Inside This LACMA Exhibition on Forgotten Histories

Why It Matters

The exhibition forces institutions and audiences to confront erased Black histories, prompting a reevaluation of how cultural memory is curated and whose stories are memorialized.

Key Takeaways

• Exhibition uses hair paintings to confront erased Black histories.
• Barber shop setting evokes male communal spaces and oral storytelling.
• Ceramic pieces reference 1930s‑40s Black hair product advertising.
• Monuments proposal room imagines new memorials for overlooked figures.
• Scented grass installation creates immersive, surreal experience of invisibility.

Summary

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new show, The Day Tomorrow Began, by Tavvaris Stron, interrogates the layers of Black history that have been systematically omitted from mainstream narratives. Framed as a series of rooms—a black‑painted barber shop, a monochrome wash house, and a speculative monument space—the exhibition blends unconventional materials, from paintings made of human hair to ceramic reproductions of 1930s‑40s Black hair‑care advertisements, to spotlight the invisible. Key elements include a portrait urn of Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., NASA’s first Black astronaut, and dual quotations from James Baldwin and an inverted Mark Twain that probe heroism and collective memory. A shadow cast by Henri Kristoff’s installation, a field of scented grass, and hand‑painted word‑search grids embed hidden words related to Black cultural practices, turning the unseen into visible forms. The exhibition’s sensory tactics—woody, earthy aromas, stark lighting that creates dramatic shadows, and the tactile presence of hair—invite visitors into a dream‑like, out‑of‑time experience. Stron’s use of the barber shop, traditionally a male communal hub for news exchange, underscores how everyday spaces can become archives of suppressed stories. By reimagining monuments and employing immersive, multisensory art, the show challenges museums to confront historical erasure and to consider new ways of commemorating marginalized figures, potentially reshaping public discourse around cultural memory.

Original Description

Last few weeks to catch Tavares Strachan's (@tavaresstrachan) "The Day Tomorrow Began" at LACMA (@lacma).

In his first museum exhibition in LA, Strachan turns his attention to who gets remembered and what gets lost. His long-term project "Encyclopedia of Invisibility" gathers stories, figures, and events overlooked by dominant narratives. Throughout the exhibition, spaces like a barbershop and a series of monuments point to histories that have often been left unseen — particularly those connected to the Black diaspora.

Diana Nawi (@nawinawinawi), Curator of Special Projects, Contemporary Art at LACMA, takes you on a full tour of the show. Another great exhibition made possible as part of The Hyundai Project at LACMA (@hyundai.artlab).

Tavares Strachan: The Day Tomorrow Began

Oct 12, 2025–Mar 29, 2026

LACMA

Los Angeles 🇺🇸