Rhea L. Combs

Consider the ways portraiture has been used to advance notions of belonging, citizenship, and power. Dr. Rhea Combs, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s director of curatorial affairs, leads an examination of Frederick Douglass’s relationship with portraiture and its relevance today. This special program is part of the Isaac Julien Speaker Series, which features distinguished speakers who make connections to the exhibition Isaac Julien: Lessons of the Hour—Frederick Douglass. This video recording was made possible by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) announced their 2023 Awards for Excellence recipients during a celebration held in NYC. The catalog for Regeneration Black Cinema 1898-1971 was recognized at this years event. The Awards for Excellence, highly esteemed by art curators everywhere, are the only accolades by which curators directly honor their colleagues.

Film buffs will frequently cite "Citizen Kane" or "Gone with the Wind" as early classics. But a new exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts seeks to showcase lesser-known Black filmmakers and actors who have a rich history of their own. Jeffrey Brown has the story for our arts and culture series, "CANVAS." Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/newshour Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe: PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe

On August 21, 2022, in the Ted Mann Theater, on opening day of the museum’s landmark exhibition _Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971_, curators Doris Berger (Vice President of Curatorial Affairs, Academy Museum), Rhea L. Combs (Director of Curatorial Affairs, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery) and J. Raúl Guzmán (Assistant Curator, Academy Museum) discussed the process of creating this in-depth exhibition about Black participation in American filmmaking. The curators reflected on the previously unseen treasures and surprising revelations about African American cinema unearthed during their expansive research, the James Baldwin quote that guided them, and how they produced the exhibition while the museum itself was being constructed. Oscar®, Oscars®, Academy Awards®, Academy Award®, A.M.P.A.S.®, and Oscar Night® are the trademarks, and the ©Oscar® statuette is the registered design mark and copyrighted property, of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. *About the Academy Museum* The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy Museum offers exceptional exhibitions, screenings, and programs that illuminate the world of cinema for film lovers of all ages. In addition to ongoing film series such as Family Matinees, Oscar® Sundays, Available Space, and Branch Selects, the museum also features limited series and spotlight screenings that explore specific exhibitions, film artists, genres, and more. Ongoing education and family programs include youth programs, family drop-in tours and workshops, and school tours. Monthly accommodative programs include ASL Interpreted Tours for our Deaf and hard of hearing communities, Visual Description Tours for our blind and partially sighted communities, and Calm Mornings with accommodative family film screenings for neurodivergent visitors. *Connect with the Academy Museum* Subscribe for our latest videos: http://www.academymuseum.org/videos Plan your visit to the Academy Museum: http://www.academymuseum.org/visit Support the museum and become a member: https://www.academymuseum.org/en/membership *Follow Us on Social* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAcademyMuseum/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/academymuseum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/academymuseum/

Rhea L. Combs is curator of photography and film at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. She also serves as the head of the museum’s Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA). Combs’ current exhibitions and projects include, Everyday Beauty: Selections from the Photography and Film Collection, and Through the African American Lens: Selections from the Permanent Collection [of NMAAHC,] along with the six-part photography book series, Double Exposure. Combs received her B.A. from Howard University, M.A. from Cornell University, and Ph.D. from Emory University. Her writings have been featured in anthologies, academic journals, and exhibition catalogues on a range of topics including: African American female filmmakers, Black popular culture, visual aesthetics, filmmaking, and photography. She’s presented talks on media, art, and culture throughout the United States.

Curators Rhea Combs and Doris Berger, along with Academy Museum President and Director Jacqueline Stewart, discuss SOMETHING GOOD – NEGRO KISS (1898), one of the earliest films featured in the Academy Museum exhibition “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971.” A parody of an even shorter, popular 1896 film called THE KISS, produced for Thomas Edison and featuring a white couple, the film disrupts the minstrel stereotypes commonly associated with African American performances in the late 19th century by showcasing accomplished actors in smart attire engaging in mainstream pop culture satire. This previously unknown material was uncovered in 2017 at the University of Southern California and added to the National Film Registry in 2018. In the very few years since its rediscovery, SOMETHING GOOD – NEGRO KISS has expanded the historical record and enhanced our understanding of Black performance in film, theater, and popular culture in the late 19th century. This video was produced in conjunction with the exhibition “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971.” "Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971" explores the achievements and challenges of Black filmmakers in the US in independent production and within the studio system, both in front of the camera and behind it, from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s to the early 1970s. http://www.academymuseum.org/regeneration *About the Academy Museum* The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy Museum offers exceptional exhibitions, screenings, and programs that illuminate the world of cinema for film lovers of all ages. In addition to ongoing film series such as Family Matinees, Oscar® Sundays, Available Space, and Branch Selects, the museum also features limited series and spotlight screenings that explore specific exhibitions, film artists, genres, and more. Ongoing education and family programs include youth programs, family drop-in tours and workshops, and school tours. Monthly accommodative programs include ASL Interpreted Tours for our Deaf and hard of hearing communities, Visual Description Tours for our blind and partially sighted communities, and Calm Mornings with accommodative family film screenings for neurodivergent visitors. *Connect with the Academy Museum* Subscribe for our latest videos: http://www.academymuseum.org/videos Plan your visit to the Academy Museum: http://www.academymuseum.org/visit Support the museum and become a member: https://www.academymuseum.org/en/membership *Follow Us on Social* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAcademyMuseum/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/academymuseum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/academymuseum/

A landmark year in cinema history, 1939 saw the release of mainstream classics such as CASABLANCA, WIZARD OF OZ, and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON. Curators Rhea Combs and Doris Berger, along with Academy Museum President and Director Jacqueline Stewart, discuss a lesser-known “race film”––a movie created by Black filmmakers for Black audiences––also released in 1939: REFORM SCHOOL, starring Louise Beavers. This video was produced in conjunction with the exhibition “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971.” "Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971" explores the achievements and challenges of Black filmmakers in the US in independent production and within the studio system, both in front of the camera and behind it, from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s to the early 1970s. http://www.academymuseum.org/regeneration *About the Academy Museum* The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy Museum offers exceptional exhibitions, screenings, and programs that illuminate the world of cinema for film lovers of all ages. In addition to ongoing film series such as Family Matinees, Oscar® Sundays, Available Space, and Branch Selects, the museum also features limited series and spotlight screenings that explore specific exhibitions, film artists, genres, and more. Ongoing education and family programs include youth programs, family drop-in tours and workshops, and school tours. Monthly accommodative programs include ASL Interpreted Tours for our Deaf and hard of hearing communities, Visual Description Tours for our blind and partially sighted communities, and Calm Mornings with accommodative family film screenings for neurodivergent visitors. *Connect with the Academy Museum* Subscribe for our latest videos: http://www.academymuseum.org/videos Plan your visit to the Academy Museum: http://www.academymuseum.org/visit Support the museum and become a member: https://www.academymuseum.org/en/membership *Follow Us on Social* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAcademyMuseum/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/academymuseum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/academymuseum/

Curators Rhea Combs and Doris Berger, along with Academy Museum President and Director Jacqueline Stewart, discuss the history of race films. Between 1915 and 1948, more than 150 independent companies produced and distributed Black-cast movies, or “race films,” which offered an array of stories and roles for Black actors and were aimed at Black audiences. During this period, Black-owned production companies made melodramas, westerns, comedies, adventure films, and more. This video was produced in conjunction with the exhibition “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971.” "Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971" explores the achievements and challenges of Black filmmakers in the US in independent production and within the studio system, both in front of the camera and behind it, from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s to the early 1970s. https://www.academymuseum.org/en/regeneration About the Academy Museum The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy Museum offers exceptional exhibitions, screenings, and programs that illuminate the world of cinema for film lovers of all ages. In addition to ongoing film series such as Family Matinees, Oscar® Sundays, Available Space, and Branch Selects, the museum also features limited series and spotlight screenings that explore specific exhibitions, film artists, genres, and more. Ongoing education and family programs include youth programs, family drop-in tours and workshops, and school tours. Monthly accommodative programs include ASL Interpreted Tours for our Deaf and hard of hearing communities, Visual Description Tours for our blind and partially sighted communities, and Calm Mornings with accommodative family film screenings for neurodivergent visitors. Connect with the Academy Museum Subscribe for our latest videos: http://www.academymuseum.org/videos Plan your visit to the Academy Museum: http://www.academymuseum.org/visit Support the museum and become a member: https://www.academymuseum.org/en/memb... Follow Us on Social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAcademyMu... Twitter: https://twitter.com/academymuseum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/academymuseum/

The Regeneration Summit's opening panel invites the audience to take the lead as moderator. This audience-guided program will convene some of Black cinema’s leading voices to reflect on the big question, “What does Black cinema mean to you?” Audience members will collectively steer the direction of the discussion in real time using a live poll, creating an unpredictable journey of reflections on Black cinema. Featured panelists include film director Julie Dash; director and producer Charles Burnett; and President of Macro Film Studios James F. Lopez. The conversation will be guided by co-curator of REGENERATION: BLACK CINEMA 1898–1971 Rhea Combs. The panel will be presented in partnership with the Academy’s Black Caucus, the affinity group for Black Academy members. Finally, the experience will culminate with a special screening and spotlight presentation by the grandchildren of Fayard Nicholas and Cab Calloway. 0:00 - Livestream will begin shortly 3:07 - Livestream starts Regeneration Summit: A Celebration of Black Cinema is a three-day event presenting a variety of immersive experiences dedicated to celebrating and exploring the long history of Black participation in American cinema. Check out the full schedule: https://www.academymuseum.org/en/prog... Regeneration Summit is organized in conjunction with the exhibition REGENERATION: BLACK CINEMA 1898–1971 on view at the Academy Museum through July 16, 2023. More information at https://www.regenerationblackcinema.org REGENERATION: BLACK CINEMA 1898–1971 is the recipient of the 2018 Sotheby’s Prize. The exhibition is made possible in part by major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Technology solutions generously provided by Christie®. Lead support provided by Campari® and J. P. Morgan Private Bank. *About the Academy Museum* The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy Museum offers exceptional exhibitions, screenings, and programs that illuminate the world of cinema for film lovers of all ages. In addition to ongoing film series such as Family Matinees, Oscar® Sundays, Available Space, and Branch Selects, the museum also features limited series and spotlight screenings that explore specific exhibitions, film artists, genres, and more. Ongoing education and youth programs include family and teen workshops, school tours, drop-in tours and in-gallery conversations. Monthly accommodative programs include ASL Interpreted Tours for our Deaf and hard of hearing communities, Visual Description Tours for our Blind and partially sighted communities, and Calm Mornings offers early gallery access, family workshops and accommodative family film screenings for neurodivergent visitors. *Connect with the Academy Museum* Subscribe for our latest videos: http://www.academymuseum.org/videos Plan your visit to the Academy Museum: http://www.academymuseum.org/visit Support the museum and become a member: https://www.academymuseum.org/en/membership *Follow Us on Social* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAcademyMuseum/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/academymuseum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/academymuseum/