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Fri, Dec 1, 2023 10:00am–8:00pm

Free to Speak: A Convening on Art, Slavery, and Reconciliation

women behind podium presenting to crowd of people
Photo by Neil Kagerer
Fri, Dec 1, 2023
10:00am–8:00pm
Museum of Art

A celebration of Black creativity, agency, and memory

Join UMMA for “Free To Speak” the culminating events of Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina featuring contemporary artists Theaster Gates and Adebunmi Gbadebo, National Book Award winning poet Nikky Finney, and social justice curator Monica O. Montgomery.

Part storytelling, party scholarly convening, “Free To Speak” is a fall gathering focused on uplifting artistic practice, celebrating diverse perspectives, and inspiring institutions to repair racial injustices.

“Free to Speak” aims to contribute to urgent national conversations about racial justice while exploring what it means to exhibit materials in Southeast Michigan made by enslaved people, especially in light of the region’s relationships to the Underground Railroad, the Great Migration, the explosion of Black music and culture, and ongoing racial protest and liberation movements.

As UMMA concludes their presentation of Hear Me Now, the perspectives that emerge from this convening will be a source of model making to inspire new practices in the arts and culture field.

I believe in the power of Black creativity. To hear the expression of the oppressed is the only way to work to build a different world. I hope UM takes this seriously and focuses on creating more opportunities for this going forward.

Free to Speak! Attendee

Free to Speak Content Archive

a grid of images, showing an online photo archive

Event Photos

View and download photos from Free To Speak!

three artists sitting and talking in Helmut Stern Auditorium
Photo by Neil Kagerer

Artists Speak - Video Recording

Witness a dynamic discussion among movers and shakers in the social justice art world. Artist, Activist and Professor Theaster Gates and Artist Adebunmi Gbadebo contemplate their work in the Hear Me Now exhibition and in the world through a lens of restorative justice. Hear the unfiltered thoughts of these artists in conversation with social justice curator and museum changemaker, Monica O. Montgomery.

It was heartening to see this type of programming around an exhibition, especially one of this magnitude. I hope UMMA and museums more broadly continue to engage in this work of tying exhibitions to real-world events, experiences, and impacts.

Free to Speak! Attendee
Graphic recording of the Free to Speak Roundtable sessions by artist Rio Holaday.
Detail of a graphic by artist Rio Holaday

Speaking Freely: Graphic Recording

View a graphic recording of the Round Table discussion portion of “Free to Speak” from artist Rio Holaday. The event featured talks from:

  • Nandi Comer, Poet Laureate of Michigan
  • Tonya Matthews, President & CEO, International African American Museum
  • Wayne O’Bryant, storyteller, activist, and public speaker
  • Yodit Mesfin Johnson, President & CEO of Nonprofit Enterprise at Work
  • Mary Elliott, Curator of American Slavery, NMAAHC
  • James Claiborne, Senior Vice President of Exhibitions and Programs, the Wright Museum
  • Beverly Willis, historian and storyteller from Washtenaw County
  • Pauline Baker, Wanda Holmes, and Fortune Carolina, Jr.; Descendants of Old Edgefield potter David Drake