DC, get ready to be titillated!
In Black History Month 2026, step into a world of glamour, power, and unapologetic brilliance with Brown Skin Showgirls, a featured multimedia installation within Everybody Wants to Be a Showgirl, running February 6–28, 2026 at Dupont Underground Museum.
Brown Skin Showgirls: Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana (1930s–1960s) is a traveling multimedia exhibition that lights up the legacy of the breathtaking Black and Cuban performers who defined an era. Curated by artist and historian Leslie Cunningham for the Harlem in Havana Project, this installation celebrates the visionary showgirls whose elegance, precision, and unstoppable spirit reshaped American entertainment—even in the face of Jim Crow.
Presented alongside contemporary works in Everybody Wants to Be a Showgirl, this multimedia exhibition reveals a living continuum of performance, style, resistance, and creative power. Experience rare photographs, archival film, and stunning couture showgirl doll recreations inspired by original costumes. This is a love letter to the trailblazers whose beauty, resilience, and artistry opened doors for generations of Black burlesque innovators. Come honor the icons. Celebrate the legacy. Feel the power of the showgirl spirit.
Dupont Underground , 19 Dupont Circle NW, Washington, DC 20036| Visitor Hours: Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays | 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Grand Opening and Show: Friday, February 6 at 6:00pm. Burlesque Show and Artist Talk & Brown Skin Showgirls Exhibit Walkthrough with Curator Leslie Cunningham
Learn more at Everybody Wants to Be a Showgirl or harleminhavana.com/exhibits.
HARLEM IN HAVANA 