Art Exhibit on Black Hair

By Jenna Brooks

This November a bold new art exhibition opened in Atlanta, Georgia that was centered entirely on black hair and its impact on black women and black culture. Called The Black Hair Experience, its two curators, artists Alisha Brooks and Elizabeth Austin-Davis, were inspired by content creators on social media and the black hair care industry as a whole. The exhibit is interactive and wanted to show black women that their hair is beautiful and inspiring, something vital to their culture as a whole. 

The exhibit showcases a mix of photography and interactive pieces, including a gift shop housing all sorts of hair and beauty products. There are multiple different things to see and touch, including a swing made of natural hair and hair products dangling from the ceiling almost like a chandelier. It was all designed by Brooks and Austin-Davis as a way to promote self-love among black women, showing them that their hair is beautiful and something to be celebrated rather than scorned. 

With many black women facing discrimination due to their hair, other exhibits like this have also begun popping up across the country to show love to black women’s hair. With a full variety of different types of hair, and with the exhibit being sanitised to be “Corona-proof,” it is truly a wonder to visit and experience yourself. Additionally, the exhibit is planning on creating and releasing more pieces for a large studio space sometime soon when we return to more normalcy. The exhibit is truly an entire experience for those who visit, and was created to be a welcoming, warm space for people to come through while showcasing the beauty of black hair through art and fashion. 

The Black Hair Experience closes December 20th 2020.