Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Project Start Date <br />(no earlier than July <br />1, 2020) <br />July 1, 2020 <br />Project End Date (no <br />later than June 30, <br />2021) <br />June 30, 2021 <br />Project/Program <br />Summary <br />Creating [Comm]unity will highlight a legacy of struggle for freedom, <br />dignity and justice. It will engage artists and community members in a <br />series of multidisciplinary exhibitions comprising poetry, <br />photography, literature, and v ideo to portray contemporary <br />perspectiv es and giv e v oice to issues of today. Our project is <br />designed to be an artistic interpretation and expression of current <br />ev ents with a backdrop of historical records. <br />Across the nation, we are facing two pandemics—COVID19 and <br />racism. Our project, “Creating [Comm]unity,” will focus on our belief <br />that engagement in the arts will help our communities ov ercome the <br />trauma and ill-effects of historical and structural racism. <br />“Through the arts, we can address the trauma of racism, bridge <br />cultural and ethnic div ides, and cultiv ate a community of <br />understanding and harmony .” …Renée Price <br />“Art can help change a person's consciousness. Art encourages <br />people to think, express and be creativ e – the essence of <br />education.” …Donn Young <br />In 1898, a Black farmhand, 18-year-old Manly McCauley, was the <br />v ictim of a racial terror lynching in Orange County. Four local <br />residents were charged with the murder, yet at the trial, they were <br />“promptly” acquitted of all charges. In 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year- <br />old Black man, died as a white police officer intentionally knelt on his <br />neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. <br />Black, Indigenous and People-of-Color need to be respected and <br />acknowledged as part of American society along with white people. <br />Their stories and feelings are unknown or marginally understood. <br />W ith our project, we hope to cultiv ate relationships between people <br />of div erse cultural backgrounds by using v arious artistic media to <br />change hearts and minds. <br /> -- <br />Our intent is to create a trav eling exhibition, and to date, we hav e <br />commitments to host from: <br />Artists Cooperativ e, The Skylight Gallery, Hillsborough <br />Through This Lens Gallery, Durham <br />More v enues are forthcoming from a local church and a gallery in <br />Chapel Hill. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 9EDD2D8D-8314-40A5-95E9-83E7F3E9D0ED