Paris in Black Exhibition at DuSable Museum Highlights Black American Artists in Post-War Paris

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center in Chicago presents 'Paris in Black: Internationalism and the Black Renaissance,' an exhibition curated by Danny Dunson that explores the migration of Black American artists, writers, musicians, and performers to Paris after World War II. Running through February 2027, the show features over 100 artworks from the museum's permanent collection, including Archibald J. Motley Jr.'s 'Sunday in the Park' (1941) and sculptures by Richmond Barthé, Augusta Savage, and William Artis. The exhibition traces the Harlem Renaissance's global influence and includes context on Alain Locke. It highlights figures like Josephine Baker, James Baldwin, and Beauford Delaney, but critics note that performers Grace Bumbry and Aida Overton Walker receive less attention, and sonic and literary works are underrepresented. The show also covers sartorial tastemakers such as Patrick Kelly and models Pat Cleveland and Billie Blair, with a notable photograph of André Leon Talley and Bethann Hardison.