Inside The Spike Lee Exhibit Coming To The Brooklyn Museum

BED-STUY, NY — Brooklyn's beloved creative mastermind Spike Lee will be on full display at Brooklyn Museum, in an exhibit meant to help visitors understand the illustrious filmmaker's creative process.

The collection will include 300 objects organized into an immersive installation that will take museum-goers through Lee's life including letters, books, album covers, film memorabilia and clips of Lee's films.

The exhibition, dubbed 'Spike Lee: Creative Sources,' will run from Oct. 6 through Feb. 4, 2024, museum officials announced Monday.

"By making Lee’s collection accessible to the public, this showcase celebrates his legacy while honoring his deep connection to Brooklyn, a place that has been an integral part of his storytelling,” said curator Kimberli Gant.

Much like Lee's work, a dive into his life also tells a uniquely Brooklyn story. Museum-goers can see set dressings and props from movies that focus on Brooklyn, like "Do the Right Thing," and "She's Gotta Have It," as well as Brooklyn artifacts Lee collected and preserved.

"A Brooklyn icon, Lee has centered the borough and other New York City locales in many of his films, and he has collected and preserved artifacts from Brooklyn’s rich history," museum representatives said. "In turn, the exhibition examines the ways that Brooklyn has shaped Lee creatively.

The exhibition hinges around seven key themes: Black history and culture, Brooklyn, sports, music, cinema history, family and politics, according to the Brooklyn Museum.

"The Brooklyn Museum’s exhibition offers visitors a new lens through which to understand how Lee’s lifelong interests have intersected and impacted his productions," museum representatives said.

The exhibit will, among other things, highlight Lee's contributions to Black history and culture through his depictions of Black characters, museum representatives said. For example, viewers will take a look at artist Michael Ray Charles's 1997 piece "Bamboozled," a commentary on racist stereotyping that inspired Lee's 2000 film by the same title.

Lee's career touches on every aspect of American pop culture, and the exhibit will boast a lot of star power — like rackets belonging to boundary-breaking tennis legends Serena Williams and Arthur Ashe.

Iconic photos of artists like Frank Sinatra and a guitar belonging to Prince will highlight Lee's partnerships with iconic musicians, including his father Bill Lee, who died in May.