Thursday, November 7, 2024, from 10 am – 11 am
ONLINE ONLY
Free
To watch online, register via Zoom.
Throughout its 75-year history, the Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) showcased the gamut of makeup, hair, skincare, fashion design, and style in Black culture. Elaborate photographic spreads captured the allure and grace of actresses such as Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge, runway shows featured models Pat Cleveland, Richard Roundtree, and Naomi Sims, and the images captivated audiences with the latest American and European fashion trends. This conversation with Getty archivist Skyla S. Hearn, archivist Camille Lawrence, and historian Dr. Rikki Byrd explores the JPC’s coverage of beauty and fashion in magazines like Ebony and JET and the company’s overall contribution to the beauty and fashion industries.
Skyla S. Hearn is an archivist, photographer, and writer dedicated to supporting communities marginally reflected in broader historical contexts; centering community archival practices; and committed to amplifying documentation created from first-person perspectives of unsung individuals and groups. Hearn contributes to the ongoing preservation of Black cultural heritage and is a proud Chicagoan.
Dr. Rikki Byrd is a writer, educator, and curator. She is the founder of Black Fashion Archive and the co-founder of the Fashion and Race Syllabus. Byrd is currently assistant professor of visual culture studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She spends her time between Austin and Chicago.
Camille Lawrence is an archivist who focuses on the innovations of artistic expression across the African Diaspora. She is most interested in exploring and archiving identity formation through three foundational principles: Oral, Physical, and Ritual. Lawrence’s background as an art historian, artist, and beauty practitioner inform her approach to archival work.
The Johnson Publishing Company Archive is owned by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and J. Paul Getty Trust. In 2019, a consortium made up of the Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Smithsonian Institution acquired the JPC Archive. In 2022, ownership was transferred to NMAAHC and the J. Paul Getty Trust, with a commitment to support archival processing and digitization including physical and digital infrastructure over a seven-year period.
The conversation will be available on the Getty Research Institute YouTube channel following the event.
Visit the Getty Research Institute’s Exhibitions and Events page for more free programs.
1200 Getty Center Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049 (Get Directions)
