Speaker / Event Series

people talking in red emma's

Join the Tabb Center at venues on JHU campus and around Baltimore for public humanities lectures.


Nicoletta Darita De La Brown: Be(longing)

photos printed on fabric and layered on top of each other

Interdisciplinary artist Nicoletta Daríta de la Brown explored and activated archival materials related to Ethel Ennis, Billie Holiday, and African American real photo postcards by staging the installation Be(longing): Unveiling the Imprint of Black Women Hidden in Plain Sight.


City People

photo of a woman sitting on a baltimore bench

“City People: Black Baltimore in the Photographs of John Clark Mayden” presented over fifty of the artist’s black-and-white street portraits taken since the 1970s, many on view for the first time.


Celebrating Ethel Ennis, Baltimore’s First Lady of Jazz

photo of ethel ennis singing

Reflect on the past and envision the emerging future of Baltimore jazz during an evening of inspiring conversation and music featuring Sean Jones, John Fowler, Charles Covington, Tim Green, Brinae Ali, Charenee Wade, Ebban Dorsey, and more.


“See Also” by Submersive Theater

people with their fists up in the peabody library

“See Also” was an immersive theater experience created by Submersive Productions at the George Peabody Library. Participants encountered visual art, soundscapes, and performers portraying characters based on historical women and non-binary people from the collections of the Sheridan Libraries and University Museums.


Queer Times

the front page of an old newspaper

“Queer Times: A Virtual Exploration of Queer Media” was an interactive online event showcasing the Sheridan Library’s LGBTQ collections and Baltimore’s queer history.


Download & Engage

illustration of a person as a printer

Online engagements with our rare book, manuscript, and archival collections, including a pro-women’s suffrage board game, instructional toymaker cards, and more.


Baltimore’s Black Arts District

people looking at documents together

“Baltimore’s Black Arts District: A Creative Archive” was a series of Spring 2020 special collections workshops with young adults in Baltimore City. The project culminated with the creation of “Walking Down the Avenue,” an arts and humanities zine about Pennsylvania Avenue, Baltimore’s historic black arts district.


Documenting Trans Oral History

a person presenting in front of a slideshow

“Documenting Trans Oral History: Lessons from the Tretter Project” an oral history workshop and public talk in December 2022, featured Andrea Jenkins and Myrl Beamfrom the Minneapolis-based Tretter Transgender Oral History Project.


Doing Oral History in Baltimore

two people in conversation

“Doing Oral History in Baltimore,” a series of three workshops in April 2022, supported individuals and institutions in recording, archiving, and interpreting under-documented histories in Baltimore, with a focus on the city’s Black history.