Creating Community: Sharing Local History through Art

Lynn Linnemeier calls her unusual approach to local history "Journey Projects."  What makes the projects amazing and unusual is that they are created from collaborations with local communities in a "healing process" that involves talking circles, weaving circles, and African ancestral art.  The former Emory University professor is invited into a community as an artist in residence and works with a "mentor," a resident of the community who acts as a guide to begin the process of facilitating the community's recollections, retelling, and recovery of its history - its journey from past to present.

This communal creative process, which is a journey in its own right, results in the collection of photographs, oral histories, and archival documents and pieces.  Drawing from African tradition, Linnemeier then works with the community to literally weave the memories and artifacts into an "Agan," a ceremonial costume from the Yoruba tradition that is worn during an "Egungun" (ancestor) masquerade.  The resulting work of art thus reflects the community's journey from past to present.  Each costume becomes the centerpiece of an exhibition, is absolutely unique to that community, and remains with that community.

Linnemeier's most recent project was completed at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center.  The center, along with the Morgan County African American Museum and the National Black Arts Festival, collaborated with Linnemeier to produce "Mapping the Present Just Went By," a Journey Project that reflects the story of Morgan County's African American community.  The exhibition premiered during the summer and closed this fall, attracting one of the largest and most diverse audiences to date at the Madison-Morgan Cultural center.  "Mapping the Present" was made possible with the help of several funders, including the Georgia Humanities Council.

Linnemeier's next Journey Project is underway in the community of Oxford.    Entitled "Unraveling Miss Kitty's Cloak," the project will tell the story of the African American community of Newton county including Catherine Andrew Boyd, also known a "Miss Kitty," whose circumstances may have played a role in the nation's march to the Civil War.  Professor Mark Auslander of Oxford College, and the Newton County African American Historical Society are the partners for this project.

The Georgia Humanities Council is pleased to play a role in these projects.  To find out more about the Journey Projects visit http://lynnlinn.net.