To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare
To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare is a landmark exhibition curated by Dr. Patricia Akhimie that centers the ways Black women have claimed, interpreted, and reshaped Shakespeare. It examines their use of Shakespeare’s language, stories, and characters to express creativity and power, challenge exclusion, build careers, and assert their place in history.
The exhibition also considers the presence and representation of Black women in early modern Europe, including the ways artists and writers—including Shakespeare—portrayed them. Nearly 100 objects, drawn from the Folger collection and other institutions, include photographs, playbills, posters, books, diaries, illustrations, and costumes. Featured figures include Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Lorraine Hansberry, Mae Turner, Esther Rolle, and Phillis Wheatley, among many others. The exhibition’s title is inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130.
When: October 16, 2026–May 2, 2027
Venue: Stuart and Mimi Rose Rare Book and Manuscript Exhibition Hall
Tickets: Price not available
Passes: Pass information forthcoming
Curator: Dr. Patricia Akhimie, Director of the Folger Institute
Featured material: Objects 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 in *Much Ado About Nothing*; and Shakespeare’s 1598 *Love’s Labour’s Lost*.
Audio guide: An audio guide will be available through Bloomberg Connects. It is narrated by Shakespearean actor and director Adjoa Andoh MBE and includes additional contributions from Patricia Akhimie and scholars Kim F. Hall and Joyce Green MacDonald.
Catalog: A full-color exhibition catalog from ACMRS Press includes essays by Patricia Akhimie, Verónica Betancourt, Kim F. Hall, Ayanna Thompson, and other contributors. The catalog is scheduled for publication on September 22.
Exhibition team: Verónica E. Betancourt serves as interpretive consultant. Research fellows include Atesede Makonnen, Brandi K. Adams, Patricia Matthew, Joyce Green MacDonald, Kim F. Hall, and Noémie Ndiaye. The project also includes research assistants, map designers, exhibition fabricators, conservators, collections staff, and other current and former Folger personnel.
Support: Exhibition support is provided by Daniel W. Hamilton and the Henry Luce Foundation.
Age guidance: Not stated.
Accessibility: Not stated.