“If we want a beloved community, we must stand for justice.” —bell hooks
How can a public art installation grow community?
During the four years that A Memorial Field was installed at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site, the installation sparked a variety of events and community gatherings that brought contemporary relevance to John Brown’s mission of abolition in America.
October 12, 2024
John Brown Lives! 25th Anniversary Celebration
The artist shares remarks about Martha Swan and the ongoing struggle for the right to vote in honor of the 2024 iteration of Spiraling ‘Round the Promise of the Right to Vote.
July-August 2023
Nine Conversations About Equity and Justice
Facilitators lead participants through a series of nine conversations about equity and justice over the course of the summer, organized by the artist.
July-August, 2023-2024
Students from the Timbuctoo Institute visit The John Brown Farm and A Memorial Field for a conversation with the artist.
May 9, 2023
John Brown Lives!
Students from the Timbuctoo Institute visit The John Brown Farm and A Memorial Field for a conversation with the artist.
May 6, 2023
Rev Yearwood
President & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus, minister, community activist, U.S. Air Force Veteran, and one of the most influential people in hip hop political life visits A Memorial Field and the John Brown Farm.
August 30, 2022
The Wild Center
The executive director, Stephanie Ratcliffe, facilitates a dialogue in A Memorial Field for the board and staff of The Wild Center.
May 14, 2022
John Brown Lives!
John Brown Lives! presents the 2022 Spirit of John Brown Freedom Award to artists Tom Morello, Ren Davidson Seward, and Tiffany Rea-Fisher.
May 9, 2022
John Brown Lives!
The artist unveils Spiraling ‘Round the Promise of the Right to Vote at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid, New York.
October 26, 2021
Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus of New York State
The caucus visits the John Brown Farm and A Memorial Field.
October 24, 2021
In Honor of Raoul Peck
Raoul Peck, Haitian documentary filmmaker, is honored at the Lake Placid Film Festival and John Brown Farm State Historic Site. He visits A Memorial Field with Russell Banks and Jeff Jones, President, John Brown Lives!
July 20, 2021
Gone, Not Forgotten.
On the 125th anniversary of NYS securing and preserving the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid, visitors place 100 long-stemmed roses by the 100 memorials in Memorial Field for Black Lives, remembering the individuals whose lives were taken by police brutality by saying their names.
July 17, 2021
Annual Meeting of NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
The artist addresses community stakeholders including Commissioner Erik Kulleseid, Adirondack Council, Adirondack Diversity Initiative, Paul Smith’s College, and others at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid.
November 1, 2020
Closing Ceremony “Gone, But Not Forgotten,” All Saints’ Day
A movement meditation by Elisa Monte Dance, score by Erica Lewis-Blunt. The original version of Memorial Field for Black Lives is removed by the dancers and collected by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for the Peebles Island Resource Center.
August 30, 2020
Violin Vigil for Elijah McClain
Community members mourn and acknowledge the loss of Elijah McClain with a Violin Vigil, featuring Charlie Burnham and Fred Cash.
Violin Vigil for Elijah McClain with Charlie Burnham and Fred Cash
A gathering to mourn and acknowledge the loss of Elijah McClain with a Community String-Along, led by Charlie Burnham.
July 5, 2020
John Brown Lives!
Jose Saldaña of Release Aging Prison Populations (RAPP) reads Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Negro is the Fourth of July” at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid, New York.
May 2020
Local Black Lives Matter Protest
The artist protests Black lives lost to police violence in America by postering downtown Saranac Lake with the first ten short narratives that she wrote for victims of fatal encounters with police.
