An exhibition dedicated to the music of Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-winning “Sinners” has opened at the California African American Museum.
“Sinners: Sounds That Summon” is on view Oct. 20-March 14. Presented in collaboration with Warner Bros. Archives, the presentation is the first museum exhibition devoted to film’s music.
“Sound has the power to form creative worlds that manifest joy, protection, belonging and freedom,” reads an official description of the show. “‘Sinners: Sounds That Summon’ revisits the fan-favorite Club Juke sequence, in which music acts as a portal through time, from traditional African ritual to present-day street dance. Centered around the guitar used by protagonist Sammie ‘Preacher Boy’ Moore, the exhibition brings together costumes, objects and archival material from the film to consider how Black music carries memory, movement, style and spirit across generations.”
“Sinners” follows twin brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) in 1932 fighting evil supernatural forces when they return home to the Mississippi Delta. The cast also includes Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Li Jun Li and Delroy Lindo. The film was nominated for 16 Oscars at the 98th Academy Awards, the most of any film in history. It took home four Oscars: best actor (Jordan), original screenplay (Coogler), cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw) and original score (Ludwig Göransson).
“Sounds That Summon” uses music as the thread that weaves together three themes: Music Makes Sound, Music Makes Movement and Music Makes Worlds. Music Makes Sound looks at instruments through the traditions and histories they carry. Music Makes Movement examines dance as an embodied form of cultural memory, tracing how movement transforms and traverses generations and communities. Music Makes Worlds considers how music extends beyond sound to create language, fashion, identity and community. Alongside Sammie’s guitar, visitors will encounter objects, costumes and props used in the film, including Smoke and Stack’s costumes and the Club Juke sign, evoking the feeling of stepping into the juke joint itself.
The exhibition culminates in Sounds That Carry Us, a participatory experience inspired by the contrast between the joy, safety and collective freedom experienced inside Club Juke and the isolation and danger outside of it. Visitors will be asked to reflect on a song, sound, or genre that carries them back to joy, hope, freedom or community. “Sinners: Sounds That Summon” is co-organized by CAAM and Warner Bros. Archives and curated by Imani Y. Haynes.
