54
Artist from Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine and community
volunteers install a fence weaving earlier this year. Photo
by Ed Marshall, courtesy of Weeksville Heritage Center.
Masked visitors at the 2020 Harvest Festival. Photo by Sindayiganza
Photography, courtesy of Weeksville Heritage Center.
in building out the artist-in-residence program and, within
that, some art that’s a little more performative, slightly
more abstract. Activating more of the spaces here, like
using the meadow for installation, I would love to develop
an artist studio—there’s a space here that I have my eye on,
where artists can be on site and create. Those are just some
of the things I’m thinking about. But part of it is the kind
of artist and the curation of the artists.
In 2019, Weeksville joined 33 other venues as part of the
Cultural Institutions Group. Why was this important
for Weeksville?
It’s important for an institution like Weeksville to be part
of the CIG because of the work we do, our history, and
the community members who have supported us. To have
an institution that is centered around a historic site, it’s
important to be seen as a peer with the other CIG institutions.
To have us and our story represented in that group
says a lot about how the city sees the importance of a place
like Weeksville, populations like Weeksville, at the size of
Weeksville. Why shouldn't we be there? Why shouldn’t we
be represented alongside the large cultural institutions?
Black history needs to be right next to them as pillars of
how we represent culture in this city.
This interview has been condensed and edited.