Celebrate Community, Identity, and Self-Expression all summer long
SALEM, MA – Today, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) invites visitors to a summer-long celebration honoring community, identity, and self-expression. Kick off the summer with a Pride party, then honor the 20th anniversary of Yin Yu Tang: a Chinese Home. Take in compelling new exhibitions featuring an international array of leading Black artists, stretch it out with yoga and meditation or take the stage as a speaker in our Moth StorySLAM. Highlights include:
EXHIBITIONS
As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic
June 17 through December 31, 2023
Organized by Aperture, curated by Elliott Ramsey, and drawn from Dr. Kenneth Montague’s Wedge Collection, a Black-owned photography collection originating in Toronto, As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic looks at the myriad experiences of Black life through the lenses of community, identity, and power. The exhibition makes its U.S. debut at PEM and features more than 100 works by Black artists from Canada, the Caribbean, Great Britain, the United States, and South America, as well as throughout the African continent. Join us for the opening celebration on Saturday, June 17, and catch pop-up talks, live music, and art making.
Dawit L. Petros, Hadenbes (detail), 2005, from As We Rise- Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy the artist:Bradley Ertaskiran
Bethany Collins, America: A Hymnal
July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024
Just in time for Independence Day, multidisciplinary artist Bethany Collins (bottom left) returns to PEM with America: A Hymnal, a solo exhibition and immersive experience that uses language to explore American history and the nuance of racial and national identities. Explore 100 different versions of the popular patriotic anthem “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” rewritten between the 18th and 20th centuries in support of various American causes. A range of these powerful voices and expressions are heard throughout the gallery in a sound piece that Collins calls “a familiar chaos of dissenting versions of what it means to be …. American bound together.” Activate your own civic mindset and join us for a Meditation in the Galleries event on Sunday, July 2, focused on the exhibition.
Gio Swaby: Fresh Up
August 12 through November 26, 2023
“Fresh up” is a Bahamian phrase often used as a way to compliment someone’s personal style or confident way of being. This August, go on a joyful journey with multidisciplinary artist Gio Swaby (bottom right) as Fresh Up explores the intersections of Blackness and womanhood. Swaby creates portraits of women from her own tight social circle using a range of textile-based techniques. The portraits are anchored in the artist’s desire to represent and celebrate the nuanced ways in which Black women express themselves.
Bethany Collins. © 2020 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Gio Swaby. Photo by Anthony Gebrehiwot © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum.
HEADLINING PROGRAMS
MIDSUMMER: Pride Fashion Presentation and After-Hours Party
June 23 | 8–11:30 pm
Celebrate Pride Month and the longest day of the year by dancing the night away to tunes from legendary DJ Ana Matronic. Stroll through a collaborative fashion presentation from designer Hogan McLaughlin and artist Bill Crisafi, inspired by the folk imagery of ancient Midsummer festivals. View the duo’s newest collection in an intimate setting with sets designed by Burial Ground and floral arrangements by Designs by Don.
Summer Solstice Family Festival
Saturday, June 24 | 10 am–4 pm
Celebrate with us as we honor the summer solstice — a time of great abundance in the natural world and the official beginning of summer! Join family yoga at the Ropes Mansion Garden for multigenerational movement and breath, followed by storytime and art making.
Courtesy of Bill Crisafi and Hogan McLaughlin.
Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home 20th Anniversary Festival
Saturday, July 15 | 10 am–5 pm
The PEM community will come together for a day of festivities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the cultural exchange project that brought Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home to our campus. For the past 20 years, the house has been a gateway into understanding the art, culture and history of generations of people living and working in rural Southeastern China. Learn about the daily lives of the Huang family, who lived in the home for eight generations. Immerse your senses through new tours, talks with curators and special guests, musical performances, drop-in art making and a taste of traditional Chinese cuisine. This festival day also kicks off a year of programming to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this unique cultural heritage project.
The Moth StorySLAM
Thursday, August 3 | 7:30–9:30 pm
Join us for a live storytelling event with the Moth StorySLAM, hosted by PEM and in conjunction with our installation Gu Wenda: United Nations. The Moth aims to promote the art and craft of storytelling, and to honor and celebrate the diversity and commonality of human experience. Prepare a five-minute story about hair, or simply join us to listen to the stories shared by members of our community.
Yin Yu Tang interior. Photo by Bob Packert:PEM. Gu Wenda in his installation united nations – man and space (1999-2000). Photo by Kathy Tarantola:PEM
Panorama Queer and Trans Film Festival
Friday, August 27 | 10 am–5 pm, 7–8:30 pm
Saturday, August 28 | 10 am–4 pm & Sunday, August 29 | 10 am–5 pm
The 2nd Annual Panorama Film Festival will be held in the heart of Salem. Panorama is home to the next generation of queer cinema and celebrates the revolutionary existence of LGBTQIA+ people from around the world. The festival will feature 19 international films by queer and trans filmmakers under 30.
Publicity Images
High-resolution images available upon request.
Sponsors & Partners
As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic is organized by Aperture and curated by Elliott Ramsey (Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver, Canada). Media partner: WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station. Bethany Collins, America: A Hymnal is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. Gio Swaby: Fresh Up was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg and the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is made possible by the generosity of Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation and Leslie and Angus Littlejohn. Gu Wenda: United Nations is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. Exhibitions at PEM are made possible by the generosity of Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation. Additional support was provided by individuals who support the Exhibition Innovation Fund: Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Chip and Susan Robie, Timothy T. Hilton, Kate and Ford O’Neil, and Henry and Callie Brauer. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.
Image Credits
Gio Swaby, New Growth Second Chapter 11 (detail), 2021. Thread and fabric appliqué on canvas. Collection of The Altman Family. © Gio Swaby.
Dawit L. Petros, Hadenbes (detail), 2005, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy the artist/Bradley Ertaskiran.
Bethany Collins. © 2020 Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
Gio Swaby. Photo by Anthony Gebrehiwot © 2023 Peabody Essex Museum.
Courtesy of Bill Crisafi and Hogan McLaughlin.
Yin Yu Tang interior. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.
Gu Wenda in his installation united nations – man and space (1999-2000). Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM.
