Live reading of 'Sinners in the Sugar Shack': A history of Durhamite Ernie Barnes' Sugar Shack painting

So here’s your invitation: Find your own Sugar Shack. Dance like your liberation depends on it. And when the lights come up, let the art of that moment live on; whether in a photo, a story, or the way your body still remembers the beat. Let it be sweet like sugar.

-Alyssa Cuffie Onuoha

Happy last day of 2025.

This year I published more writing online than ever. And one of my most popular essays was an in depth history of The Sugar Shack painting by Durham native and NCCU grad, Ernie Barnes. So in this episode, I’ve decided to dig deeper into the Durham creative archive and read my research on the painting for you.

I spend time with The Sugar Shack as a puzzle to be solved. From the location of the painting to the recently uncovered mystery of two versions, I talk through Barnes’s story, the cultural weight of his work, and how art becomes a bridge between generations.

As we close out the season, I hope this episode feels like an invitation. To remember. To honor. And to recognize our role in carrying these stories forward. Thank you for a warm 2025 and I look forward to sharing a new season of the Durham Artist Archive soon.

Let 2026 be sweet.

Associated Songs

I want you - Marvin Gaye

Dance tonight - Lucy Pearl

Related Reading

Sinners in the Sugar Shack