The Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG) reveals The Underground Library: An Archive of Our Truth, a BADG Lab initiative commissioned by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum for their exhibition “Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial,” which opened Saturday, November 2, 2024. This exhibit is the perfect opportunity to make a trip to the Nation’s Capitol and explore the heritage of Black Design and Art.
“Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial” features 25 debut commissions that illustrate the ways design is embedded in contemporary life. Installed throughout Cooper Hewitt, the former residence of Andrew and Louise Carnegie, the exhibition explores design’s role in shaping the physical and emotional experiences of home across the U.S., U.S. territories, and tribal nations.
The Underground Library is inspired by the Underground Railroad, the clandestine network established in the early 19th century, through which many enslaved African Americans traveled in search of freedom. This library installation represents a 21st-century sanctuary surrounded by art, objects, artifacts, and books of Black legacy. In reimagining and repurposing Andrew Carnegie’s personal library, BADG invites visitors to examine the power of home libraries and the significance of literacy, remembering that African Americans were denied the right to read under slavery.
“Being part of the Smithsonian Design Triennial is a defining moment for BADG Lab, offering thousands of visitors a chance to connect with our mission-driven work,” shares BADG Founder Malene Barnett, “Through our exhibition space, we hope visitors will sense the layered paths to freedom our ancestors walked, empowering us to carry forward this legacy through art and design.”
Conceptualized and designed by the BADG Curatorial Team, Malene Barnett, Jomo Tariku, Leyden Lewis, Nina Cooke John, and Penny Francis, The Underground Library is constructed with custom-designed seating, textiles, and carpeting by the BADG collective. The abundance of objects honors African Diasporic legacies offered by over thirty makers in art and design. As a testament to the preservation of Black cultural legacy, BADG has curated the library with heirlooms of cultural heritage to champion and safeguard these Black legacies, which remain at risk of erasure.
The Underground Library expands the BADG archive and upholds its mission to empower makers of African descent to create immersive spaces that center their culture and community. Through the principle of Ujima, BADG collectively works to share knowledge, support, and resources.
This installation was made possible through the invaluable support of Akerman, Crafting The Future, Grace Farms Foundation/ Design For Freedom, Hachette Book Group, Kravet Inc., LebaTex, MIT Press, Randy’s Booth Co., Shaw Contract Hospitality, Thayer Coggin, and Window Works.
The Underground Library is available to experience at “Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial,” from November 2, 2024, through August 10, 2025, at Cooper Hewitt, located at 2 East 91st Street in New York.
“Conceptualizing this design has been an enlightening journey, weaving together the Black experience from the Americas to Africa. The library transforms the Eurocentric design of the Carnegie Library into an archive of Black memory and legacy. Anchored by the carpet mapped with the routes of the Underground Railroad and the guiding North Star to freedom, this project embodies our guild’s mission to build enduring spaces for knowledge and reflection, celebrating Black creativity across generations.” – Jomo Tariku
“This exhibition is a reservoir of narratives and imagery, a refuge for those seeking freedom through the power of artistic literacy and personal expression. The space encourages building one’s own library, inspiring us to create a sanctuary for those willing to journey beyond the surface to explore tales woven with complexity and truth.” – Leyden Lewis
“The Underground Library embodies safe spaces where Black creativity can flourish and expand without constraint. Curating this pivotal project for the BADG Lab has been a meaningful journey, offering a space to envision environments that allow us to express our truest selves. The library showcases an incredible range of work by talented contributors, each piece a testament to the depth and vibrancy of Black creative expression.”- Nina Cooke John
“The window textile pattern draws inspiration from handmade quilts embedded with codes, used to guide the enslaved on their journey to freedom. In tribute to these Quilt Codes, we chose a vibrant color palette to symbolize joy and ignite acts of creative resilience.” – Penny Francis
ABOUT BLACK ARTISTS + DESIGNERS GUILD
Founded in 2018, The Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit empowering makers of African descent to create immersive spaces that center their culture and community and, through the principle of Ujima, collectively work together to share knowledge, support, and resources. BADG Lab initiatives represent the vanguard in Black art and design. The Lab provides space and support for artists and designers to express their artistry, liberated from the constraints of client specifications. Learn more at https://badguild.info and follow @badguild on Instagram, Linkedin, & Facebook
BADG CURATORIAL TEAM
- Malene Barnett, BADG’s Founder, is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, textile designer, and author of Crafted Kinship based in Brooklyn, New York.
- Jomo Tariku is an accomplished artist and industrial designer whose African-inspired work spans art, design, data science, and humanitarian volunteerism with work in leading museums, movies, and homes.
- Leyden Lewis, Founder and Creative Director of Leyden Lewis Design Studio, creates poetic and culturally sensitive spaces that engage with past and present cultures, allowing for a fluid integration between art, architecture, and design.
- Nina Cooke John is the founding principal of Studio Cooke John Architecture and Design, a multidisciplinary design studio that values placemaking as a way to transform relationships between people and the built environment.
- Penny Francis is the Principal Designer and Owner of Eclectic Home, a renowned full-service design firm and retail shop in historic New Orleans.
ABOUT COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM
Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs, master’s program, publications and online resources inspire, educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education and research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the landmarked Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over 215,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup dating to about 1100 BC to contemporary 3D-printed objects and digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of design and its power to change the world.
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