In June 2019 Alabama-born, Minneapolis-based artist Tia-Simone Gardner began researching four homes in Alabama and Mississippi (Meridian/Philadelphia) that were inhabited by her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Gardner made a public presentation and trips to Birmingham and East Mississippi. Gardner’s work will culminate as an artist book of essays and images. This is part of the artist’s ongoing study of …
Coleman Center staff and Panola community members are developing placemaking and memory-keeping projects that center the North Sumter School in the Panola Community of Sumter County. The North Sumter School was established in 1933 and was built primarily for the education of African-American children in the then legally segregated Alabama Black Belt. In January 2018 Coleman Center staff and …
To prepare for Ashé! The Power of the Voice, visiting artist Zarouhie Abdalian and creative collaborator Joseph Rosenzweig hosted studio recording sessions free to Sumter County residents. Abdalian and Rosenzweig provided a series of prompts to encourage responses related to the purpose and theme of the event. Five artists generously shared songs, rhymes, and poetry. Participants included poet and songstress Yawah …