Untitled digitally manipulated giclee print 18"x20" of Tynesea Watts by multimedia artist and activist Angel Clark (email link, website link hopefully to come), part of The Thirteen, a collaboration with Affrilachian Poet and multidisciplinary artist Bianca Sprigg (email, website), which opened today in Lexington, KY.
I met Bianca Spriggs at the Affrilachian Symposium in Lexington, KY thanks to fellow poet Frank X Walker. That memorable event also marked my first live concert with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and a dinner and reading with the Affrilachian Poets reading thanks to Crystal Good. This was first posted at 8:00 pm on January 16 and will be updated, so come back.
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During the late 19th-early 20th centuries, thirteen Black women and girls were lynched or otherwise violently murdered in Kentucky. The connection between political conflict and violence against women as a mode of ethnic cleansing is unmistakable. In remembering these women and calling out their names, we can now include their deaths as a recognizable part of the pattern of xenophobia which persists today worldwide. Ultimately, we wish to pay homage to these thirteen women and girls by celebrating their lives and their role in our shared state and national history. —Bianca Spriggs
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The Morlan Gallery at Transylvia University in Lexington Kentucky presents The Thirteen, a visual art exhibition and live musical/spoken word performance paying homage to thirteen black women and girls who were lynched or otherwise violently murdered in Kentucky. The Thirteen feature photographs and video by Angel Clark as well as pieces by Bianca Spriggs including original poetry, pen and ink drawings, and resin skulls.
The performance takes place January 23, 7:30-9 p.m. in the Carrick Theater, located in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center on campus. It feature performances by an ensemble of twelve Kentucky musicians and vocalists paired with spoken word poetry by Bianca Spriggs and is free and open to the public thanks, in part, to the Kentucky Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women, The Thirteen Cash donations will be accepted after the performance.
