11 May 21 - 27, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents “I hope people feel more energized and empowered to create art and show up for their community, create their soccer events, create safe spaces,” Faz says. “This is still their game, and that public joy is worth protecting.” That may be the deepest challenge the campaign poses to Dallas as the World Cup draws near. Not whether the city can host the spectacle. It can. Not whether it can sell an image of itself to the world. It will. The harder question is whether Dallas can make room for joy without fear — whether it can let the world in without turning some of its own people into targets. On Faz’s poster, the answer comes in one clean strike. The ball flies. The net tears. The crowd, if you can imagine it, rises. To submit your own artwork, learn how to get involved or download the featured posters for free, visit noiceinthecup.us online. ▼ HISTORY PROGRESS IN PRESERVATION THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF DALLAS IS STRENGTHENING ITS CONSERVATION EFFORTS WITH MAJOR UPGRADES TO BUILD A DIGITAL ARCHIVE AND PRESERVE BLACK HISTORY. BY RHEMA JOY BELL T he African American Museum of Dallas has been collecting and show- casing cultural artifacts to further the study of Black history for more than 50 years. Now, the museum is embarking on a three-year project to upgrade facilities, ser- vices and improve conservation efforts for the next five decades and beyond. The project will conclude with the estab- lishment of a conservation center at the mu- seum to elevate preservation and conservation efforts and inform new exhibi- tions. But it all starts with Phase I: examining the bones of the museum’s building and strat- egy, upgrading security and technology, re- viewing items in storage and implementing new preservation and conservation strategies. Phase I, supported by a $250,000 grant from the Communities Foundation of Texas, concluded May 1 with the unveiling of the Harry Robinson Jr. Research and Conserva- tion Lab. The new facility, named for the museum’s founder, will be outfitted with preservation and conservation tools, such as scanners, UV lighting and work tables. “This support from Communities Founda- tion of Texas allows us to move forward with safeguarding our archival documents and re- lated art objects,” Lisa Brown-Ross, president and CEO of the African American Museum, said in a press release. “It’s a powerful reflec- tion of our commitment to protect and cele- brate African American heritage through education, research and preservation.” The lab’s new digitization equipment will allow the museum to establish an online ar- chive — a years-long process key to making the museum’s cultural artifacts and primary source materials more accessible. The new lab will also feature an observation window so visitors can witness the archivists’ conver- sation work in real time, an effort to increase transparency and interaction. “How do you research something from a university in the United Kingdom if you’re wanting to learn about the African Ameri- can culture experience in Dallas, Texas?” says Margie Reese, the museum’s chief pro- grams director. “This gives us a stronger pace for what I call self-authorship. How do we tell our own story and not have it inter- preted by people who have not had the lived experience?” Organizing the Archives The new Harry Robinson Jr. Research and Conservation lab will replace the existing storage room on the museum’s second floor, which was “already overflowing” and in need of organization, according to Faith Golden, director of archives. “We had to secure everything. We did lose some stuff that we could not save from the mold, and some of it could be saved [by] just securing it and getting it in the archival boxes,” says Golden, who’d been a volunteer archivist at the museum for eight years be- fore joining full-time in 2025. Reese says the damage was likely due to unregulated storage conditions and wa- ter exposure. “Damaged material has been isolated and will be assessed further by professional pa- per conservators,” she says. “[Faith] Golden, our director of archives and conservation has calculated that our efforts have rescued 90% of the vast archival collections, and as part of Phase 2, we will turn damaged mate- rial over to outside [professionals] for resto- ration efforts.” In late April, Golden gave us a peek at the museum’s ongoing organizational efforts. The archives have been temporarily relo- cated from the storage room to a space in the neighboring Dallas Museum of Natural His- tory. That’s where Golden and other archi- vists are organizing and assessing the materials. Golden says the work, which in- cludes moving items to boxes and folders designed to preserve delicate items, began in the summer of 2025. Although the new lab opened to the public in May, the process of safely repacking and restocking stocking items will continue throughout the museum revamp plan. “I’m looking forward to the organization and making sure this delicate stuff is housed in the proper boxes,” Golden says. “I’m ex- cited to bring it back home and say, ‘You guys have a safe home. We rebuilt your home, and you’re safe, and you’re secure now.’” The collection features contributions from Dallas civic icons, educators and trail- blazers, colorful creations by Black quilters — an African American tradition that traces back to enslaved ancestors — and dozens of boxes filled with vinyl records by game-changing musicians such as Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith. In the museum’s archive of Fort Worth- founded Sepia magazine issues and materials. More than 40,000 photos documenting Black culture and icons, including Thurgood Mar- shall, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Aretha Franklin and Cicely Tyson. Golden wore gloves to protect the integrity of the ma- terials as she gently flipped through the col- lection. Each magazine delivered pop culture gems, including a cover story on Muhammad Ali and a feature piece about Nichelle Nichols, one of the first Black women in a major TV se- ries, with her role on the original “Star Trek.” The museum, which closed in March for facility upgrades, reopened May 1 with the debut of “People Who Make the World Go ’Round: The Legacy of Sepia Magazine,” an exhibit drawing from the “Sepia” collection. The display highlighting Black icons will be available through Aug. 11. Golden, who’s also tasked with bringing in staff and volunteers to organize materials, embraced a surge of optimism and apprecia- tion after attending a recent conference for museum curators, archivists and librarians. It was an opportunity to learn from other professionals and to help put plans for the Dallas museum in perspective. “Everybody had a struggle story. We don’t have a struggle story. We have had one, but we are in such a good position right now,” Golden says. “We have a space story. We have this great preservation story. But I realized how blessed we are that we’re not struggling for resources. We’re spoiled for choice.” Additionally, Phase I introduced new se- curity and telecommunications systems and a revamped auditorium to the museum, Re- ese says. The stage was rebuilt, and new cur- tains and seats were installed, increasing wheelchair-accessible space. “The future of the museum is to show- case the collections that are here and to think about how [we] bring fresh touring ex- hibitions to the building,” Reese says. “In or- der to host those touring exhibitions, we need to be able to say our security system, our lighting system, our humidification sys- tem, our storage areas — so all of the guts of the museum up to the highest quality mu- seum standard for showcasing work.” Reese, whose arts management career spans over 40 years and includes stints at several local organizations, including the Dallas Black Dance Theatre and the Dallas Museum of Natural History, oversees pub- lic-facing exhibitions and community initia- tives. But that starts with ensuring there is adequate infrastructure and caretaking sys- tems at the museum. “It’s not the sexiest side of museum work,” Reese says. “But without it, you can’t mount good research programs or offer good, strong exhibitions.” The Next Phase Reese referred to Phase I as the “get ready to be ready” foundation of the three-year con- servation plan, which is bolstered by a $3 million grant from Texas Historical Com- mission and ongoing support from the city. Phase II will see the museum unveiling reimagined exhibitions. This includes im- proving accessibility and the visitor experi- ence by implementing hearing-assist devices, exhibition pedestals designed for wheelchair access and visibility and bilin- gual text panels. “Our job now is to crystallize the visitor experience and to think about diversity in our audience,” Reese says. “[Diversity] may be different than just racial or cultural, right? It’s the diversity of abilities, the way people take in information.” Phase II of enhancing the museum expe- rience kicks off with a Nelson Mandela ex- hibition that’ll span four galleries from June 13 to Nov. 1. The exhibition, which will mark its Texas debut at the African American Mu- seum, includes a multimedia experience room tracing Mandela’s activism. The first events slated for the refreshed space were a set of training sessions for the exhibition. The two-hour sessions for volunteer do- cents — an ambassador or tour guide who fosters an interactive visitor experience — taught tour techniques and engagement strategies. The museum will also begin redesigning “Facing The Rising Sun: Freedman’s Ceme- tery,” an exhibition that presents the rem- nants of a North Dallas Community. Although it’s one of the most-requested tours, Reese says the upgrades will provide a more interac- tive, modern experience. The complete rede- sign is estimated to run through 2028 and will include the addition of two rooms near the galleries for post-tour discussion. The museum’s revamp project will cul- minate with a new onsite conservation cen- ter in the basement. Once complete, the space will be the hub for the museum’s vast 2D and 3D folk and fine art. Construction to install the necessary technology, security and climate-controlled storage solutions is ongoing, but Reese says an estimated com- pletion date is undetermined. “We’re building a system for caretaking, and that is a step-by-step process,” Reese says. Rhema Joy Bell “People Who Make the World Go ’Round: The Legacy of Sepia Magazine” is a new exhibition now on view at the museum.
