The Lincoln Conservatory
Archives
〰️
Ephemera
〰️
Archives 〰️ Ephemera 〰️
The Lincoln Conservatory by Atelier Lincoln is exploration of Black Glamour through the literary lens. Through books, archival material, digital essays, and intimate gatherings participants will discuss how Black women have redefined and embodied glamour in ways that challenge conventional notions, using it as a means of self-definition, resistance, and empowerment.
The conservatory will serve as a space to honor these narratives and understand how they continue to inspire and shape contemporary understandings of Black womanhood and glamour.
Our format is seasonal, intentional, and restorative:
Each season, called an Exposition, includes:
Each Exposition (think season) is a restorative deep dive into Black Glamour. First, we’ll start by reading three to four carefully selected titles, each exploring a different guise of Glamour. Then we’ll gather (if that’s your jam)
One-month intentional pauses between readings with exclusive video interviews, short audio reflections, and open prompts for rest, reflection, and connection.
Each book is paired with a companion experience through The Glamour Repertoire, a digital repository of vintage archives, playlists, literature, and ephemera. Think of it as the complete composition for our study.
The Curricula of Black Glamour
Our curricula draws inspiration from two models:
First, the public learning model. One that honors both the rigor of the scholar and the curiosity of the self-taught. In our fellowship, the classroom and the living room hold equal harmony. Second, the practice of bibliotherapy. Inviting emotional reflection, archival healing, and self-directed care. We treat books, glamour, and learning as tools for restoration.
This foundation is upheld by the unwritten record of the organizers who came before us: the secret societies, the beauty parlors, the kitchen tables. Archives bound together not by systems, but by shoeboxes, photo albums, paper, and scripture.