BlackRock Center For The Arts to Present ECHOES OF THE UNMAPPABLE By Jessica Valoris
The exhibition runs 15 JUN–25 AUG 2024.
Echoes of the Unmappable by Jessica Valoris is an immersive testament to the sacred & courageous resistance of Black freedom-seeking ancestors.
In a world where narratives of Juneteenth are often diluted or distorted, this installation seeks to re-center the practices of Black ancestors who reconceptualized what freedom meant in words, action, and in ways of being.
Echoes of the Unmappable honors the myriad ways that fugitive, maroon, and freedom-seeking Black ancestors activated practices of land stewardship, mutual aid organizing, re-wilding, and kinship to subvert the algorithms of empire.
The exhibition pulls from Jessica Valoris' research into these legacies in Maryland (and beyond) for the How We Be Free: Black Fugitive Study Kit, a project she is currently cultivating within her community. The study kit contains a set of playing cards, dice, and booklet with quotes, prompts, and historical context. The study kit and the installation highlight the freedom-seeking practices of Black people during slavery and its aftermath.
Through Echoes of the Unmappable, visitors are encouraged to actively engage with ongoing legacies of Black liberation and consider their own place in the narrative of freedom and justice. Reflecting on how they can contribute to movements for liberation in their own communities (ie. abolition, reparations, land back, mutual aid, ceasefire, etc.) they are urged to let these histories inspire them to challenge oppressive systems, embody collective solidarity, and work towards creating a world of peace, justice, and care.
www.jessicavaloris.com @jessicavaloris
On View in the Kay Gallery
15 JUN–25 AUG 2024
Tues–Sun: 12:00 PM–6:00 PM
Reception + Artist talk
13 JUL 2024
2:00–5:00 PM | Talk @ 4:00 PM
Call + Response Workshop
24 AUG 2024
2:00–5:00 PM
Located in Germantown, Maryland, BlackRock Center for the Arts brings inspiring performing and visual arts experiences to diverse audiences in a welcoming and intimate setting, providing opportunities to explore, celebrate and engage in the arts.
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Footloose Cockpit in Court (7/24-8/02) |
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You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown Compass Rose Theater at Live Arts Maryland (9/18-10/04) |
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The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show The Dinner Detective Baltimore (9/19-9/19) |
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Maybe Happy Ending Hippodrome at France-Merrick Performing Arts Center (9/13-9/19) |
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SWAN LAKE by The United European Ballet Company The Maryland Theatre (10/22-10/22) |
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SWAN LAKE by The United European Ballet Company The Music Center at Strathmore (1/19-1/19) |
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The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show The Dinner Detective Baltimore (9/12-9/12) |
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Toby''s Dinner Theatre Presents: Summer - The Donna Summer Musical Toby's Dinner Theatre Columbia (8/28-11/01) |
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Blood of the Lamb - regional premiere Rapid Lemon Productions (8/28-9/13) |
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Little Shop of Horrors 40th Anniversary Tour with Ellen Greene (the Original Audrey) M&T Bank Exchange (9/26-9/26) |