Ralph Appelbaum Associates

The Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History reimagines the historic house museum. Located within the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, the oldest surviving home in Newport, Rhode Island, it centers the stories of enslaved Black and Indigenous people who lived and worked there, transforming the colonial house into a witness to overlooked histories.

Created to ensure Black history is no longer treated as a footnote in Newport’s narrative, the center reflects years of community collaboration. Led by historian and executive director Akeia de Barros Gomes and supported by the Newport Historical Society, the project’s “Voices Campaign” engaged Black residents and descendants of enslaved Newporters in shaping the institution. Exhibition design was developed by RAA, whose interpretive approach uses the house itself as a primary storytelling medium.

Visitors enter through a contemporary glass addition before moving through three immersive galleries. In the Kitchen, projections animate the space with stories of enslaved residents, using light as the primary interpretive medium to protect the historic structure. Interactive research tools, audio installations, and tactile objects deepen engagement.

The Living Room broadens the narrative through an interactive map tracing diasporic migration and Newport’s connections to the transatlantic slave trade. A rare Nkisi protection bundle, discovered hidden beneath the house’s floorboards, provides a powerful physical link to West African spiritual traditions and enslaved communities.

In the Parlor, rotating exhibitions connect historical scholarship to contemporary dialogue. The experience concludes in a sculpture garden that serves as a public gathering space, honoring lives too long excluded from the historical record.