Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Black cinema
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience

Inspired and named after a 1923 all-Black-cast movie, ‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’, which is currently on show at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), explores the overlooked legacy of Black artists in American film from the dawn of cinema through to the civil rights movement. Originally organised by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the exhibition aims to bring lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience, while at the same time, highlighting how trailblazing African American artists persisted, despite barriers of discrimination and prejudice, in order to showcase their talent, tenacity and commitment to creative expression.
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the DIA
In the Heat of the Night theatrical release poster, 1967
The show features nearly 200 historical items – among them photographs, newsreels, home movies, costumes, props and posters – as well as specially designed interactive elements, all juxtaposed with significant artworks by contemporary artists such as Theaster Gates, Glenn Ligon, Gary Simmons and Kara Walker. Historical highlights include home movie excerpts of legendary artists such as Josephine Baker and the Nicholas brothers, as well as film excerpts featuring the likes of Louis Armstrong, Dorothy Dandridge, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, Paul Robeson and Cicely Tyson.
Gary Simmons, Balcony Seating Only, 2017
‘This critically important presentation chronicles much of what we know on-screen, but shares so much more of what happened off-screen,’ says the DIA’s film curator Elliot Wilhelm. ‘We will learn how each generation of these pioneering actors and filmmakers paved the way for the following generation to succeed, and how they served as symbols and advocates for social justice in and beyond Hollywood.’
Throughout the run of the show, the museum’s Detroit Film Theatre, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, will host a specially curated film series that ties together the exhibition and Detroit’s own cinema history. The series will include films that date back to the early years of cinema, such as Within Our Gates (1920), Body and Soul (1925), The Flying Ace (1926), and Princess Tam Tam (1932), as well as films with Detroit connections including Eleven PM (filmed in Detroit in 1928).
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ is on show at the Detroit Institute of Arts until 23 June 2024, dia.org
The Nicholas Brothers in a scene from Stormy Weather (1943)
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Anne Soward joined the Wallpaper* team as Production Editor back in 2005, fresh from a three-year stint working in Sydney at Vogue Entertaining & Travel. She prepares all content for print to ensure every story adheres to Wallpaper’s superlative editorial standards. When not dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, she dreams about real estate.
-
Introducing the design-led Split Watches, a force for good
Good design is given a charitable spin by Split Watches – for every one sold, the company donates an hour of therapy
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of society
A new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
Inside a Montana house, putting the American West's landscape at its heart
A holiday house in the Montana mountains, designed by Walker Warner Architects and Gachot Studios, scales new heights to create a fresh perspective on communing with the natural landscape
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of society
A new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
Mystic, feminine and erotic: the power of Penny Slinger’s bodies as landscape
Artist Penny Slinger continues her exploration of the sacred, surreal feminine in a Santa Monica exhibition, ‘Meeting at the Horizon’
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, Divers
Geordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took place
Marc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colour
The Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park
‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the church
The American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Unlike the gloriously grotesque imagery in his films, Yorgos Lanthimos’ photographs are quietly beautiful
An exhibition at Webber Gallery in Los Angeles presents Yorgos Lanthimos’ photography