To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare
To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare is a landmark exhibition about the ways Black women have claimed and reshaped Shakespeare’s language, stories, and characters. It examines their contributions as actors, scholars, authors, artists, musicians, and directors, showing how they used Shakespeare to build careers, challenge exclusion, and assert their place in history.
Curated by Dr. Patricia Akhimie, the exhibition also incorporates new research on Black women in early modern Europe and on how Black women were represented—and misrepresented—by artists and writers of the period, including Shakespeare. Nearly 100 objects, drawn from the Folger collection and other key loans, include photographs, playbills, posters, books, diaries, illustrations, costumes, and archival materials connected to figures such as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Lorraine Hansberry, Mae Turner, Esther Rolle, and Phillis Wheatley.
When: October 16, 2026–May 2, 2027.
Venue: Stuart and Mimi Rose Rare Book and Manuscript Exhibition Hall at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Tickets: Free; a $15 donation is recommended.
Exhibition focus: The exhibition explores Black women’s engagement with Shakespeare from the early modern period to the present, including their performances, scholarship, creative work, and reinterpretations of Shakespearean characters and texts.
Featured materials: Highlights include a 1645 etching by Wenceslaus Hollar; a 1935 magazine feature about performer Desdemona Waters; Kennedi Carter’s 2020 archival pigment print *Tamika*; Phillis Wheatley’s copybook; a 2022 Royal Shakespeare Company performance photograph of Taya Ming as Hero and Mohammed Mansaray as Claudio in *Much Ado About Nothing*; and Shakespeare’s 1598 *Love’s Labour’s Lost*.
Audio guide: An audio guide is available through Bloomberg Connects and is narrated by Shakespearean actress and director Adjoa Andoh MBE. It also includes contributions from curator Patricia Akhimie and scholars Kim F. Hall and Joyce Green MacDonald.
Listening logistics: Visitors are encouraged to bring headphones for the audio guide. A limited number of devices are available to borrow, and visitors can use the Folger’s free Wi-Fi to access the guide.
Exhibition chair: Adjoa Andoh MBE serves as exhibition chair and will chair special events connected with the exhibition.
Curator: Patricia Akhimie.
Interpretive consultant: Verónica E. Betancourt.
Research fellows: Atesede Makonnen, Brandi K. Adams, Patricia Matthew, Joyce Green MacDonald, Kim F. Hall, and Noémie Ndiaye.
Catalog: A full-color exhibition catalog from ACMRS Press features essays by Patricia Akhimie, Verónica Betancourt, Kim F. Hall, Ayanna Thompson, and other contributors.
Sponsors and support: Daniel W. Hamilton is the lead exhibition sponsor. Additional support comes from the Henry Luce Foundation, Dell Technologies, and Room & Board Home Furnishings.