Harlem Is Everywhere: The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism

What happens when our most intimate possessions end up in art museums?Today, Harlem Is Everywhere is featuring an episode from another podcast from The Met called Immaterial: 5,000 Years of Art, One Material at a Time. Each episode tells the stories of artists' materials to explore how and why people make art. In this episode, we cover blankets and quilts. Blankets comfort and keep us warm. They accompany us through our lives. They are keepers of some of our most intimate stories. We look at a group of artists who harness this power of blankets and quilts as totems for memory, community and cultural survival. Guests: Loretta Pettway Bennett, Gee's Bend quilt maker Marie Watt, artist Ally Barlow, associate conservator, Department of Textile Conservation, The Met Louisiana P. Bendolph, Gee's Bend quilt maker Louise Williams, board president, Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy Featured artworks: Qunnie Pettway, Housetop, ca. 1975: https://www.soulsgrowndeep.org/artist/qunnie-pettway/work/housetop Marie Watt, Untitled (Dream Catcher), 2014: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/849042 Louisiana P. Bendolph, Housetop quilt, 2003: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/654095 Annie E. Pettway, “Flying Geese” Variation, ca. 1935: https://www.soulsgrowndeep.org/artist/annie-e-pettway/work/flying-geese-variation Willie "Ma Willie" Abrams, Roman Stripes quilt, ca. 1975: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/654081 For a transcript of the episode and more information, visit metmuseum.org/immaterialblankets #MetImmaterial Immaterial is produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Magnificent Noise and hosted by Camille Dungy. Our production staff includes Salman Ahad Khan, Ann Collins, Samantha Henig, Eric Nuzum, Emma Vecchione, Sarah Wambold, and Jamie York. Additional staff includes Julia Bordelon, Skyla Choi, Maria Kozanecka, and Rachel Smith. Sound design by Ariana Martinez and Kristin Muller.Original music by Austin Fisher.Fact-checking by Mary Mathis and Claire Hyman.Sensitivity listening by Adwoa Gyimyah-Brempong. Immaterial is made possible by Dasha Zhukova Niarchos. Additional support is provided by the Zodiac Fund. Special thanks to Eva Labson, Scott Browning, Curator Amelia Peck, and Avery Trufelman.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What were the sounds of the Harlem Renaissance? Jazz and blues exploded onto the scene. People flocked to uptown venues like the Savoy Ballroom, where they could dance the Lindy Hop all night long. In this episode, we’ll learn how the music of the Renaissance was part of a larger boundary-breaking nightlife that involved gambling, speakeasies, and hole-in-the-wall clubs where people could express gender and sexuality in new ways. We’ll learn about the artists, musicians, and performers who embodied this spirit of creative experimentation and transgression—and whose work remains fresh decades later. Learn more about the exhibition at metmuseum.org/HarlemRenaissance Objects featured in this episode: James Van Der Zee, [Person in a Fur-Trimmed Ensemble], 1926 Jacob Lawrence, Pool Parlor, 1942 Archibald Motley Jr. paintings: The Liar, 1936; and Picnic, 1934 Guests: James Smalls, art historian and professor Richard J. Powell, art historian and professor Christian McBride, Grammy Award winning musician and composer Original poem: Carl Phillips’s “At the Reception” For a transcript of this episode and more information, visit metmuseum.org/HarlemIsEverywhere #HarlemIsEverywhere Harlem Is Everywhere is produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What role did fashion play in the Harlem Renaissance? Artists at the time were committed to creating a new image of Black life in America and abroad. In this episode, we’ll explore how Black self-representation evolved during this period through the photography of James Van Der Zee and paintings by artists like William Henry Johnson and Archibald J. Motley, Jr. We’ll also examine how fashion conveyed community values and offered new modes of individual expression that challenged racist stereotypes and created a shared sense of dignity. Learn more about The Met's exhibition at metmuseum.org/HarlemRenaissance Objects featured in this episode: James Van Der Zee, Nude, Harlem, 1923 (1970.539.27) William Henry Johnson, Street Life, Harlem, ca. 1939–1940 James Van Der Zee, Couple, Harlem, 1932 (2021.446.1.2) Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Black Belt, 1934 Guests: Bridget R. Cooks, Chancellor’s Fellow and professor of art history and African American studies at the University of California, Irvine Robin Givhan, Senior critic-at-large, The Washington Post For a transcript of this episode and more information, visit metmuseum.org/HarlemIsEverywhere #HarlemIsEverywhere Harlem Is Everywhere is produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing Harlem Is Everywhere, a brand new podcast from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hear how music, fashion, literature, and art helped shape a modern Black identity. Presented alongside the exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism, the podcast is hosted by writer and critic Jessica Lynne. The series features a dynamic cast of speakers who reflect on the legacy and cultural impact of the Harlem Renaissance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.