REMEMBERING THE 1906 ATLANTA RACE RIOT: Alice Lovelace put out this call for artists to become involved in the remembrance of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. There will be poetry, music, theatre, art and much more to remember the victims and to look at how this deadly event shaped the city and changed lives. I plan to become involved. If you're in Atlanta, consider attending the meeting mentioned below.
Join us on February 23, 2006 6-8 p.m. at Javaology on Edgewood Ave.
Create * Participate * Facilitate * Initiate
Contact us at:artremember@1906atlantaraceriot.org
Learn about us at:www.1906atlantaraceriot.org
“I don’t think it lasted long but it was terrifying while it lasted. In those days you could just go out and lynch a man for anything.” –Survivor, 1906 Atlanta Race Riot
Mission Statement
As artists we commit to using our bodies, words, and images to create art that will recognize and acknowledge the events that came to be known as the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. We commit to examining and reflecting upon the social conditions and race relations that gave rise to the Riot. We commit to presenting work to the public in many and diverse venues, engaging with the communities where the works are presented, and supporting artists as they create within this context.
Context
Our goal is to tell the truth as fully and clearly as possible; to celebrate the lives and contributions of the African American community in Atlanta most impacted by this event; and to mourn the dead. We aim to educate ourselves and the public about how it was possible for the Race Riot to occur: the social climate, the history that influenced the perpetrators, and the roles of the government, the business establishment, and the media.
As artists, we support truth telling as an act of taking personal responsibility. We each–African American and White–must acknowledge the Riot, name our losses and recognize our gains. We must name the Riot’s legacy of economic inequity, social division, and community dislocation that persists to this day.
The victims of the 1906 Riot deserve our art and our attention. We must call their names and acknowledge their experience. We must also call the names of those who used their position and power to incite fear and racialhatred, those who perpetrated violence, and those whose inaction and denial also reaped disastrous results.
We do this not to point the finger of blame. We seek to move towards dismantling the shame and hatred associated with the Riot. We do this in an effort through truth and reconciliation to inspire positive actionin the present.
We invite the Atlanta arts community to become a part of the process of Art and Remembrance.
Call for participation
Artists, arts organizations and companies in all visual, literary, and performing disciplines are invited and encouraged to create work in response to the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. The list of presenting venues is growing and we encourage presenters to take this theme into consideration as they plan bookings and commissions for coming seasons. At the present time, events that are planned include:
- A Centennial Observance, September 22-24, 2006, in conjunction with a major symposium on the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot, hosted by a number of Atlanta Universities and colleges.
Among the events envisioned are:
- A procession and ceremony of music, performance, and commemoration on a large scale in Downtown Atlanta
- An afternoon of performance, ritual and ceremony at the Rialto Theatre
- Live performance at Historic Riot sites
- Arts participation in the symposium on the 1906 Race Riot
- A curated show of visual art at Eyedrum Gallery throughout September of 2006 with performances
- An exhibition at the King Historic Site on Auburn Avenue
- A documentary video of the Coalition and its work
- A series of spoken-word events at various venues throughout Atlanta
- A choral reading of first person narratives of Riot witnesses and survivors
Events and projects that are in the planning stages or within the realm of possibility include:
- The composition and performance of original musical works
- An original theatrical event
- Student-written performance works
- A literary review
- A large-scale work of public sculpture
The Public Education and Community Engagement committees of the Coalition have rich resources to contribute and the Arts and Remembrance Committee is happy to facilitate these connections.
The Coalition is not a grant making organization. We are actively seeking public and private financial support. At such time as we receive funding, we will disseminate them through appropriate mechanisms. We encourage self-funding and will provide in-kind support. Local arts agencies are favorably disposed to support the work of the Coalition.
Join us on February 23, 2006 6-8 p.m. at Javaology on Edgewood Ave.
Create * Participate * Facilitate * Initiate
Contact us at:artremember@1906atlantaraceriot.org
Learn about us at:www.1906atlantaraceriot.org
“I don’t think it lasted long but it was terrifying while it lasted. In those days you could just go out and lynch a man for anything.” –Survivor, 1906 Atlanta Race Riot
Mission Statement
As artists we commit to using our bodies, words, and images to create art that will recognize and acknowledge the events that came to be known as the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. We commit to examining and reflecting upon the social conditions and race relations that gave rise to the Riot. We commit to presenting work to the public in many and diverse venues, engaging with the communities where the works are presented, and supporting artists as they create within this context.
Context
Our goal is to tell the truth as fully and clearly as possible; to celebrate the lives and contributions of the African American community in Atlanta most impacted by this event; and to mourn the dead. We aim to educate ourselves and the public about how it was possible for the Race Riot to occur: the social climate, the history that influenced the perpetrators, and the roles of the government, the business establishment, and the media.
As artists, we support truth telling as an act of taking personal responsibility. We each–African American and White–must acknowledge the Riot, name our losses and recognize our gains. We must name the Riot’s legacy of economic inequity, social division, and community dislocation that persists to this day.
The victims of the 1906 Riot deserve our art and our attention. We must call their names and acknowledge their experience. We must also call the names of those who used their position and power to incite fear and racialhatred, those who perpetrated violence, and those whose inaction and denial also reaped disastrous results.
We do this not to point the finger of blame. We seek to move towards dismantling the shame and hatred associated with the Riot. We do this in an effort through truth and reconciliation to inspire positive actionin the present.
We invite the Atlanta arts community to become a part of the process of Art and Remembrance.
Call for participation
Artists, arts organizations and companies in all visual, literary, and performing disciplines are invited and encouraged to create work in response to the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. The list of presenting venues is growing and we encourage presenters to take this theme into consideration as they plan bookings and commissions for coming seasons. At the present time, events that are planned include:
- A Centennial Observance, September 22-24, 2006, in conjunction with a major symposium on the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot, hosted by a number of Atlanta Universities and colleges.
Among the events envisioned are:
- A procession and ceremony of music, performance, and commemoration on a large scale in Downtown Atlanta
- An afternoon of performance, ritual and ceremony at the Rialto Theatre
- Live performance at Historic Riot sites
- Arts participation in the symposium on the 1906 Race Riot
- A curated show of visual art at Eyedrum Gallery throughout September of 2006 with performances
- An exhibition at the King Historic Site on Auburn Avenue
- A documentary video of the Coalition and its work
- A series of spoken-word events at various venues throughout Atlanta
- A choral reading of first person narratives of Riot witnesses and survivors
Events and projects that are in the planning stages or within the realm of possibility include:
- The composition and performance of original musical works
- An original theatrical event
- Student-written performance works
- A literary review
- A large-scale work of public sculpture
The Public Education and Community Engagement committees of the Coalition have rich resources to contribute and the Arts and Remembrance Committee is happy to facilitate these connections.
The Coalition is not a grant making organization. We are actively seeking public and private financial support. At such time as we receive funding, we will disseminate them through appropriate mechanisms. We encourage self-funding and will provide in-kind support. Local arts agencies are favorably disposed to support the work of the Coalition.
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