The curly hair movement – and market – is growing, as more people learn to style and to celebrate their natural hair.
This hour, we hear from one salon that’s just for natural curls in Connecticut. Luvena Leslie opened The Curly Hair Salon in 2011. "So many people have had bad experiences before they come to us," Leslie says.
Viola Clune, a Yale student and editor of the New Journal, recently wrote a piece about salons like Leslie's, and the work they do to untangle "hair trauma," titled "Kinks in the Movement." She joins the conversation.
Clune writes that The Curly Hair Salon "exists as a contradiction, intervention, remembrance, and stagnation at once. The ever-growing salon industry in New Haven suggests that there is something complementary about these contradictions, something inherent about them..."
Plus, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford has a new exhibit all about the optics and politics of hair. A curator joins us to discuss Styling Identities: Hair’s Tangled Histories, on view through August 11. We also hear from one archivist who contributed to the exhibition and created an accompanying zine.
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Rozeal (American, b. 1966), a3 blackface #70, 2004. Acrylic paint on paper. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. African American Art Purchase Fund, 2004.13.2
Provided / Wadsworth
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— Dark and Lovely (Nocturnal Grace).jpg
Ashanté Kindle, American, born 1990, Dark and Lovely (Nocturnal Grace), 2023, Hair styling strips, satin bonnet, hair barrettes, obsidian, afro pick, and acrylic on wood panel, The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 2024.5.1
Provided / Wadsworth
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William Holman Hunt (English, 1827–1910), The Lady of Shalott, c. 1886-1905. Oil on canvas. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1961.470
Provided / Wadsworth
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Pepon Osorio (American, b. 1955, Puerto Rico), En la barbería no se Ilora (No Crying Allowed in the Barbershop), 1994. Mixed media. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. Purchased through a gift from Southern New England Telephone in recognition of the vitality of Connecticut’s Puerto Rican community, and through the Alexander A. Goldfarb Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund, 1994.37.1
Provided / Wadsworth
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Unknown artist, Chantilly Porcelain Factory, Louis XV, c. 1775. Soft-paste porcelain. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917.1509
Provided / Wadsworth
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Spray of Hair Flowers. American, c. 1860. Ribbon and human hair. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James Hillhouse, 1923.306
Provided / Wadsworth
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John Sloan (American, 1871–1951), Hairdresser's Window, 1907. Oil on canvas. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1947.240
Provided / Wadsworth
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— The Dauntless Bureau (detail).jpg
Rachel Portesi, American, born 1971, The Dauntless Bureau, 2023, Multimedia sculptural installation, Purchased through the Mary Dowling Art Purchase Fund, 2024.3.1–.15; .17–.18
Provided / The Wadsworth
GUESTS:
- Luvena Leslie: Owner, The Curly Hair Salon in New Haven
- Viola Clune: Editor, The New Journal and author of the article “Kinks in the Movement"
- Jama Holchin: Lead Curator for "Styling Identities: Hair’s Tangled Histories" at The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
- Chloe Collins: Assistant Librarian and Archivist, The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
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