It has been reported that the talented artist and author, Carl Hancock Rux has curated a New York City-wide Juneteenth program for the city to experience and enjoy.
Harlem Stage, Park Avenue Armory and Lincoln Center are offering a weekend-long series of free events to celebrate this national holiday that highlights the resilience and power of Black Americans all over the country.
The series press release shares the schedule and event description of this important NYC event:
Juneteenth: Examined: A Panel Discussion led by Carl Hancock Rux at Harlem Stage
Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m., free
Harlem Stage Associate Artistic Director and Curator-in-Residence Carl Hancock Rux moderates a panel discussion featuring Charles Blow, Dr. Indira Etwaroo, and Tavia Nyong’o on some of the myths of the Emancipation Proclamation and the truths of modern-day slavery.
Archer Aymes Retrospective: A Juneteenth Exhibition at Park Avenue Armory
Sunday, June 19 at 3 p.m., free
Park Avenue Armory presents an art installation of newly discovered works by Archer Aymes—protagonist of Rux’s Obie-award winning play ‘Talk’—exploring the story of Juneteenth through a critical fabulation of what freedom might have felt like to the emancipated. The immersive art installation is curated by Carl Hancock Rux with Tavia Nyong’o and Dianne Smith, and also features a concert performance by mezzo-soprano Alicia Hall Moran and pianist Aaron Diehl.
I Dream A Dream That Dreams Back At Me: A Juneteenth Celebration at Lincoln Center
Sunday, June 19 at 7 p.m., free
The culminating event takes place during the evening of June 19, with I Dream a Dream That Dreams Back at Me: A Juneteenth Celebration, curated and directed by Carl Hancock Rux. The site-specific, evening-long event unfolds across Lincoln Center, drawing inspiration from the narratives of enslaved people seeking and finding freedom—from Harriet Tubman to today—and reckoning with the question of whether true freedom has ever fully been achieved. The multipart event includes artists such as Nona Hendryx, Étienne Lashley and The Collective, and Vernon Reid, performing original music including a song by Gordon Chambers and the “Combahee” song, with lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage. The performers wear original paper dress creations by interdisciplinary artist Dianne Smith. The event concludes with a concert by Grammy winner Cedric Burnside, followed by a silent disco dance party from DJ Belinda Becker, honoring contributions of Black Americans to modern music.