?March On,? a new exhibition at the Storefront for Art & Architecture, dives into the history of marching bands in African American culture This month, Beyoncé took to the stage twice at Coachella, backed by a drumline and brass band. Being a Beyoncé production, the performance and musicianship were spectacular.
But, #Beychella transcended mere festival spectacle to become one of the most expressive moments of black culture so far this year. Beyoncé not only riffed on a longtime tradition of marching bands at historically black colleges and universities; she was in dialogue with centuries of black musicians who used marching bands to fight for their rights and establish creative space.

Jenica Heintzelman
?Marching On,? a performance piece and exhibition at the Storefront for Art & Architecture explores the relationship between race, public space, and marching.
Throughout U.S. history, marching bands have been evocative tools of black-American cultural and political expression, and the bands have evolved from their military roots to become vehicles of civil disobedience during Jim Crow segregation?and as a way to reclaim space in today?s anxious era of mass surveillance.
A new exhibition at the Storefront for Art & Architecture examines how that came to be. Curated by Columbia University architecture professors Mabel O. Wilson and Bryony Roberts, Marching On: The Politics of Performance investigates the relationship betwee...