Hair, Home, & Belonging: Intimate Panel Discussion Exploring Black Hair, Identity At Yale Schwarzman Center

NEW HAVEN, CT — Hair, Home & Belonging is a free and public conversation exploring Black hair as a site of identity, culture, memory, and community.

Co-Presented by the International Festival of Arts & Ideas and Yale Schwarzman Center, the panel discussion brings together salon founders, historians, artists, authors, and Yale professor and two-time Academy Award recipient Theodore Kim for a conversation examining the deeply personal and political realities connected to Black hair.

Produced and moderated by journalist, publicist, and cultural interpreter Stacy Graham-Hunt, the evening explores Black hair as a reflection of identity, belonging, artistry, professionalism, memory, and self-expression across generations and communities.

The event takes place alongside RUSUNUNGUKO (liberty/independence/freedom), a site-specific installation by Zimbabwean-born artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti currently on view in the Yale Schwarzman Center Dome.

Featuring vinyl braids woven throughout the space, the installation creates a striking visual dialogue with the themes explored throughout the evening.

Panelists

• Luvena Leslie, Founder, The Curly Hair Salon | @ctcurlyhairsalon
• Renee Loren, Founder & CEO, Trachouse Beauty Salon | @trachouse
• Siobhan Carter-David, Associate Professor of History, Southern Connecticut State University
• Jazmi Zanders, Founder, Jazmiup Experience; Author, Koral’s Big Hair Day
• Theodore Kim, Full Professor of Computer Science, Yale University; Two-Time Academy Award Recipient

Moderator

• Stacy Graham-Hunt, Journalist, PR Strategist, Cultural Observer

Artist

• Nontsikelelo Mutiti, artist, RUSUNUNGUKO (liberty/independence/freedom)

The free public event is set for Wednesday, June 17, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Yale Schwarzman Center, 168 Grove St., New Haven.

Schedule

• Reception, The Well | 6:00 - 7:00 PM
• Panel Discussion, The Underground | 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM
• Exhibition with Nontsikelelo Mutiti | The Dome | 8:15 PM - 9:00 PM