Schomburg Open House | Activating Houston Conwill's Rivers Cosmogram

Schomburg Center’s Open House invites the general public to learn more about the collections while exploring the theme of memory. Join us in considering our collective and individual will to remember the meaningful moments experienced during the global pandemic and how we may give new life to memory through storytelling, genealogy, art, and archiving.

Join us for an up-close look at one of the largest artworks in Schomburg's collection, Houston Conwill's Rivers. A sculptor and conceptual artist, Conwill created this large-scale floor installation as an homage to Langston Hughes and diasporic Black culture more broadly. This will be an interactive program where participants will be invited to engage Conwill's work through discussion, poetry and movement.

Houston Eugene Conwill (April 2, 1947 – November 14, 2016) was an American multidisciplinary artist known best for large-scale public sculptural installations. Conwill was a sculptor, painter, and performance and conceptual artist whose site-specific works explore and celebrate spirituality and African-American artists, activists, and intellectuals. Studio Museum in Harlem recognized his body of work as a "lasting monument to black culture." (Wikipedia)

The Schomburg Center's Art and Artifacts Division houses one of the most comprehensive collections of black artists' work in a research center. It includes paintings, sculptures, works on paper and textiles, and material culture. It contains more than 20,000 items from Africa and the African Diaspora. The collection is particularly strong in art produced during the Harlem Renaissance and WPA periods. This includes murals by Aaron Douglas, a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. Black American artists are represented by 19th-century figures such as Edward Mitchell Bannister and Henry Ossawa Tanner, and 20th-century figures such as Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, and Romare Bearden.

PUBLIC NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER By registering for this event, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending an in-person program at The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold The New York Public Library, its Trustees, officers, agent and employees liable for any illness or injury.

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12:30 PM—Genealogy 101 Workshop | Genealogy 101 will provide an overview of conducting African American genealogical research. Attendees will learn about the many resources available at the Schomburg Center and other divisions of the New York Public Library as well as some tips for beginning their family research. Register

1:30 PM—Activating Houston Conwill's Rivers Cosmogram | Join us for an up-close look at one of the largest artworks in Schomburg's collection - Houston Conwill's Rivers, known as the centerpiece of our Langston Hughes Lobby. This interactive program invites participants to engage Conwill's work through discussion, poetry and movement. Register

2 PM—Ethics of Care: Tarana Burke | Join Tarana Burke, the trailblazing founder and activist behind the "Me Too" Movement, for a discussion on her debut memoir Unbound. We will explore crafting your own story and the kind of care necessary for honesty, vulnerability, and liberation. Moderated by writer and cultural critic Sasha Bonét. Register

3:30 PM—Screening: Black Rodeo | Answering the question of "Do Black cowboys exist?" Black Rodeo documents the first-ever performance of an all African-American rodeo at Randall's Island in 1971—including scenes on 125th Street with Muhammad Ali. Following the screening, award-winning filmmaker and Schomburg curator Shola Lynch and Luminal Theater Executive Director Curtis Caesar John will discuss activating memory through moving images, the importance of film documentation and preserving home videos. Presented in partnership with Luminal Theater, a nomadic microcinema that centers its screenings of Black independent films in Black communities. Register

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POLICIES & PROCEDURES To ensure the health and safety of the public and our staff as our libraries reopen with nearly full service, policies and procedures created in collaboration with safety experts must be followed. As of July 6, at all our open locations, visitors must wear a mask the duration of the program, in accordance with the Library policy. Patrons not wearing a face covering will not be permitted to enter.

By registering for this event, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending an in-person program by The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold The New York Public Library, its Trustees, officers, agent and employees liable for any illness or injury.

PRESS Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Leah Drayton at [email protected].

Please note that professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, United States