Philly Fringe 2026: The Colored Girls Museums presents Say It Loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud

Established in 2015, The Colored Girls Museum is a living exhibit and cultural oasis with rotating modern art galleries dedicated to uplifting the African American community. The multi-level Victorian near Wayne Junction, built in 1835, is a gorgeous mix of Victorian and African-inspired art fixtures and furniture. Each room/gallery includes the current collection, items from the original house, and pieces from previous exhibits. After their 2012 Fringe Festival entry, Eviction-Proof PeepShow, the organizing Dubois-Stewart family converted their home into a museum with each room serving as its own gallery. I feel lucky to experience the family's generosity in sharing their beautifully cultivated home.

Distinct narrative vibes

The tour I took on September 11 felt incredibly intimate. Founding family members Ariadne and Vashti Dubois, curator/co-founder Michael Clemmons, and second-floor curator Tamara Mason walked each tour group through the house's welcoming protocols while providing detailed information about each highly intricate artistic installation. Like many POC-focused exhibitions I reviewed recently, the museum focuses on celebrating joy over trauma and, when possible, offers remedies for social injustices.

Each room has its own narrative vibe, conversing with pieces it inherited from the house and previous exhibitions. The front parlor includes a striking Edison bulb arrangement overhanging artist vanessa german's disturbingly beguiling tripartite fused mannequin, The House.

On the second floor, the Colored Boys Room of the Colored Girls Museum features customized museum wallpaper, an Afrocentric hand-painted mural, carefully selected paintings, vintage doctor's bags, a 1950s box TV playing 1990s pop-culture media, and a hanging glass fixture strewn throughout. The semi-permanent Washer Woman Room, subtitled “I said what I said” and dedicated to early women entrepreneurs, is a vibrant library with a velvet antique fainting couch, intricate patchwork quilts, an overhanging glitter heart, a wall-length Langston Hughes poem, and antique irons. But each room is striking, from the kitchen (featuring a mural from the museum’s first Fringe show) to the apothecary-themed room.

It was hard to call any room my favorite, but german’s three art contributions (The House, The Table, and The Oracle) stand out the most for me. The Table and The Oracle, located in the black-box dining room, feature jewel encrusted pieces, crystal teardrops, and ceramic teapots. But I also love the dining room’s decoupaged church pew with flecks of gold and bronze paint.

Joining the family

The Colored Girls Museum is a charmingly quirky hidden treasure in Germantown. Its decorated garden is cheekily full of perfectly chosen artifacts. This tour is a special gift and a cozy visual feast. It asks what your house might look like if it was carefully curated by communal artists.

It felt joyful to traverse each room and meet an art historian who shared delightful tidbits. Each of the items, from glass-jarred hair ties to the vintage perfume bottles to elaborate church fans, reminded me of my childhood. Just as they welcome the tour group with a name-sharing protocol, our hosts ended the tour with a porch hang to commemorate our entry into the family. Because the museum’s schedule is typically restricted during the year, do take advantage of this rare, inviting opportunity.

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