February 13: Community Discussion at RoCo

Name: February 13: Community Discussion at RoCo
Start: 2026-02-13T19:00:00-05:00
Location: 137 East Ave, Rochester, NY, United States, New York 14604

Schedule

Fri, 13 Feb, 2026 at 07:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

137 East Ave, Rochester, NY, United States, New York 14604 | Rochester, NY

Join us for a public conversation with W. Michelle Harris and Amanda Chestnut, centered on Harris’s public art installation Nia Panes at Rochester Contemporary Art Center. Presented in an interview and discussion format, this talk brings together two practitioners whose work bridges art, history, and community memory.
In addition to "Nia Panes" Harris has produced several other public artworks that memorialize Rochester’s lesser-known African American history, giving form to the lives and legacies of local leaders and activists whose contributions have often gone under-recognized. "Nia Panes" reimagines the tradition of memorial stained glass to honor Anna Murray Douglass, Hester Jeffrey, and Austin Steward, foregrounding their lasting impact on abolition, suffrage, and community organizing in Rochester. Leading the conversation with Harris, Amanda Chestnut, co-founder of In This Moment, brings to the program their ground-breaking commitment to honor living elders and influential figures in the Black community. Together, the conversation explores how past AND present narratives are preserved, interpreted, and carried forward through art and storytelling.
Read more about "Nia Panes" and the event at https://www.rochestercontemporary.org/events/honoring-past-and-present-public-art-history-and-community-memory/?event_date=2026-02-13