by Madeline Flagler, Tryon Palace Education Branch Head
“The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR) believes that art can open the door to conversation.” From the Z. Smith Reynolds Inclusive Public Art webpage opening sentence.
Last summer a consortium of Craven Arts Council, Tryon Palace, and a committee of interested persons were selected by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation as one of twenty semi-finalists for their Inclusive Public Art initiative. Funded jointly by the Z. Smith Reynolds and Mellon Foundations, the initiative is intended to use permanent, public art to share stories of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will seek a thoughtful understanding of the history that we share and demonstrate how these stories of diversity and strength make our community stronger and more resilient. The goal is to create avenues for ongoing community conversations and collaborations beyond the life of this project. In our efforts to get input, we have met with and received letters of support from over a dozen community groups.
We are using the book, Crafting Lives: African American Artisans in New Bern, to provide background and inspiration to tell the little-known stories of both free and enslaved women and men of the New Bern African American artisan class. The stories of these remarkable middle- and working-class people are important to our understanding of New Bern’s past, present and future. They built the town, provided industries vital to its growth and sustainability, established religious and civic organizations, and bought their families – and others – out of slavery and into freedom. They found ways to thrive under an institution that limited and denied them agency at every turn. They became vibrant participants in the community of New Bern on all levels. In addition, we want to recognize that ours is not the only place with such untold or under-told stories of African American artisans who, early in our country’s history, excelled in their work and built businesses, homes, families and communities.
On Thursday, January 19th at 7pm in Cullman Performance Hall at the North Carolina History Center, we will hold a second free Community Forum. A team of three North Carolina-based artists has been selected: Georgie Nakima, a native New Bernian, who is a muralist using vibrant colors and impressive designs; Marcus Kiser, from Charlotte, who is a graphic designer with skills across the media spectrum; and Stephen Hayes, from Durham, who is a working sculptor and Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Duke University. They have collaborated to create a first mock-up for the project. Sharon Bryant, Tryon Palace African American Outreach Coordinator, has created a series of short scenes about the lives of four of artisans from the Crafting Lives book. The artists drawings will be displayed, and the scenes of the artisans’ lives will be acted out at the January 19th event. Please join us and let us know what you think. For more information, please call: Sharon Bryant, 252-639-3592, sharon.bryant@ncdcr.gov, and www.tryonpalacefoundation.org/home/inclusive-public-art-initiative .