers in Reform School (dir. Leo C. Popkin, 1939), film still. Courtesy Academy Film Archive.

Fredi Washington (center) and Duke Ellington and his band in Black and Tan (1929). Core Collection, Production Files, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences


Fredi Washington (center) and Duke Ellington and his band in Black and Tan (1929)

Bill Robinson and Lena Horne in Stormy Weather (1943). Courtesy of Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Sidney Poitier with Diahann Carroll in Paris Blues (1961)

I am Somebody

Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971 explores the rich history of Black participation in US cinema from its beginnings to just beyond the civil rights movement. Inspired by and named after an independent all-Black-cast movie from 1923, Regeneration seeks to revive lost or forgotten films, filmmakers, and performers for a contemporary audience.Moviemaking has always been instrumental in shaping culture more broadly, and Black artists and entrepreneurs have been involved from the start despite racism and prejudices that limited their opportunities. Black actors, at times, turned stereotypical roles that did not represent their full humanity into three-dimensional characters, while Black directors who were left out of the mainstream system created their own independent production companies.Later, particularly after World War II, opportunities for Black filmmakers in Hollywood expanded as segregation slowly unraveled. By examining Black participation in film over a 70-year period, Regeneration showcases the long-standing relationship between film and Black visual culture. It highlights the agency many artists asserted in their respective crafts despite challenges, revealing their tenacity, immense talent, and unwavering commitment to creative expression.Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971 tells this story through seven galleries and themes. “Introduction” considers the social and political situation of Black Americans at the dawn of cinema in the United States. “Early Film” looks at the representation of Black people in cinema from 1897 to 1915. Pioneering independent Black filmmakers such as Oscar Micheaux and films made for Black audiences from the 1910s to the 1940s are examined in “Race Films.” “Music and Film” takes stock of Black music in American film, from Black musicals to the lost art of the “soundie.” “Stars and Icons” shines a light on Black stardom. “Freedom Movements” documents a set of cinematic stories and careers born in changing times and politics. “Agency” tracks Black directors&#39; daring and pioneering paths during the civil rights movement.Among the over 225 original objects on view in Regeneration, visitors will encounter photographs, scripts, drawings, costumes, moviemaking equipment, posters, and original contemporary artworks. Highlighted objects include never-before-shown costume drawings from Carmen Jones (1954); promotional glamour portraits of dozens of leading Black film stars; costumes worn by Lena Horne in Stormy Weather (1943) and Sammy Davis, Jr. in Porgy and Bess (1959); cowboy boots worn by Herb Jeffries in Harlem on the Prairie (1937); a 1920s camera from the Norman Film Company, a producer of race films; a Mills Panoram “soundie” machine from the 1940s; tap dance shoes from the Nicholas Brothers; and one of Louis Armstrong’s trumpets. The in-gallery experience will also be enhanced by two augmented reality experiences designed specifically for the exhibition, one looking at the geography of early Black film production and the other offering a taste of vintage Black Hollywood’s glamour. The exhibition also features rarely seen excerpts of films restored by the Academy Film Archive and clips from other narrative films, documentaries, newsreels, and home movies. Several film series will also accompany the exhibition featuring films from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s to the early 1970s, from a series showcasing silent film pioneers such as writer-producer-director Oscar Micheaux to an in-depth look at independently produced, genre-defying works of innovators such as Melvin Van Peebles.As the exhibition’s permanent digital home, this website extends Regeneration’s themes and delivers a multimedia content experience of value to both the museum-goer and the curious web-surfer engaging from home. In addition to original articles, essays, and curricular materials, the site will offer introductory excerpts of the show&#39;s print catalog, a web version of Regeneration&#39;s curatorial audio tour, and an interactive database capturing the films, filmmakers, and production companies examined in the show. The site also features web versions of Regeneration&#39;s two immersive, in-gallery augmented reality experiences. The site will update with new content regularly through the show&#39;s run at the Academy Museum. As the show travels to subsequent venues, it will reflect those new iterations, preserving a record of the exhibition and its rich supporting slate of events, symposia, and screenings.Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971 is cocurated by Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Vice President of Curatorial Affairs Doris Berger and National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Director of Curatorial Affairs Rhea L. Combs, with support from Academy Museum Assistant Curator J. Raúl Guzmán, and Research Assistants Emily Rauber Rodriguez and Manouchka Kelly Labouba.

The Nicholas Brothers in a scene from Stormy Weather, 1943, from left, Fayard Nicholas and Harold Nicholas. Photographic print, gelatin silver. Courtesy Margaret Herrick Library, ©Twentieth Century Fox

The Nicholas Brothers from Stormy Weather, 1943

Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971 explores the rich history of Black participation in US cinema.

Overview

Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971 is the recipient of the 2018 Sotheby’s Prize. The Sotheby’s Prize was founded to support and encourage museums to break new ground by recognizing curatorial excellence and facilitating an upcoming exhibition that explores overlooked or underrepresented art history. The Sotheby’s Prize was awarded by a jury of museum curators and directors comprising Sir Nicholas Serota, Donna De Salvo, Okwui Enwezor (1963–2019), Connie Butler, Emilie Gordenker, and chaired by Allan Schwartzman.

Regeneration is made possible in part by major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Technology solutions generously provided by Christie®.

Lead support provided by Campari® and J. P. Morgan Private Bank.

Generous support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, and Octavia Spencer.

Accompanying exhibition catalogue supported in part by a grant from Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

Academy Film Archive restorations are funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation.

Academy Museum Digital Engagement Platform sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Overview

Credits