NEWSLETTER
New student-curated exhibition opens February 14 at the Tang Museum
Saratoga Springs, NY (February 10, 2026) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces Designing Power: The Black Panther Party, a student-curated exhibition on view Feb. 14–May 31.
Designing Power examines how the Black Panther Party forged an iconic revolutionary image through deliberately crafted aesthetics—pairing powerful symbols and language with memorable photography, graphic design, and printed materials that helped spread the Party’s ideas and build community.
Although the iteration of the Party founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale disbanded more than forty years ago, its visual identity continues to influence the look of liberation and protest movements. Drawing from Black Panther Party archival materials in the Tang’s collection—including newspapers, photographs, and flyers—this exhibition considers how the Party’s image became strongly identified with the ideas of Black liberation and autonomy.
Among the objects on view are:
- The photograph Panthers line up at a Free Huey rally in DeFremery Park, Oakland, 1968, by Stephen Shames
- The September 20, 1969, edition of the newspaper The Black Panther, vol. 3, no. 22, with illustration by Emory Douglas
- An undated flyer, The Purpose of the Free Clothing Program
Designing Power: The Black Panther Party is organized by Connor Rustin ’27, the 2025–26 Carole Marchand Endowed Intern. The exhibition’s typography is also part of its story. Rustin is the great-niece of civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, and the exhibition’s title treatment uses Bayard, a sans-serif typeface designed by Tré Seals (Vocal Type) and inspired by signage from the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Bayard Rustin was a key organizer of the march. The choice underscores the exhibition’s focus on how design and visual language shape public understanding and collective action.
An opening reception will be held Saturday, Feb. 14, at 5 pm; the event also marks the opening of Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes and Elevator Music 54: Hanna Tuulikki—spinning-in-stereo. A conversation featuring Kathy Butterly at 5 pm will be followed by a reception beginning at 5:30 pm.
Admission is free. The Tang Teaching Museum is open Tuesday–Sunday, noon–5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm Thursday. For visitor information, call (518) 580-8080 or email tang@skidmore.edu.
About Skidmore College
Founded in 1903, Skidmore College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college of about 2,700 students located in the dynamic town of Saratoga Springs, New York. Consistently ranked as a top liberal arts college by U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, Forbes, and more, Skidmore has also been recognized for its innovation, value, and sustainability efforts. Skidmore fosters academic and personal excellence — all driven by a belief that Creative Thought Matters. Its comprehensive array of opportunities encompasses more than 40 bachelor’s degree programs, including popular offerings in business, psychology, and the creative and performing arts; competitive NCAA Division III athletics; world-class facilities; and hands-on civic engagement and career development resources.
About the Tang Teaching Museum
The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the institution’s approach has become a model for university art museums across the country — with exhibition programs and series that bring together the visual and performing arts with fields of study as disparate as history, astronomy, and physics. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, the Mellon Seminar, and robust publication and touring exhibition initiatives that extend the institution’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of ideas and exchange the institution catalyzes. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, from noon to 5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm Thursday. More information at http://tang.skidmore.edu.
###