Hollerin’ into the Space: Reflections on ROOTS Week 2016

The Hollerin’ Space Installation by Muthi Reed and Angela Davis Johnson. Photo by: Melisa Cardona By Ron Ragin | September 27, 2016 I’ve always leaned into the retreat element of ROOTS Week. Gathering with this extended family is (perhaps ironically)

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ROOTS Week 2015: A Preview

We are pleased, proud, and excited to announce the incredible artists, culture-bearers, organizers, activists, and scholars who will share their work with us at ROOTS Week under the banner, A Call to Action: Transformation. Within this theme, we’ll be focusing

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Symbols of Struggle: Black Lives Matter

Chen Lo in Soundtrack ’63 by Soul Science Lab. Originally commissioned and produced by 651 ARTS, Soundtrack ’63 will be presented by Junebug Productions and Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans in January 2016. Photo: Xy-Fy Fotography.   Article by Kiyoko

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The Land Man & A Love For

Article by Carrie Brunk, Clear Creek Creative (Clear Creek, Rockcastle County, KY) Photos by Melisa Cardona (New Orleans, LA) Clear Creek Creative is a member of Alternate ROOTS’ 2014-15 Partners in Action cohort. It’s a bold move to drive off a rural

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Breathing Room for Something Unstoppable

“Wholehearted.” Collage for June Jordan by Alexis Pauline Gumbs. Article by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ph.D. (Durham, NC)           A. Opening Prayer (take deep breaths in the stanza breaks) C(h)ant.   Breathe. Dedicated to Eric Garner* And to

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Route and Wing: Urban Interventions in Montreal

Article by Ebony Noelle Golden interruptions  ripples  migrations re-configurations this land is my home this concrete my ocean i am working a magic only the mothers’ of the dirt will know when i find myself home I must admit, I

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Alternative Thinking: Presenting A Different View of the World

  A Conversation on Aesthetics between Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier and D. Patton White This conversation took place at the Starbucks in the Emory University Bookstore. D. Patton White teaches social dance at Emory and visual artist Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier taught photography there.

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Whisper, Howl, Sing: C/APP Projects Listen, Then Tell

This year’s Community/Artist Partnership Program (C/APP) projects share many connections. Each of the four projects merge art and activism, spring up out of local communities, and address the need for healing in the face of trauma and oppression. Last month we heard

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Clear Creek Festival

“Bobby B” Martin, Clear Creek Festival, Clear Creek, KY Clear Creek is proposing a Land, Water, Food, Stories project in Bob and Carrie’s local community Big Hill/ Disputanta Kentucky. This work will be centered on the themes of loss and

The Power of Aesthetics: Reflections on Maya Lin’s The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial

This is the third of four articles about the Alternate ROOTS Power and Aesthetics Learning Exchange, held in Washington D.C. on September 21 and 22. Other articles can be found here and here. 58,000 names engraved in the panels of

Alternate ROOTS supports the creation and presentation of original art that is rooted in communities of place, tradition or spirit. We are a group of artists and cultural organizers based in the South creating a better world together. As Alternate ROOTS, we call for social and economic justice and are working to dismantle all forms of oppression—everywhere.