The Black Joy Project wordmark on a mustard colored background
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The Black Joy Project

  • Duration:Temporary
  • Location:Campbell Gallery

(date) 2/2/2024–12/1/2024

The Black Joy Project aims to make an unprecedented celebration of Black JOY visible in our communities and museum spaces. The project celebrates the beauty, joy, and resilience of Black women and girls and their lived experiences during COVID-19 and the social unrest after the brutal deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others. During 2024, public events will carry the project’s themes into performances, workshops, talks, and other programs with an exciting variety of artists and experts. Throughout the run of the project, the community can expect events that underscore resilience and healing through food, performance, crafting, music, and much more.

  • Two wooden canvases with portrais of Black women in three shades of purple
    Artwork by Keith Jacobs
  • Two wooden canvases with portrais of Black women in three shades of purple
  • Two wooden canvases with portrais of Black women in three shades of purple
    Artwork by Keith Jacobs
Upcoming Black Joy Project Events

It's Baked In

As part of its ongoing celebration of Black and African-American communities in the C-U area, The Black Joy Project has created a recipe section and blog and is gathering recipes to share! Beginning Tuesday, March 26:

View recipes that have been shared, submit your dish online, and find helpful hints and instructions. Any material you submit via this form may be used in the exhibit and/or related media for display, educational, or promotional purposes.

Online submission and file uploads require a Google login. If you do not have a Google account, physical recipe packets are available at the Black Joy Project inside the Spurlock Museum. Or, you may email Whitney Clarke at for assistance with your submission.
Submit Recipe(external link) View Recipes(external link) Submit Recipes(external link)


About the Curators

Dr. Ruby Mendenhall is a professor in Sociology and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is the Associate Dean for Diversity and Democratization of Health Innovation of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Her research looks at how gun violence affects Black mothers’ mental and physical health. She is currently directing the Nobel Project, which provides students from marginalized groups unprecedented access to experiences and mentors in science, technology, engineering, art, and math. She recently trained close to 50 high school and young adults to be Community Health Workers and Citizen/Community Scientists. She is also developing Wellness Stores/Spaces in schools and other locations in communities.

Florence Adibu is a Research Scientist at Carle Illinois College of Medicine. She infuses her work with a deep understanding of intercultural learning, Afrofuturism, and community healing. She inspires students to become Global Ambassadors, passionately addressing the intersection of innovation, inequity, and knowledge. Florence is a vocal advocate for Black women and girls, leveraging oral storytelling to speak truth to power in her teaching and writing.

  • headshot of a Black woman wearing a black striped blazer outdoors
    Dr. Ruby Mendenhall
  • headshot of a Black woman with white striped blouse in a studio setting
    Florence Adibu

Supported by:

  • Dr. Allan C. and Marlene S. Campbell Endowment Fund
  • Richard J. and Barbara S. Faletti Gallery of African Cultures Fund
  • Donald W. and Dorothy Berkey White Endowment Fund
  • Norman E. Whitten Spurlock Graduate Assistant Fund
  • Spurlock Museum Educational Endowment Fund
  • Spurlock Museum Guild Museum Fund
  • Girls Like Me Inc.
  • Carle Illinois College of Medicine
  • President’s Initiative to Celebrate the Impact of the Arts and Humanities
  • National Science Foundation
  • Illinois Arts Council Agency

Contact

Contact us at .