"Freedom Dreams" on view through August 9 at the Barnes Foundation

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- In honor of America's semi quincentennial, the Barnes Foundation presents "Freedom Dreams."

"We had an opportunity to look at what freedom means for Black people in the United States through the lens of moving images," says Maori Karmael Holmes, co-curator of the exhibition, "Freedom Dreams."

There are five works by intergenerational artists living across the U.S.

"The title for the exhibition comes from scholar historian Robin D. G. Kelley's book from 2002, which is all about exploring the Black radical imagination and how culture can be used for social change," says Holmes.

Artist David Hartt is based in Philadelphia.

"His work is called 'On Exactitude in Science (Watts),' and it looks at the historically African American community of Watts in Los Angeles," says James Claiborne, co-curator of "Freedom Dreams" and vice president for engagement at the Barnes Foundation.

Holmes says Watts is where Charles Brunett's 1978 film "Killer of Sheep" takes place.

Ja'Tovia Gary's "Quiet as It's Kept" also combines past and present.

"'Quiet As It's Kept,' is taking Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye' as a point of departure to examine Black female identity and exploring sexuality and colorism," says Holmes.

Garrett Bradley's "America" brings together contemporary images and rare footage from a 1913 silent film called, "Lime Kiln Club Field Day."

"It is imagining Black people in the early 20th century just doing day-to-day things, just living, being joyful, which in a way is an experience of freedom," says Holmes.

"'Pollinator' is a film by Tourmaline, and it is a meditation on the life and the impact of trans artist and activist Marsha P. Johnson," says Claiborne.

"Love is the Message, The Message is Death" is a seven-minute montage by Arthur Jafa.

"It is presenting more contemporary Black life and asking you to imagine, 'are these people free?" says Holmes.

"And so this idea that we get to step back from our phones and our television screens and our laptops and bring the moving image into the built environment of a museum, and of a gallery, perhaps gives us a different understanding of what we're seeing and what we're consuming, and how it has implications for our understanding of U.S. history," says Claiborne.

"Freedom Dreams" is on view at the Barnes Foundation through August 9, 2026.

"Freedom Dreams" | Link to Tickets at the Barnes Foundation

Barnes Foundation
2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130