Rebel Music opened over the weekend a month-long exhibit Black and Brown Women in Music at the Joliet Area Historical Museum. Art and music enthusiast didn’t miss the opportunity to be the first to enjoy the new exhibit on view now through March 22.
Presented in partnership with the Joliet Area Historical Museum, the exhibition highlights the cultural innovation, resistance, and lasting influence of women of color whose contributions helped define modern music yet have often been minimized or omitted from mainstream histories.
“Rebel Music is about giving credit where culture forgot to look,” said Vici Howard, Executive Director of Black & Brown Femme Films (BBFF). “These artists didn’t just influence genres, they shaped movements. This exhibition invites audiences to experience that history in a new way.”
Rebel Music features artists who transformed sound and culture, including Grace Jones, Yoko
Ono, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Big Mama Thornton, Tina Bell, and Poly Styrene, among other groundbreaking voices.
Through archival visuals, interpretive displays, and interactive components, the exhibition restores context and gives recognition to their global impact across rock, punk, funk, experimental, and beyond.
In addition to the exhibition, BBFF will hosts Lyrics & Lattes on February 28, 2026, 11:30 AM at the Museum.
The event is an interactive Rebel Music experience featuring music-themed trivia, lyric games, guided participation, and complimentary coffee and pastries designed to make music history engaging and accessible for all ages.
Rebel Music is supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council and Healing Illinois, reflecting a
shared commitment to expanding community-centered cultural programming in Will County.
Black & Brown Femme Films (BBFF) is a nonprofit arts and culture organization dedicated to amplifying the stories and contributions of women of color through film, exhibitions, and community-based programming across the Chicagoland region. For information visit bbfilms.org. The Joliet Area Historical Museum is at 204 N. Ottawa Street in downtown Joliet.
