Groundings - Exhibit Opening!
Schedule
Fri Jul 26 2024 at 07:00 pm
Location
20 N American St, Philadelphia, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 19106 | Philadelphia, PA
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This summer, Christ Church Neighborhood House pulls back the curtain on a lesser known history in the City of Brotherly Love.Christ Church has been conducting research to discover the lives and everyday acts of resilience and survival by Black people, both free and enslaved in Colonial Philadelphia. Many were buried on the grounds of Christ Church without headstones and this research is designed to shed light on who these people were. This research will culminate in On Buried Ground, an upcoming performance running during the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Part of the experience will also include an interactive art exhibit. On Buried Ground – Embodied Histories, Dreams, and Memories: The Extraordinary Ordinary, an immersive exhibition, opens July 26 at 7 p.m. Through speculative storytelling and tangible peaks into the interior lives of some of these individuals portrayed in the On Buried Ground performance, visitors will deepen their experience of the ancestors called forth. The exhibit is at Christ Church Neighborhood House, 40 N. American Street, Philadelphia. More information can be found at neighborhood-house.com.
The exhibit focuses on Alice of Dunk’s Ferry and the children buried at Christ Church. Alice of Dunk’s Ferry (c. 1686-1802) was a lifetime parishioner at Christ Church and a notable historian and storyteller. The exhibit will use immersive and interactive storytelling. Audiences will engage with personal objects and talismans to access stories and dreams to connect to Alice of Dunk’s Ferry and the children of the burial ground. Artists commissioned for the exhibit include: Misty Sol, Destiny Crockett, Theodore Harris, and Intisar Hamilton.
“The exhibit provides a multifaceted exploration of Black history in and around Christ Church, revealing narratives that have often been overlooked,” said the exhibit’s curator Malkia Okech. “Parishioners of Christ Church included both free and enslaved Black people who had complete and whole multifaceted lives.”
Audiences will encounter items from that time period. There will also be historical records, audio sensory experiences, and art that gives audiences an experience that makes the histories of the enslaved and free people of African descent in Philadelphia.
The On Buried Ground performance runs September 4-September 14, during the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Dance artist Shayla-Vie Jenkins and playwright Ang Bey have developed a piece of theatrical storytelling informed by the archival records and new scholarship.
Join us for wine, light fare, and celebration for this exhibit that will be open until December 26, 2024.
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Where is it happening?
20 N American St, Philadelphia, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 19106Event Location & Nearby Stays: