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Critical Thinking Through Object Making: A Memory Jug WorkshopFacilitator: Sirene Martin
This workshop is free, please register for your seat so you are guaranteed a spot.
This engaging, hands-on workshop blends critical thinking, cultural history, and creative expression. Participants will explore the rich tradition of assemblage art within Black American visual culture, rooted in the spiritual and artistic legacies of the Bakongo people of Central Africa.
The session will begin with a brief lecture introducing the concept of Minkisi (sacred vessels) and their cultural transformations within African American communities—specifically focusing on the practice of Memory Jug making in the Black South. A memory jug is a commemorative vessel created to honor a departed loved one. In the early 1900s, memory jugs were commonly found attached to grave markers throughout the South.
This workshop serves as a thematic continuation of the three-day performance series Future Histories of Emancipation, created by contemporary assemblage artist Vanessa German, whose work will be highlighted as a modern-day inheritance of the Bakongo legacy. The performance series, held in October 2025, acted as ceremonial ritual to honor the Black girls enrolled in the Colored Girls Dormitory of 1896 at the Louisville Industrial School Reform. This building is currently Gottschalk Hall at the University of Louisville.
This workshop is created and facilitated by Sirene Martin, Assistant Curator and Repatriation Coordinator, in conjunction with the Sam Gilliam Visiting Artist Program at the Speed Art Museum. No experience is required; materials are provided.
Memory Jar
Unidentified American Maker, Rome, Georgia
early twentieth century
Hand-built clay with encrusted ceramic shards and found objects
High Museum of Art
1997.37
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Speed Art Museum, 2035 S 3rd St, Louisville, KY 40208-1812, United States
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