Events

Freedom Dreams

April 12, 2026- August 9, 2026

Barnes Foundation
2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130

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Arthur Jafa. Love is the Message, The Message is Death, 2016. Detail of video still. Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone

As Philadelphia and the nation prepare to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, Freedom Dreams brings together powerful works by artists in film, video, and installation that invite viewers to immerse themselves in the memories, dreams, and histories of Black Americans.


The exhibition features works by Arthur Jafa, David Hartt, Garrett Bradley (2019 Creative Capital Awardee), Ja’Tovia Gary (2019 Creative Capital Awardee), and Tourmaline, all exploring history, archives, and cultural memory. Freedom Dreams highlights the fluid boundary between past, present, and future and encourages viewers to reflect on how Americans of color have shaped identities and created spaces of resistance, joy, and resilience in the face of systemic oppression. The exhibition is co-curated by Maori Karmael Holmes, Chief Executive and Artistic Officer of BlackStar Projects, and James Claiborne, Fleischner Family Vice President for Engagement at the Barnes.

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America by Garrett Bradley (2019)
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Quiet as It’s Kept by Ja’Tovia Gary (2023)

Bradley Garrett

Love

Garrett Bradley Garrett Bradley uses video and photography as mediums for exploring socio-economic injustice, human conflict, and illuminating the beauty that is plainly in view.

Garrett Bradley

Gary Ja'Tovia

The Evidence of Things Not Seen

Image by Jersean Gollatt. Ja’Tovia Gary is an artist and filmmaker based in Dallas whose work seeks to liberate the distorted histories through which Black life is often viewed while fleshing out a nuanced Black interiority.

Image by Jersean Gollatt.