651 ARTS and DELIRIOUS dances/Edisa Weeks presents: Roots Party!

Join multi-disciplinary artist Edisa Weeks in the journey of making 1,865 roots out of paper and twine, for the installation and performance of 3 RITES: Liberty. 1865 represents the last year of legalized chattel slavery in America.

651 ARTS in collaboration with Edisa Weeks/DELIRIOUS Dances will also be releasing the Roots Party Zine, which is the first of four zines about the 3 RITES project.

Schedule:

• 12pm-2pm Root Making
• 2pm Food & Drinks
• 3pm-4pm Roots Party Zine release + conversation with Edisa Weeks

Attending the event is free and children are welcome!

Food by: Royal Rib House

Roots Party Zine = $25

Description

Come and go as you please and engage in whatever capacity you feel comfortable – make a root, enjoy a meal, participate in and/or listen to the conversation, purchase a zine!

3 RITES features three interactive performance rituals that interrogate why life, liberty and happiness were included as unalienable rights in the United States Declaration of Independence; who has access to these rights; and how the rights manifest in the body. Since 2017 Edisa Weeks has been hosting Roots Parties which are a making a conversation space. People are invited to join Edisa in the journey of making 1,865 roots for the installation and performance of 3 RITES: Liberty. 1865 represents the last year of legalized chattel slavery in America.

The 3 RITES zines are a limited-edition art project. Each zine is assembled into an accordion fold that includes photos, drawings, and writing contributions by Thomas DeFrantz (Happiness), Jerome Dent (Liberty), Jasmine Johnson (Roots Party), and James Scruggs (Life). The Roots Party Zine includes images from various Roots Parties, and the essay “leaving don’t mean gone” by Jasmine Elizabeth Johnson. The essay reflects on the release from prison of the man who murdered her brother, and her family’s involvement in advocating for his clemency.