Z Smith Reynolds Inclusive Public Art Project
Honoring free and enslaved black craftsmen
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Community Input Forum
7pm, January 19, 2023 529 S Front St (North Carolina History Center) Join us to learn more about the historical figures from the "Crafting Lives" book by Catherine Bishar, and see the artists' proposed renderings of the project and provide feedback. This event is free and open to the public. |
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Project Background:
In spring 2022 Craven Arts Council & Gallery partnered with Tryon Palace to apply for the Z Smith Reynolds Inclusive Public Art Project. The committee’s proposed project focuses on the contributions, struggles, and victories of free and enslaved black craftspeople in New Bern from the American Revolution to the Civil War.
The history of the free black craftsmen and artisans who developed business, community, and political relationships across racial lines is usually omitted from discussions of the period. We see this project as an opportunity to address the shortcomings of how and what local African American history is told. Our goal is to provide a deep overall interpretation of this period in New Bern’s history through the lens of these African Americans, sharing their perspective and reflecting a more complete story of our integrated history and the social constructs of race. We want to open doors to conversations that tell our community’s stories of diversity, inclusion, and equality but, perhaps even more importantly, to celebrate resilience, fortitude, and strength despite individual, societal, and systemic subjugation.
Upon being accepted as a semi-finalist, the committee began moving forward with plans for community engagement, historical research, and artist recruitment. For this phase of the project the committee has hired qualified artists to engage with the community and review provided historic documentation to design a piece of artwork highlighting and commemorating the contributions of these craftspeople to our unique cultural and physical landscape. This design will be submitted as part of the application process for Phase II of the Z Smith Reynolds Public Art Project. If the project is funded, the artist will be further contracted to complete Phase II, with consummate compensation.
In spring 2022 Craven Arts Council & Gallery partnered with Tryon Palace to apply for the Z Smith Reynolds Inclusive Public Art Project. The committee’s proposed project focuses on the contributions, struggles, and victories of free and enslaved black craftspeople in New Bern from the American Revolution to the Civil War.
The history of the free black craftsmen and artisans who developed business, community, and political relationships across racial lines is usually omitted from discussions of the period. We see this project as an opportunity to address the shortcomings of how and what local African American history is told. Our goal is to provide a deep overall interpretation of this period in New Bern’s history through the lens of these African Americans, sharing their perspective and reflecting a more complete story of our integrated history and the social constructs of race. We want to open doors to conversations that tell our community’s stories of diversity, inclusion, and equality but, perhaps even more importantly, to celebrate resilience, fortitude, and strength despite individual, societal, and systemic subjugation.
Upon being accepted as a semi-finalist, the committee began moving forward with plans for community engagement, historical research, and artist recruitment. For this phase of the project the committee has hired qualified artists to engage with the community and review provided historic documentation to design a piece of artwork highlighting and commemorating the contributions of these craftspeople to our unique cultural and physical landscape. This design will be submitted as part of the application process for Phase II of the Z Smith Reynolds Public Art Project. If the project is funded, the artist will be further contracted to complete Phase II, with consummate compensation.
