Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter is returning to Jamestown.
Carter’s traveling exhibit, “Afrofuturism in Costume Design,” opened at Jamestown Settlement in May. It highlights more than 60 costumes from her career in film and television, including Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X,” Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad” and Ava DuVernay’s “Selma,” as well as the television series “Yellowstone” and the 2016 remake of “Roots.”
Originally planned to run through Dec. 1, the exhibit has been extended to Jan. 5, 2025. And next month, Carter will return for a special program at the museum.
“The exhibition has already been a great success, with substantial visitation and wonderful visitor feedback,” Mariruth Leftwich, senior director of museum operations and education for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, said in a news release. “We are excited to be able to extend the exhibition’s time at Jamestown Settlement to ensure that the region has an even greater opportunity to visit and become inspired by Ruth’s work and the intersection of the past and future.”
Carter visited Jamestown May 11 when the exhibit opened along with a sold-out “Director’s Series” program with Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Executive Director Christy Coleman. Carter has said Hampton Roads is where she first fell in love with intensive research into Black history, having spent a summer as an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg while an undergraduate at Hampton University.
On Oct. 5, there will be an exhibit talk and tour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., including a 2 p.m. gallery talk by Harvey Bakari, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation curator of African history and culture. During the day, “museum guests are invited to be inspired by the stories and worlds Ruth E. Carter brings to life through her costuming to create their own original designs with fabric dyeing and zine making, with materials provided,” the foundation said. Those programs are included with museum admission.
From 5 to 8:30 p.m., there will be a reception and book signing with Carter. Tickets are $15-25 and went on sale last week. Carter will be available to sign her book, “The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture, from Do the Right Thing to Black Panther,” beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Reservations for the evening program, “Symbolism and Storytelling with Ruth E. Carter,” can be made at jyfmuseums.org/events/special-exhibits/afrofuturism-crafts-and-stories. The book, along with other Carter-related merchandise, is available at the Jamestown Settlement museum shop. The book is also available online at shopjyf.com.
Admission to Jamestown Settlement is $20 for adults and $10 for ages 6-12. An annual pass offers year-round access to the special exhibition, along with daytime programs and events. Parking is free. Residents of James City County, York County and Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive free admission with proof of residency.
For more information, visit jyfmuseums.org/ruthecarter.
Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com
