This project is a series of public art and public history installations that serve as a mindful, reverent, and powerful acknowledgment of American history.
Through the blending of history, technology, humanities and the arts, the project explores the significance of memory, history, and ancestry.
meaning
The “here” of I Was Here begins with an honest look at the history of place. Ancestor Spirit Portraits have been integrated into key historic sites across America. The project creates a visual for an invisible history, asking us to examine who we are to each other, who we are as a nation and how we can work to repair the wound in our citizenship created by enslavement. The project draws attention to the untold stories of historic sites by using visual markers to create a monument honoring the humanity, dignity, power and grace of a People.
Inspiration
The project began in 2016 in Lexington, Kentucky — home to Cheapside, the site of the largest auction of the enslaved west of the Allegheny Mountains. The team is diverse and talented using innovative techniques - transparent tapestries, digital experiences, augmented reality and projections - to display the powerful imagery of African Americans standing in the gap as representative Ancestor Spirits.
Reshaping the Commemorative Landscape
Our installations create a transformational force in public spaces to acknowledge and heal our broken citizenship.
Downtown lexington
Lexington, KY
Octagon Museum
Washington D.C.
Dyckman Farmhouse
New York, NY
Support
You can support the project by making a donation. Your donation allows us to bring the project to new locations across the nation.
Contact our team about an installation or exhibition.