"Skin Color" Museum Tour and Discussion with Althea Jones

Join artist Althea Jones and the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology for a specialized tour and moderated discussion on the subjects of race, skin color, and the history of psychology. Visitors will engage with the complex history of race and psychological science through the Cummings Center’s National Museum of Psychology, followed by a behind-the-scenes look at Jones’ new collaborative work: Skin Color.

This event is free and open to the public, but limited space is available. Registration is required.

6:00pm-7:00pm: Visitors will explore the National Museum of Psychology through the Cummings Center’s guided Race & Psychology Tour, which examines the power of psychological science to both reinforce and resist systems of racial injustice. The interactive tour explores histories of diagnosis, institutionalization, intelligence testing, and racial profiling alongside the powerful contributions of psychologists of color throughout the 20th century.

7:00pm-7:45pm: Visitors will move upstairs for a moderated discussion with artist Althea Jones, who will discuss the Skin Color project and exhibition, on view Aug. 2 - Sep. 9 at Akron Soul Train’s CapSOUL Gallery. Jones will discuss the project’s history and reflect on connections between her work and the prior museum tour.

Skin Color is a conversation about the beautiful spectrum of skin tones beyond the concepts of race and therefore class. During the Skin Color sessions, Althea invites individuals or small groups to engage in lively and enriching conversations about life, connection, identity, and race while color-matching the participants’ specific skin color with acrylic paint. The goal of the project is to encourage self-love and actualization while simultaneously building community. Althea plans to color-match at least 1000 people in and around the Akron, Ohio area over the life of this project.