“Black Joy, In Spite Of…” Exhibition

The National Civil Rights Museum opens Black Joy, In Spite Of…, a new exhibition. Organized by the Frist Art Museum and guest-curated by Memphis native Brigette Janea Jones, the exhibition brings together 25 historical photographs and contemporary artworks exploring how Black Tennesseans have created lives of joy, connection, and purpose across generations of adversity.

Through photographs spanning from enslavement and Reconstruction through the modern civil rights movement and into the present, visitors encounter not only the conditions Black communities endured, but the lives they built within and beyond them. Contemporary works by Tennessee artists, including TC, Joseph Patrick, and emerging voices, carry the story forward, exploring what it means to live, resist, and claim joy on one’s own terms.

Black Joy, In Spite Of… is included with general museum admission and shows until August 14, 2026.