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Selected Press and Media

National Gallery of Art (February, 2023)

Washington, DC, through the Scurlock Lens

In celebration of its release, we introduce the Scurlock Studio, photographers of the Washington Black Renaissance. Learn about the profound impact Addison Scurlock and his sons had on the city and discover how they made beauty the center of their art.

Webby Awards (May 2023)

Webby Award Winner: Regeneration Black Cinema

"Inspiring, educational, empowering, historical, celebratory"

Artnet (November 2, 2022)

Serena and Venus Williams and Ava DuVernay Tapped Rising-Star Artists to Paint Their Portraits for the Smithsonian—See the Results Here

The works were commissioned as part of the institution's biennial Portrait of a Nation Award, which recognizes individuals who have made transformative contributions to the U.S. 

Vanity Fair (November 14, 2022)

Inside the 2022 National Portrait Gala

Ava DuVernay, Serena and Venus Williams, Marian Wright Edelman, Clive Davis, and more were honored during the star-studded event.

The Guardian (August 19, 2022)

Exhibit reveals role of Black Americans in shaping film industry: ‘This history has never been shown’

Recognizing independent filmmakers during this particular time period, Combs added, helps illustrate that “there was still a vibrant ecosystem of artists who were making a way out of no way.

The LA Times (August  19, 2022)

A new Academy Museum exhibit gives early Black trailblazers in film their due

Recognizing independent filmmakers during this particular time period, Combs added, helps illustrate that “there was still a vibrant ecosystem of artists who were making a way out of no way.

The Georgetowner (May 12, 2022)

Women Leaders: Rhea Combs, Curatorial Affairs Director, Nat’l Portrait Gallery

Our spring arts preview featured 20 women cultural leaders in Washington, D.C.

Shondaland (May 12, 2021)

National Portrait Gallery Extends ‘The Obama Portraits Tour’ to San Francisco and Boston

Multi-City Tour Featuring Artworks by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald Extended Through October

Shondaland (May 12, 2021)

National Portrait Gallery Extends ‘The Obama Portraits Tour’ to San Francisco and Boston

Multi-City Tour Featuring Artworks by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald Extended Through October

Shondaland (May 12, 2021)

Dr. Rhea L. Combs on Thinking Critically About Art and Culture

Why the National Portrait Gallery’s new director of curatorial affairs takes a holistic look at her position in the art world.

Culture Type (4 April, 2021)

Rhea L. Combs Named Director of Curatorial Affairs at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY (NPG) in Washington, D.C., announced a new appointment today. Rhea L. Combs is joining the Smithsonian museum as director of curatorial affairs.

Detroit Free Press (8 April, 2021)

Detroiter will focus on innovation, inclusion as new curator
of National Portrait Gallery

Rhea Combs credits seeing Detroit's famed Diego Rivera murals as a child with sparking her interest in museums and the arts.

Alta (22 February 2021)

Embarrassment of Riches

Three prominent archives of rare materials that document the history of Black film land in Los Angeles.

WSJ (29 August 2020)

Chadwick Boseman’s Career Amplified Black Culture, History

The surprise news on Friday of actor Chadwick Boseman’s death at age 43 left his fans and industry peers struggling to take stock of a meteoric career cut short, and the impact of an actor whose work shined a light on Black history and culture.

LA TImes (February 2020)

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will open in December

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures claimed the Oscars stage Sunday to tout its own forthcoming premiere: The long-delayed, much-anticipated Los Angeles museum devoted to filmmaking will open Dec. 14.

Smithsonian Magazine (January 2020)

Trove of Stunning Dance Photography Now Online

Modern dance impresario Alvin Ailey once asked photographer Jack Mitchell to shoot publicity images of his dancers for their next performance without even knowing the title of their new work. Seeing “choreography” in the images Mitchell produced Ailey leapt into an ongoing professional relationship with Mitchell.

Artnet (March 2019)

A Newly Uncovered Photograph of a Young Harriet Tubman Offers a Different View of the Abolitionist Pioneer

The photo is part of a historic collection of photographs of abolitionists and political leaders.

Time Magazine (February 2019)

12 Leaders Who Are Shaping the Next Generation of Artists

"As a curator at the museum, tickets to which consistently sell out, Combs searches for quotidian items that might stretch museumgoers’ common understanding of history."

ArtNews (December 2019)

Sotheby’s Prize Goes to Black Cinema Survey at Academy Museum in Los Angeles

Sotheby’s has given its annual Sotheby’s Prize to “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1900-1970,” a survey exhibition to be held at the soon-to-open Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles in 2020. 

The Washington Post (October 2018)

Smithsonian’s new film festival offers opportunity — and hope — to filmmakers of color

Sharing these types of stories is an integral part of the festival, according to Rhea Combs, the event’s lead organizer and curator of film and photography at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

The Guardian (June 2018)

Watching Oprah: exhibition dedicated to star who 'chronicled an ever-changing America'

New exhibition at the National Museum of African American History places Winfrey and her storied career at the centre of the American story

The Washington Post (June 2018)

Oprah Winfrey is part of American history — and now has the museum exhibition to prove it

Curators Rhea L. Combs and Kathleen Kendrick worked with Winfrey and her staff on arranging loans for the exhibition and on fact-checking and background information.

The Washingtonian (June 2018)

An Inside Look at DC’s New Oprah Exhibit

Combs, who along with Kendrick worked on the exhibit for 18 months, spoke with Washingtonian about her experience with the project and meeting Oprah. The National Museum of African American History and Culture’s newest exhibit, Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture.

The New York Times (February 23, 2018)

Photographing Hip-Hop’s Golden Era

“The culture has morphed and changed as things do over time, but these pictures speak to the grass roots nature of it,” said Rhea L. Combs, the museum’s curator of film and photography. 

HuffPost (June 2018)

‘Watching Oprah,’ A New Smithsonian Exhibit, Is Like Watching America

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is devoting a yearlong special exhibition to the media mogul’s cultural legacy.

The New York Times (June 2018)

Oprah Earned This Museum Show. And It’s a Potent Spectacle.

She and her thousands of hours of TV are now the subjects of a big, fascinating exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture that captures what the show was, did and has meant. 

The Undefeated (July 2018)

The Oprah exhibit at NMAAHC shows Oprah is even more influential than you thought

‘Oprah Winfrey became an important way for us to look at the ways in which society dealt with ideas around promise and potential.’

The New York Times

From Duke Ellington to Public Enemy: Images of Hip-Hop and Its Cultural Roots

An exhibition at a Smithsonian Museum draws the connections between hip-hop and previous generations of African-American musicians and activists.

The New York Times

Vintage Photos Recall the Early Days of Hip-Hop, Before it Became a Billion-Dollar Industry

At present I think when you think about the museum and you think about the mission of the museum, it is one that wants to provide a sweep of African-American history and culture,” explains Rhea Combs, a curator of photography.

The New York Times / Lens (Dec 19, 2017)

African American History Seen Through an African-American Lens

Photography was speaking to and empowering African-American communities, but it was also creating a moment whereby the larger mainstream society had to recognize and confront that this group of citizens existed.

The Farmville Herald (July 29, 2015)

Giving Birth to History

At present I think when you think about the museum and you think about the mission of the museum, it is one that wants to provide a sweep of African-American history and culture,” explains Rhea Combs, a curator of photography.

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