Black Queer Legacies from Harlem to Weeksville

Join us on Saturday, February 28th for a two-part public program exploring the vibrant intersections of Black queer history, public art, migration, and community memory. Inspired by The Gay Harlem Renaissance exhibition (currently on view at The New York Historical) and the restored Exodus and Dance frieze by artist Richmond Barthé in Weeksville, we’ll trace the creative and cultural lineages that connect Harlem’s early 20th-century queer artists to the living histories of present-day Brooklyn.

Part One: Performance at Kingsborough Houses
The program begins at the Kingsborough Houses with a site-responsive performance inspired by Richmond Barthé’s frieze, Exodus and Dance. The performance activates the frieze as a space of memory and embodiment, reflecting on Barthé’s legacy as a Black queer artist and the role of public art in holding and transmitting cultural history.

Part Two: Salon-Style Panels at Weeksville Heritage Center
After the performance we will transition to Weeksville Heritage Center for a series of salon-style panel conversations that bring together historians, artists, curators, writers, archivists, and community leaders.

• Living for the City: Black Migration from the Outset of the Harlem Renaissance explores Black migratory patterns between Harlem and Brooklyn during the early twentieth century. Panelists examine how housing, employment, transit, and cultural life fueled movement to neighborhoods such as Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, and Weeksville, framing migration as a dynamic expression of modern Black life in New York City.
• We Are the Record: Oral Histories and the Black Storytelling Tradition, centers oral history as both a scholarly practice and a deeply rooted community tradition. The conversation explores oral history as a tool for preservation, public memory, and community building, offering insight into how individuals and communities can document and sustain their own histories.
• Black Contemporary Artists, Creatives & Community-Builders brings together Black contemporary artists and cultural workers reflecting on art in public space, creative practice as community care, and the ongoing contributions of Black and LGBTQ+ creatives. Grounded in the legacies of the Harlem Renaissance, Kingsborough Houses, and Weeksville, the panel highlights how today’s artists carry history forward while imagining new collective futures.

During the 15-minute transitions between each panel, guests are invited to engage with:

• Facilitated artmaking sessions
• Homework: Architectures of Belonging, on view at Weeksville Heritage Center
• Oral history listening stations featuring community voices and narratives

Schedule Overview
12:00 PM – Performance & Opening Remarks at Kingsborough Houses
12:30 PM – Transition to Weeksville Heritage Center
1:00 PM – Living for the City: Black Migration from the Outset of the Harlem Renaissance
2:00 PM – We Are the Record: Oral Histories and the Black Storytelling Tradition
3:00 PM – Black Contemporary Artists, Creatives & Community-Builders
3:45 PM – Closing Remarks
4:00 PM – Program Concludes