Jose Torres-Tama performing ALIENS, IMMIGRANTS AND OTHER EVILDOERS at ROOTS
Week 2019. Photo by Eli Lakes (edits by Melisa Cardona).
ROOTS Week 2020
Alternate ROOTS’ 44th Annual Meeting & Artists’ Retreat
Tuesday, August 4-Sunday, August 9, 2020 Lutheridge Conference Center; Arden, NC (near Asheville)
Our 2020 theme – The Fierce Urgency of Now – is inspired by these words from Dr. King’s 1967 speech, “Beyond Vietnam – A Time to Break Silence:”
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”
As we once again hear the beat of war drums, see the effects of poverty, mass incarceration, and environmental destruction, and move into a year that includes both a national election and a census, we at ROOTS know that we as artists and activists are now – and still – in a time of urgent need to activate ourselves and our communities.
As we did in 2019, we will spend the year exploring this theme, The Fierce Urgency of Now.
We want to discuss issues that are important to the ROOTS community and share tools on how we can show up. How do we plug in through civic action, participatory democracy, and political education? How are we actively involved in the decision-making processes that affect us? How are we using our art practice to show up, to be seen, to stand up and be counted?
We hope you’ll join us as we share strategies of how to amplify our art and action right here, right now in this critical time.
This ROOTS Week Call for Proposals is one of them! We want to hear about what you’re working on and/or creating that relates to activating people and communities towards civic action and participation.
Around this theme, we are seeking the following types of proposals:
- Performances
- Films
- Visual Arts Exhibition or Presentations
- Presentations/Conversations
- Workshops & Master Classes
- And more! What creative form does your art-infused activism and activism-infused art come in?
As part of our current strategic plan, created with member input, ROOTS seeks to support increased participation of youth, trans/two spirit/non-binary, Indigenous and Native American, Latinx, and disability communities in the South. Preference will be given to proposals centered around and created by members of these communities.
Also: our UpROOTing Racism and Undoing Oppressions sessions will be developed and facilitated by a team of ROOTS members. Proposals that align with the UpROOTing Racism and Undoing Oppressions work may be curated into this track.
If you have a programming proposal, please fill out the following Proposal Form by Friday, February 28, 2020 at 5pm EST. ROOTS Week programming decisions will be finalized May 2020.
Questions? Contact Wendy Shenefelt wendy@alternateroots.org or 404-577-1079. Thank you for your interest in this work – we look forward to hearing from you!
New to ROOTS? We suggest that you read about our mission, history, and region before applying! Want to join as a member? Learn all about that here or email Aimee McCoy aimee@alternateroots.org.
Please note: In order to assist with the curatorial process, we encourage you to submit at least one work sample that is reflective of the proposed programming.
Work Samples: Work samples should be submitted as a Google document or URL.
- Please save the document with your First and Last Name, and a description of the work sample (e.g. Janet Johnson Spoken Word Performance).
- URLs: You can link your website, YouTube, SoundCloud, or other web platforms that contain examples of your work. If submitting a web-based work sample, please paste the URLs as hyperlinks in a Google document.
Length: Please keep these short! Think quality over quantity.
- Written samples should be limited to 3 pages maximum and submitted as a Google document.
- Limit audio and video samples to 5 minutes. A few clips no longer than one minute is even better.
- If your sample is longer, include instructions that point reviewers to the minute and second where you’d like them to begin with notes about what they should pay attention to in particular.