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Event
Mass MisEducation: A Long Table Conversation and Installation
"Mass Miseducation" takes the continuing interrogation about the intersection race, art and national narratives that began in October at the "Art Power Symposium" to the next level. It will employ a series of film screenings and a game to provoke the culminating Long Table conversation.
The first film segment is about a powerful racist mythology of the United States of America- followed by a cautionary tale on the impact of a single national narrative, written by its most privileged citizens on oppressed people. The final film provocations are two pieces that contribute disruptive chapters, intended to expand thinking on the story of us.
Attendees will then get up and move participating in a quick game, which will complicate simplistic notions of privilege.
The screenings and game will be followed by a conversation at the Long Table- exploring how miseducation (AKA propaganda) to the masses shapes perceptions on race, citizenship and whose lives matter.
"I sent out a post-symposium survey to attendees of the 'Art Power' event in October and most of the respondents asked for an opportunity for a deeper dive into the issues of race and equity that were raised at the 6-hour event," says Rachel Y. DeGuzman, founder and producer of the 'At the Crossroads: Activating the Intersection of Art and Justice' initiative. "The 'Mass MisEducation' event builds on the examination of the impact of D.W. Griffiths 'Birth of a Nation,' but from a different perspective. It also introduces new artistic and economic considerations to the conversation."
What is a Long Table Conversation?
The Long Table is an experimental open public forum that is a hybrid performance-installation-roundtable designed to facilitate dialogue through the gathering together of people with common interests developed by the artist and academic Lois Weaver. At this long table, all the invitees are artists, educators, culture workers or social justice advocates.
This is a performance of dinner table conversation where everyone seated at the table is a guest performer. Talk is the only course (though refreshments will be served before the conversation begins). There is no moderator just assistance from the host. It is a democracy. After the invited participants have chatted for 30-minutes, other attendees can tap someone's shoulder to take a seat at the table. The original participants are welcomed back to the conversation through the same process. There is an end, but no conclusion.
About "At the Crossroads: Activating the Intersection of Art and Justice":
In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. noted the most segregated hour in America was 11 am on Sunday morning a day and time in 1960 when most Christians were at worship in church. Unfortunately, US churches aren't significantly more integrated today, and in Upstate New York, houses of worship are rivaled for the most segregated designation by the institutions and events of the art/culture sector.
"At the Crossroads: Activating the Intersections of Art and Justice," which was founded by Rachel DeGuzman and is produced by her company 21st Century Arts with collaboratives of organizers, began with a singular event, but has evolved into an ongoing initiative. Employing various forms of performance, presentation, organizing, and engagement coupled with entrepreneurial, innovative and experiential approaches this initiative will help to expand the regional anti-racism movement that is rigorously underway in other sectors of our community to the art and culture landscape.
Why is this important? Despite generations of progress and good intentions, a few years ago we, in Greater Rochester, NY, acknowledged that systemic racism persists. The community responded with a multi-faceted approach, which for the most part, doesn't encompass the impact of racism in the art and culture sector. Art/culture continues to be a segregated landscape with great disparities in representation and resources.
-Existing inequities in art and culture threaten the sustainability and vitality of the sector as well as the viability of the community.
-Racism impacts the degree to which art and culture is valued by its broadest citizenry
-Racism frustrates efforts to expand participation, including the diversification of staffs, boards, audiences and patrons
-Racism in the sector limits the art/culture we are exposed to and its standards of excellence (Look to the success of Hamilton as one example of untapped potential)
-Racism in art and culture distorts the story of us, which is often interpreted and retold by creatives
-Persistent racism in art and culture lessens its (potentially) powerful capacity to bring us together
The image in this post is a portrait of Carter Godwin Woodson, the father of African American History and author of "The Miseducation of the Negro."
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LocationGallery Seventy Four (View)
215 Tremont Street (Door 3/Floor 3)
Rochester, NY 14608
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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