Inspired by the visual representations found in early African-American cinema and music, With a Cast of Colored Stars, highlights the evolution of racialized iconography in Black American popular entertainment. The title of the show is directly inspired by the marginal text used in Oscar Micheaux film posters such as Swing! (1938), The Exile (1931) and Underworld (1937). Among some of the many phrases displayed in these posters were, “an all colored cast” or “with a cast of colored stars”—language used by Black filmmakers to promote and advertise Black content during the early 20th century.

The exhibition features original music sheet covers, reproductions of theater advertisements, film posters and vinyl record covers that span from 1836–1979. Artists and designers were invited to interpret and re-mix from this historical imagery, and have produced work across a wide range of media—posters, zines, videos, newspaper broadsides, patterns and collage. The intersection of historical print media alongside contemporary designer responses, gives space to reflect on the legacy of language, illustration, photography and print techniques used to shape mainstream conceptions of Blackness in America. With a Cast of Colored Stars challenges us to reckon with how particular language and imagery contributed to racial stereotypes and what cultural symbols have “defined Blackness” as we know it today. This exhibition is an educational platform for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue on Black representation as it connects to the history of mainstream print media.

With a Cast of Colored Stars is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. This exhibition is also supported in part by Parsons School of Design, The New School and includes works on loan from the following collections: the Globe Collection and Press at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the National Museum of African American History and Culture, The New School Archives & Special Collections, The New York Public Library Digital Collections, The Separate Cinema Archive and The Walters Collection.

 
Curated and designed by Kelly Walters, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the BFA Communication Design Program in Parsons School of Design, The New School. Exhibition Design and Creative Project Management by Joelle Riffle (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2013) and Research Assistance by Staicy Ngongu (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2022).

Inspired by the visual representations found in early African-American cinema and music, With a Cast of Colored Stars, highlights the evolution of racialized iconography in Black American popular entertainment. The title of the show is directly inspired by the marginal text used in Oscar Micheaux film posters such as Swing! (1938), The Exile (1931) and Underworld (1937). Among some of the many phrases displayed in these posters were, “an all colored cast” or “with a cast of colored stars”—language used by Black filmmakers to promote and advertise Black content during the early 20th century.

The exhibition features original music sheet covers, reproductions of theater advertisements, film posters and vinyl record covers that span from 1836–1979. Artists and designers were invited to interpret and re-mix from this historical imagery, and have produced work across a wide range of media—posters, zines, videos, newspaper broadsides, patterns and collage. The intersection of historical print media alongside contemporary designer responses, gives space to reflect on the legacy of language, illustration, photography and print techniques used to shape mainstream conceptions of Blackness in America. With a Cast of Colored Stars challenges us to reckon with how particular language and imagery contributed to racial stereotypes and what cultural symbols have “defined Blackness” as we know it today. This exhibition is an educational platform for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue on Black representation as it connects to the history of mainstream print media.

With a Cast of Colored Stars is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. This exhibition is also supported in part by Parsons School of Design, The New School and includes works on loan from the following collections: the Globe Collection and Press at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the National Museum of African American History and Culture, The New School Archives & Special Collections, The New York Public Library Digital Collections, The Separate Cinema Archive and The Walters Collection.

 
Curated and designed by Kelly Walters, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the BFA Communication Design Program in Parsons School of Design, The New School. Exhibition Design and Creative Project Management by Joelle Riffle (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2013) and Research Assistance by Staicy Ngongu (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2022).

Inspired by the visual representations found in early African-American cinema and music, With a Cast of Colored Stars, highlights the evolution of racialized iconography in Black American popular entertainment. The title of the show is directly inspired by the marginal text used in Oscar Micheaux film posters such as Swing! (1938), The Exile (1931) and Underworld (1937). Among some of the many phrases displayed in these posters were, “an all colored cast” or “with a cast of colored stars”—language used by Black filmmakers to promote and advertise Black content during the early 20th century.

The exhibition features original music sheet covers, reproductions of theater advertisements, film posters and vinyl record covers that span from 1836–1979. Artists and designers were invited to interpret and re-mix from this historical imagery, and have produced work across a wide range of media—posters, zines, videos, newspaper broadsides, patterns and collage. The intersection of historical print media alongside contemporary designer responses, gives space to reflect on the legacy of language, illustration, photography and print techniques used to shape mainstream conceptions of Blackness in America. With a Cast of Colored Stars challenges us to reckon with how particular language and imagery contributed to racial stereotypes and what cultural symbols have “defined Blackness” as we know it today. This exhibition is an educational platform for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue on Black representation as it connects to the history of mainstream print media.

With a Cast of Colored Stars is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. This exhibition is also supported in part by Parsons School of Design, The New School and includes works on loan from the following collections: the Globe Collection and Press at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the National Museum of African American History and Culture, The New School Archives & Special Collections, The New York Public Library Digital Collections, The Separate Cinema Archive and The Walters Collection.

 
Curated and designed by Kelly Walters, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the BFA Communication Design Program in Parsons School of Design, The New School. Exhibition Design and Creative Project Management by Joelle Riffle (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2013) and Research Assistance by Staicy Ngongu (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2022).

Inspired by the visual representations found in early African-American cinema and music, With a Cast of Colored Stars, highlights the evolution of racialized iconography in Black American popular entertainment. The title of the show is directly inspired by the marginal text used in Oscar Micheaux film posters such as Swing! (1938), The Exile (1931) and Underworld (1937). Among some of the many phrases displayed in these posters were, “an all colored cast” or “with a cast of colored stars”—language used by Black filmmakers to promote and advertise Black content during the early 20th century.

The exhibition features original music sheet covers, reproductions of theater advertisements, film posters and vinyl record covers that span from 1836–1979. Artists and designers were invited to interpret and re-mix from this historical imagery, and have produced work across a wide range of media—posters, zines, videos, newspaper broadsides, patterns and collage. The intersection of historical print media alongside contemporary designer responses, gives space to reflect on the legacy of language, illustration, photography and print techniques used to shape mainstream conceptions of Blackness in America. With a Cast of Colored Stars challenges us to reckon with how particular language and imagery contributed to racial stereotypes and what cultural symbols have “defined Blackness” as we know it today. This exhibition is an educational platform for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue on Black representation as it connects to the history of mainstream print media.

With a Cast of Colored Stars is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. This exhibition is also supported in part by Parsons School of Design, The New School and includes works on loan from the following collections: the Globe Collection and Press at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the National Museum of African American History and Culture, The New School Archives & Special Collections, The New York Public Library Digital Collections, The Separate Cinema Archive and The Walters Collection.

 
Curated and designed by Kelly Walters, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the BFA Communication Design Program in Parsons School of Design, The New School. Exhibition Design and Creative Project Management by Joelle Riffle (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2013) and Research Assistance by Staicy Ngongu (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2022).

Inspired by the visual representations found in early African-American cinema and music, With a Cast of Colored Stars, highlights the evolution of racialized iconography in Black American popular entertainment. The title of the show is directly inspired by the marginal text used in Oscar Micheaux film posters such as Swing! (1938), The Exile (1931) and Underworld (1937). Among some of the many phrases displayed in these posters were, “an all colored cast” or “with a cast of colored stars”—language used by Black filmmakers to promote and advertise Black content during the early 20th century.

The exhibition features original music sheet covers, reproductions of theater advertisements, film posters and vinyl record covers that span from 1836–1979. Artists and designers were invited to interpret and re-mix from this historical imagery, and have produced work across a wide range of media—posters, zines, videos, newspaper broadsides, patterns and collage. The intersection of historical print media alongside contemporary designer responses, gives space to reflect on the legacy of language, illustration, photography and print techniques used to shape mainstream conceptions of Blackness in America. With a Cast of Colored Stars challenges us to reckon with how particular language and imagery contributed to racial stereotypes and what cultural symbols have “defined Blackness” as we know it today. This exhibition is an educational platform for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue on Black representation as it connects to the history of mainstream print media.

With a Cast of Colored Stars is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. This exhibition is also supported in part by Parsons School of Design, The New School and includes works on loan from the following collections: the Globe Collection and Press at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the National Museum of African American History and Culture, The New School Archives & Special Collections, The New York Public Library Digital Collections, The Separate Cinema Archive and The Walters Collection.

 
Curated and designed by Kelly Walters, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the BFA Communication Design Program in Parsons School of Design, The New School. Exhibition Design and Creative Project Management by Joelle Riffle (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2013) and Research Assistance by Staicy Ngongu (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2022).

Inspired by the visual representations found in early African-American cinema and music, With a Cast of Colored Stars, highlights the evolution of racialized iconography in Black American popular entertainment. The title of the show is directly inspired by the marginal text used in Oscar Micheaux film posters such as Swing! (1938), The Exile (1931) and Underworld (1937). Among some of the many phrases displayed in these posters were, “an all colored cast” or “with a cast of colored stars”—language used by Black filmmakers to promote and advertise Black content during the early 20th century.

The exhibition features original music sheet covers, reproductions of theater advertisements, film posters and vinyl record covers that span from 1836–1979. Artists and designers were invited to interpret and re-mix from this historical imagery, and have produced work across a wide range of media—posters, zines, videos, newspaper broadsides, patterns and collage. The intersection of historical print media alongside contemporary designer responses, gives space to reflect on the legacy of language, illustration, photography and print techniques used to shape mainstream conceptions of Blackness in America. With a Cast of Colored Stars challenges us to reckon with how particular language and imagery contributed to racial stereotypes and what cultural symbols have “defined Blackness” as we know it today. This exhibition is an educational platform for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue on Black representation as it connects to the history of mainstream print media.

With a Cast of Colored Stars is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. This exhibition is also supported in part by Parsons School of Design, The New School and includes works on loan from the following collections: the Globe Collection and Press at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the National Museum of African American History and Culture, The New School Archives & Special Collections, The New York Public Library Digital Collections, The Separate Cinema Archive and The Walters Collection.

 
Curated and designed by Kelly Walters, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the BFA Communication Design Program in Parsons School of Design, The New School. Exhibition Design and Creative Project Management by Joelle Riffle (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2013) and Research Assistance by Staicy Ngongu (Parsons, BFA Communication Design 2022).