Traveling While Black: A Century of Pleasure, Pain, & Pilgrimage

Client: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library
Role: Lead Designer (HvADesign)
Location: New York, NY
Exhibition Date: March 2020

The New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture opened the exhibition Traveling While Black: A Century of Pleasure, Pain, & Pilgrimage in March 2020. Curated by Kevin Young, the director of the Schomburg Center at the time, the show examines a century of travel, and its challenges, for Black Americans. It is a rich, multisensory experience with, among others, works by Bill Traylor and Jacob Lawrence; a projection of Malcolm X's pilgrimage to Egypt; a touch-screen interface for exploring the Schomburg's extensive collection of Green Books; wartime and Motorcycle Club fashion and ephemera; a specially curated playlist; and much more.

As the lead designer on this project, I created the overall brand for the exhibition including the photographic and typographic treatment throughout; temporary wall, case, and ephemera placement; color palette; material selection; and printed rack card for marketing. I also collaborated with the Schomburg exhibition team on the gallery layout and installation.