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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

African Burial Ground presents “Memory and the Captive Passage”

Unlike many exhibitions that focus on the brutalities of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, “Memory and the Captive Passage” delves into the spiritual nature of the Africans, their traditions and how their way of life sustained them in America and, for some, their home in New York City. 

The installation features portrait images of African ghosts that were created with ink on sheer curtains by French artist Patrick Singh. These ethereal images reveal the attitudes and beliefs that sustained and supported Africans, enabling them to build communities and to overcome the poverty and disease that ran rampant in the immigrant neighborhoods of Five Points, the Bowery and the Lower East Side.

“Memory and the Captive Passage” is a collaborative project of the West Harlem Art Fund, Inc. and the African Burial Ground National Monument. 

    What: Memory and the Captive Passage: An Art Installation
    When: Through October 19, 2009, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm
    Where: African Burial Ground NM Visitor Center, 1st floor, 290 Broadway
About African Burial Ground National Monument
One of the most significant archaeological finds in U.S. History, the African Burial Ground is a 17th- and 18th-century cemetery that was rediscovered in 1991 when construction began on a federal office building in lower Manhattan. In 1993, the site was preserved as a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior and was later designated as a National Monument by Presidential Proclamation on Feb. 27, 2006. The National Monument is part of an original 7-acre site containing the remains of approximately 15,000 people, making it the largest and oldest African cemetery excavated in North America.

How to Get There: The African Burial Ground National Monument is located at 290 Broadway, 1st Floor. The 4, 5, 6,R, W, J, M and Z trains (Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall) are one block from the site, the A train is three blocks away (Chambers Street) and the 1 train is 4 blocks away (Chambers Street) and the 2 and 3 trains are 2 blocks away (Park Place). The A, C and E are 3 blocks away (Chambers/World Trade Center). The M15, M22 and B51 City Hall bus routes all terminate within walking distance, and the M1 and M6 South Ferry route passes nearby. Ask the driver for the stop closest to Broadway and Duane Street. 


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