Juneteenth Celebration at the American Writers Museum

Mon Jun 19 2023 at 06:00 pm to 07:30 pm

American Writers Museum | Chicago

American Writers Museum
Publisher/HostAmerican Writers Museum
Juneteenth Celebration at the American Writers Museum
Advertisement
An evening in celebration of Juneteenth featuring writer Jaha Nailah Avery and artists Dorothy Burge, Damon Reed, and Dorian Sylvain.
About this Event

Join us at the American Writers Museum for an evening in celebration of Juneteenth and the work of Black writers and artists. The evening includes a reading from Those Who Saw the Sun, Jaha Nailah Avery's new collection of oral history narratives from the time of Jim Crow in the South. Then, a gallery talk by artists featured in the AWM's special exhibit . Chicago artists Dorothy Burge, Damon Reed, and Dorian Sylvain will talk about their process, what it meant to them to create representations of America's legendary Black authors for the exhibit, and how the words and work of those writers affected the artists' renderings.

Books and prints of the artwork will be available for purchase. Avery will be signing books and the artists will sign prints of their work following the program!

More about Those Who Saw the Sun:

The past is not past. We may think something ancient history, or something that doesn't affect our present day, but we would be wrong.

Those Who Saw the Sun is a collection of oral histories told by Black people who grew up in the South during the time of Jim Crow. Jaha Nailah Avery is a lawyer, scholar, and reporter whose family has roots in North Carolina stretching back over 300 years. These interviews have been a personal passion project for years as she's traveled across the South meeting with elders and hearing their stories.

One of the most important things a culture can do is preserve history, truthfully. In Those Who Saw the Sun we have the special experience of hearing this history as it was experienced by those who were really there. The opportunity to read their stories, their similarities and differences, where they agree and disagree, and where they overcame obstacles and found joy — feels truly like a gift.



Event Photos

About the Presenters:

JAHA NAILAH AVERY is an African American woman and proud Southerner. Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, she received her law degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied constitutional and civil rights law. She spent several years in the startup tech space before embarking on her professional writing career, and her work can be found in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Architectural Digest. Her aim is to always document, celebrate, and preserve the stories of Black people, communities, and history.

DOROTHY BURGE is a fabric and multimedia artist and community activist who is inspired by history and current issues of social justice. She is a self-taught quilter who began creating fiber art in the 1990s after the birth of her daughter, Maya.
Dorothy is a native and current resident of Chicago, but is descendent from a long line of quilters who hailed from Mississippi. These ancestors created beautiful quilts from recycled clothing. While she showed no interest in this art form as a child, she grew to treasure the quilts that were created by family elders. Her realization that the history and culture of her people were being passed through generations in this art form inspired her to use this medium as a tool to teach history, raise cultural awareness, and inspire action.

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, DAMON LAMAR REED moved to Chicago in 1996 to attend The School of the Art Institute. After receiving his B.F.A. in 1999, he became a full-time freelance artist making a career out of mural painting, illustration, graphic design, fine art, and teaching. Many of his murals and bricolages can be seen around the Midwest. Damon’s work with various organizations has allowed him to work with young aspiring artists, as well as to perfect his own creative designs. Reed has also built his portfolio to combine music with his visual arts skills.

DORIAN SYLVAIN is a painter whose color and texture explore ornamentation, pattern, and design as identifiers of cultural and historical foundations. She is a studio painter and muralist, as well as an art educator, curator, and community planner. Much of her public work addresses issues of beautification inspired by color palettes and patterns found throughout the African diaspora, particularly architecture. Core to her practice is collaborating with children and communities to elevate neighborhood aesthetics and foster shared understanding.


Event Photos
Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Avenue, 2nd Floor, Chicago, United States

Tickets

USD 0.00

Sharing is Caring: