Opening October 24

What Shall I Do With My Dead?

Raja’Nee Hamilton & Jalen Hamilton

A six-week exhibition bringing together family photographs, historical documents, and handmade artworks to explore intergenerational memory through a Black feminist storytelling lens.

Opening reception
Saturday, October 24, 2026 · 5–8 pm
Admission
Free · RSVP on Eventbrite
RSVP for the opening (opens Eventbrite in a new tab) Hours & directions
Exhibition poster: the title What Shall I Do With My Dead? set in cream type on deep red, beside a sepia family photograph.
What Shall I Do With My Dead? · Raja’Nee & Jalen Hamilton

Open Saturday & Sunday 11 am – 3 pm, and by appointment

4445 S. King Drive, Bronzeville

773.373.4320

About the exhibition

For nearly a decade, Raja’Nee and Jalen Hamilton have built a shared practice around gathering, preserving, and transforming family memory.

Building from archival research and personal lineage, the exhibition examines the afterlives of the Great Migration and the ways Black families gather, honor, and assess what remains. Raja’Nee approaches the archive in the spirit of sankofa, reclaiming the past as a guide for the future, while Jalen translates the archive through printmaking and textiles, working from rediscovered materials as inheritance and evidence.

The exhibition features quilts and textile works that physically stitch together photographs, fabric, and archival materials: an embodied practice that transforms fragmented histories into living narratives and centers intimacy, memory, and relational knowledge.

Jalen Hamilton’s first solo exhibition, To Whom This Ground Belongs, opened at Blanc in 2022. He co-facilitated Blanc’s Deeply Curious Residency (III).

Exhibitions

Recent shows at Blanc. Each one is a single, sustained conversation around a compelling theme.

Exhibition poster for This Could Be//The Permanent Rebellion: strips of white fabric stitched onto brown paper, with the artists’ names in gold type.

Most recent · August 7 – September 12, 2026

This Could Be//The Permanent Rebellion

Curated by Imani Harmon

Inspired by Black Rage, an interdisciplinary course housed across the Visual and Critical Studies and Art Therapy departments at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, this exhibition explores past, present and possibility in Black contemporary art’s reflections of Black political consciousness and subjectivity.

The work spans printmaking, fiber, painting, sculpture, photography and performance art by Black graduating seniors and graduate students from SAIC.

Marc A. V. Bates · Isabel Padilla Bonelli · Sevyn De La Cruz · Messejah Washington · Danielle Levi · Tafari Melisizwe · Nia Wilson · Adilah Muhammed · Annikah Idiova · Cheyenne Tobias-Bamson · Shelby/Shelbs · Dionne Clemon

Exhibition archive, 2019 – 2023

About Blanc

A Culture of Conversation

In its heyday, Bronzeville was home to the cream of Chicago’s African American society. Artists, intellectuals, and entrepreneurs engaged in a robust dialogue on matters of importance to the community.

Recent years have seen a powerful resurgence of that creative energy. Cliff Rome, proprietor of Bronzeville’s Parkway Ballroom, is committed to rekindling this Culture of Conversation: thousands have gathered at the Parkway for art exhibits, fashion events, literary readings, dance competitions, and film premieres.

With Eileen Rhodes, he founded Blanc. Its bold mission: to engage African Americans and all Chicagoans through the arts, and to ignite a dialogue on issues of spiritual, political and social significance. Blanc regularly showcases local and non-local artists in an exploration of a compelling theme.

Blanc: a center for ideas and a meeting place for people… a Culture of Conversation.

Cliff Rome, in a straw hat and apron, stands with Eileen Rhodes in a doorway.
Co-founders Cliff Rome and Eileen Rhodes

The gallery

Long white gallery with framed photographs hung in a single line and a low bench.
A freestanding white wall displaying a large black-and-white portrait and a recessed vitrine.
Detail from litany: a sculpture of dried flowers, grasses and found objects.
View down the length of the gallery toward the street windows.

Programs

Every exhibition is the start of a conversation. Blanc carries it into the room through two ongoing programs.

Speak Easy

Diverse events for the public: openings, artist talks, panel discussions, readings and performances.

Recent examples: a conversation with Sabrina Nelson on the legacy of James Baldwin; a fireside chat between Lawrence Agyei and the South Shore Drill Team; a Black writers’ reading of Giovanni’s Room.

Do Well / Do Good

Each cycle, Blanc identifies two local non-profits whose work intersects with the concerns of the artists, and hosts events that highlight their missions and help them raise awareness and funding.

Non-profit partners: call 773.373.4320 to start a conversation.

Private events

Blanc is not currently available for private rental. For weddings, receptions, meetings and private celebrations, look to our sister venues in Rome’s Joy Companies.

Host at Parkway Social

Artists

Artists who have exhibited with or been presented by Blanc.

  • Alexandria Eregbu
  • Andrea Coleman
  • Andres L. Hernandez
  • Amanda Williams
  • Antonia B. Larkin
  • Austin Pope
  • Bernard Williams
  • Blake Lenoir
  • Brandon Breaux
  • BRYANTlamont
  • Bryant Johnson
  • Candace Hunter
  • Claudette Roper
  • Connie Noyes
  • Dorian Sylvain
  • Gee Wesley
  • Gerald Griffin
  • Haman Cross
  • Heather L. Polk
  • Jalen Hamilton
  • James Britt
  • John Alleyne
  • John Caleb Pendleton
  • Jordan “Soup” Campbell
  • Jova Lynne
  • Julian Williams
  • Kahari Blackburn
  • Kari Blak
  • Katon Blackburn
  • Kevin (WAK) Williams
  • Krista Franklin
  • Kyel Joi Brooks
  • Lawrence Agyei
  • Martha A. Wade
  • Maryam Taghavi
  • Max Sansing
  • Natasha Moustache
  • Nnaemeka Ekwelum
  • Norman Teague
  • Olalekan Jeyifous
  • Parrish Lewis
  • Patric McCoy
  • Paul Branton
  • Raja’Nee Hamilton
  • Ray Dalton
  • Raymond A. Thomas
  • Reggie T. Williamson
  • Resita Cox
  • Ricki Dwyer
  • Robert Lewis Clark
  • Roger J. Carter
  • Sabrina Nelson
  • Sage S. Smith
  • Samantha Hill
  • Stephen Flemister
  • Steve Bravo
  • Sura Dupart
  • Tonika Lewis Johnson
  • Tyrue “Slang” Jones
  • Viktor L. Ewing-Givens
  • Zachary Nicol
  • Zakkiyyah Najeebah

Full artist index and biographies on the current site.

In the press

Plan your visit

Visit Blanc

Admission is always free. Viewing is also available by appointment.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab) Call to book a viewing
Address
4445 S. King Drive
Chicago, IL 60653
In Bronzeville, alongside the Parkway Ballroom
Hours
Gallery hours
Saturday11 am – 3 pm
Sunday11 am – 3 pm
Monday – FridayBy appointment only
Hours are fixed unless otherwise noted on our Instagram.
Phone
773.373.4320
Parking
Free parking

Ask about this piece