Folger Shakespeare Library Explores Black Women’s Engagement with the Bard in New Exhibition
In Washington DC, the Folger Shakespeare Library is presenting a new exhibition called To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare, which is curated by Dr. Patricia Akhimie. This exhibit kicked off in October 2026 and runs until May 2, 2027. It focuses on the contributions of Black women to Shakespeare’s works over the last 400 years. Attendees can explore nearly 100 items, including photos, costumes, and playbills, along with video clips featuring Black actresses. There's even a replica of Lorraine Hansberry’s living room for discussions on Shakespeare. Visitors can engage in writing activities and listen to an audioguide by Adjoa Andoh. The exhibit also addresses misconceptions about diversity in Shakespeare’s time, showcasing artifacts like a First Folio and Toni Morrison’s notes on Desdemona.
Key facts
- To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare is on view at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC until 2 May 2027.
- The exhibition is curated by Dr Patricia Akhimie, director of the Folger Institute.
- It is the first exhibition to collectively explore over 400 years of Black women’s engagement with Shakespeare.
- The show is the product of more than two years of research and contains nearly 100 items.
- A replica of Lorraine Hansberry’s living room, based on a 1959 Vogue photo spread, is a central immersive element.
- The audioguide is narrated by Adjoa Andoh, a Shakespearean actor and exhibition chair.
- The exhibition includes a copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio purchased by a slave-owning British family and a record of enslaved people on their sugar plantation.
- It features a copybook created by Phillis Wheatley and Toni Morrison’s handwritten notes on her play Desdemona.
- The exhibition is named after Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, long speculated to be written about a Black woman.
- Maya Angelou’s 1985 declaration that “William Shakespeare was a Black woman” is a touchstone for the exhibition.
Entities
Artists
- Kennedi Carter
- Meech
- Toni Morrison
- Maya Angelou
- William Shakespeare
- Lorraine Hansberry
- Adjoa Andoh
- Aretha Franklin
- Lauryn Hill
- Billie Holiday
- SZA
- Phillis Wheatley
- Leontyne Price
- Samuel Barber
- Franco Zeffirelli
- Patricia Akhimie
- Scipio Moorhead
- Louis Melançon
- Tim Tiebout
- Brittany Diliberto
Institutions
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Folger Institute
- ROSEGALLERY
- Metropolitan Opera Archive
- Library of Congress
- Vogue
Locations
- Washington DC
- United States
- Cedar Rapids
- Iowa
- London
- United Kingdom
- New York City