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Inclusive Public Art in NC
March 13 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Telling Little-Known Stories Through Art: Inclusive Public Art Across the State
Join Executive Director Heather Wilson for a facilitated conversation about the power of art to open the door to conversation. In 2018, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation launched an Inclusive Public Art Initiative that funded an initial group of 10 grantees, of which Cameron Art Museum’s Boundless project was one. Hear from the ZSR Foundation and some of the leaders and the artists in the communities that benefited from this groundbreaking initiative.
About the Projects
Graham Revitalization Economic Action Team
This project acknowledges and celebrates the achievements of the women of the Snowbird Cherokee community through a collaborative mural located in the town center of Robbinsville. Originating from a partnership between G.R.E.A.T., the Church Mouse Ministries, Inc., a local citizen-led Main Street Revitalization and Economic Development initiative known as REVVED UP, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Junaluska Museum, this collaboration sought to build relationships and trust across lines of difference while celebrating this under-told and important story. The Snowbird Cherokee are a community that is a part of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and whose land base is in Graham County. While most mainstream shared knowledge about the Cherokee centers around their removal via the “Trail of Tears,” the Snowbird Cherokee carry the reputation of resilience and tradition, having hidden in their mountains to escape the forced removal of their people. That same spirit of pride and survival remains with them to this day and there is no better evidence than in the lives of their many strong and gifted women. The Cherokee people have long celebrated a traditional way of honoring those within their community who have displayed a true love and concern for their people and the preservation of their culture, history, and nation. The revered title of “Beloved Man” or “Beloved Woman” is given only to those who epitomize the qualities expected of a Cherokee. Snowbird Cherokee women have proven to be strong, wise, fearless and filled with creativity as they have persevered through the trials of history. To date, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have recognized three women from the Snowbird Community as Beloved Women of the Tribe and they are featured on the mural. Leading the project’s creative team are Appalachian artists Doreyl Ammons Cain and TJ Holland. Ammons is an accomplished muralist, co-founder of “Catch the Spirit of Appalachia” and the Appalachian Mural Trail. Originating from Jackson County, she is rooted in the area, with a deep love for its people, culture and history. TJ Holland, Cultural Resources Supervisor for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee and the tribally owned Junaluska Museum in Graham County, acted as cultural advisor, historian, and liaison to the Snowbird Cherokee Community. This team provided the structure for a community engaged process that created opportunity for accomplished and emerging Snowbird Cherokee artists to receive training in muralism and be central to painting the artwork. The team also provided opportunities for direct descendants of the Snowbird Cherokee to paint the portraits of their ancestors, which resulted in a 400 square foot narrative artwork.
City of Rocky Mount
The City of Rocky Mount has partnered with the Black Light Project (BLP) to create eight, permanent, large-scale photographic installations in multiple prominent public locations around the city, ranging in size from 20×20 feet to 20×60 feet. Based in Greenville, NC, the Black Light Project is a creative partnership of founder and director Tonya Jefferson Lynch and photographers Bryce Chapman and Randy Curtis. BLP is designed to challenge the media’s common, and often negative, narrative about Black men by highlighting the positive narratives of real, everyday Black males who are the rule, not the exception. These men are fathers, brothers, husbands, sons, friends, and neighbors who light the world with kindness, fearlessness, perseverance, love, strength, and humanity. This public art installation is an outgrowth of a 2020 exhibit that was curated in partnership with Rocky Mount’s Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences. Utilizing community engagement and a public nomination process, the project tells the stories of these everyday heroes. Based on a variety of narratives, subjects were chosen for the installation and the final work includes a mix of full color, and black and white images, that are graphically enhanced. The community engagement process was facilitated in partnership with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Nash-Edgecombe Economic Development Inc., Rocky Mount/Edgecombe Community Development Corporation, and Rocky Mount Mills. All the locations for the installations are managed by the City of Rocky Mount’s Parks and Recreation Department, with the exception of Rocky Mount Mills. Nash County sites include the Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences, the Rocky Mount Mills, and South Rocky Mount Community Center. Edgecombe County sites include R. M. Wilson Gymnasium, Booker T. Washington Community Center and Stith-Talbot Park.
El Futuro, Inc.
El Futuro is a volunteer-founded, nonprofit organization with a 15-year history of providing bilingual and culturally sensitive mental health services to central North Carolina’s Latinx community. Its mission is to nurture stronger families to live out their dreams. In May 2018, in order to accommodate providing more services to more families, El Futuro moved its downtown Durham clinic to the Lakewood community. Lakewood is one of Durham’s most diverse neighborhoods with one of the largest Latinx populations in the City. This new home is located within the emerging Reuse Arts District founded by their partner, the Scrap Exchange. This organization, working in collaboration with additional community stakeholders and building off of existing long-term and recent partnerships, came together to create a 2,760 square foot mural, depicting common struggles, while highlighting a shared hope for the future. Taking the artistic lead for the project was Cornelio Campos, a first-generation immigrant who is deeply rooted in Durham’s Latinx community. Through a variety of engagement strategies, this team built on a design that is a synthesizing of words, images and symbolism shared by the community. The mural is located at a gateway location within the Reuse Arts District and is adjacent to a community garden.
Photograph of Boundless by Alan Cradick