The Arrival: Soirée Musicale is a multisite installation and fellowship that revives the legacy of Francis “Frank” Johnson, the pioneering 19th-century African American composer who fundamentally shaped the sound of early America. This project excavates archival records at HSP of Revolutionary War hero General Lafayette’s return visit to Philadelphia in 1824, for which Johnson’s band provided the movement of sound for marches and indoor cotillions. By integrating hand embroidery techniques that date back to the Middle Ages, the work serves as a tactile act of cultural reclamation, bridging the gap between historical labor and contemporary identity.
Inspired by the late Linda Eaton’s work on stitch identity, the artist conducted research on archival textile patterns and toy theaters in the collection of Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library. The work therefore shifts the narrative focus from elite leisure to the vital contributions of the trades class. This visual and sonic dialogue uses the “Sounds and rhythms of a new nation" to explore how Black artistry and communal movement formed a lasting foundation of the American republic connecting a nation together. The project honors a groundbreaking artist whose visual sound left a mark on our national identity, encouraging us all to connect to artistic providence within the creation of our new nation.
The Arrival: Soirée Musicale will be on view as part of Changing Faces of Independence through April 24. The project is part of Radical Americana, a series of exhibitions organized by a consortium of Philadelphia’s extensive collection of arts and cultural institutions celebrating how today’s artists are continuing the city’s unique and rich legacy as a center for creativity and civic engagement. Additional elements of The Arrival: Soirée Musicale will be on view at The Clay Studio, beginning April 9.
