VR EXHIBIT

Philadelphia's motto was expanded to "The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection" by the efforts of longtime radio host and godmother of Black Music Month, Dyana Williams. To continue amplifying the female voice in discussions about our city, SIMBY Presents: The Voices of Sisterly Affection by Kyra Williams is a glance at Philly’s Black music herstory through photography and a labor of love and respect for the Black women who have been the soundtrack to our lives: Billie Holiday, Patti LaBelle, Phyllis Hyman, Left Eye, Eve, Jill Scott, DJ Diamond Kuts, Jazmine Sullivan, and Tierra Whack. Inspired by moments in their careers, these portraits tell nine stories in our backyard with Black women and girls from the Philadelphia area —both in front of and behind the camera— to honor their legacies and origins from The City of Sisterly Affection. This is a traveling photo exhibit accompanied by culturally relevant youth photo programming, led by Black photographers, also intended to educate our youth on artists who share their roots while motivating them to realize their potential as the next generation of Black storytellers. As the founder of Stories In My Backyard (SIMBY) and a two-time Black Music City grantee, Kyra Williams has partnered with The Free Library of Philadelphia and The Philadelphia School District’s TV Station (PSTV) on the 2024 iteration of this project, which is funded in part by Black Music City: WXPN-FM and WRTI-FM and REC Philly.

 

The exhibit will be on display at the Black Music City showcase at World Cafe Live on Juneteenth (June 19, 2024) from 5 pm - 9 pm ET. RSVP here.

 

This fall, it will also be on display in front of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Teen Center where we will lead photo programming.

More details to come.