Collaborations with Artists
In 2023, John Brown Lives! received a Creatives Rebuild New York Grant to collaborate with award-winning artist Ren Davidson Seward and award-winning choreographer Tiffany Rea-Fisher. In 2023, one of the signature programs Ren created for John Brown Lives! was a series of nine conversations about racial equity and justice. Tiffany choreographed a dance which took place at the John Brown Farm and resulted in a documentary, “Geography of Grace.”
The Nine Conversations
Tear Gas, Whole Milk, & Chocolate Friends: How to Get Invited to the Cookout
Facilitators: Shawndel N. Fraser, M.A., Dr. Shenell D. Evans
Navigating Systemic Change
Facilitator: Pete Nelson
Public Art, History & Context
Facilitator: Jerilea Zempel
Allyship and Solidarity
Facilitator: Mike Bishop
Justice-Centered Organizational Change
Facilitators: Yunga Webb, Kathy Bonavist
The Reality & Persistence of Brutality
Facilitators: Ellen Bettmann, Dr. J.W. Wiley
Mapping the Middle Ground: Exploring the Spaces for Having Challenging and Healthy Discussion
Facilitator: Russell DeFonce
Continuing the Conversation: Tools for Practicing Ways of Being and Doing Better
Facilitator: Melissa Lambert
Where Do WE Go From Here?
Facilitators: Dr. Martin Tyler, Jen Kretser
“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”
—Margaret J. Wheatley (born 1944)
