Regeneration | Detroit Institute of Arts Museum
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Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898 – 1971  honors the legacy of African American filmmakers and actors from the dawn of cinema, through the golden age, and ...

**Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971 ** February 4 – June 23, 2024
Detroit Institute of Arts
5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI

In cooperation with the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures…

Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971 honors the legacy of African American filmmakers and actors from the dawn of cinema, through the golden age, and into the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement. Inspired by and named after an independent 1923 all-Black-cast movie, Regeneration seeks to revive lost or forgotten films, filmmakers, and performers for a contemporary audience.

Explore — or revisit — a bittersweet part of American cinematic history, lost in plain sight but not by accident. In concurrence with the exhibit, The Detroit Film Theatre will be showing a selection of 20th century African American cinema gratis throughout the month of February until June.

This weekend’s events are…

  • Friday Night Live!: The Black Opry Revue
    Friday, February 23, 7:00pm
    DIA Rivera Court
    5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
    Black musicians have always been integral to country, folk, blues, and Americana music genres; in many instances, it was Black musicians who first created these forms. The American music industry has an equally long history of not supporting them, or excluding them completely. For these reasons, Black Opry was founded by Nashville’s Holly G. as a collective of like-minded musicians, writers, producers, and supporters who created a website where Black artists could be heard and celebrated. The Black Opry Revue is the touring element of this collective and highlights their diversity of sound and stories. Every Revue features a unique line-up of Black artists.
  • The Scar of Shame
    w/short film Mercy the Mummy Mumbled
    USA, circa 1926/1918
    Sunday, February 25, 2:00pm
    DIA Lecture Hall
    5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
    Harry Henderson plays a classic pianist and Lucia Lynn Moses a would-be cabaret singer; star-crossed lovers kept apart by the class divisions between educated strivers and the working poor who succumb to poverty, alcoholism, and crime. The ambition of The Scar of Shame was to present realistic Black characters with no resemblance to Hollywood stereotypes, and to depict the ways in which middle-class Blacks in the 1920s struggled to create new American identities without abandoning their community. This screening will include Mercy the Mummy Mumbled (1918), a silent short from the Ebony Comedies series produced by the General Film Company. It will be presented with a live musical score composed and performed by saxophonist Mike Monford. (82 min.)

The Regenerations exhibit and all DFT films are gratis with general admission. The Black Opry Revue is also gratis but requires seat reservations. General museum admission is free for residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. For further information, please call (313) 833-7900 during visiting hours or visit https://dia.org.

Black History Month at the DIA is generously supported by Arn and Nancy Tellem.