In celebration of Earth Day and Earth Month 2023, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History will work with multi-disciplinary artist, Ash Arder, to present a series of events honoring the sun and its past, present, and future impact on African American livelihood. Each event will activate Ash Arder’s Whoop House, a 2022 Kresge Art solar-powered sculpture and sound stage that travels around the city broadcasting community voices and instruments. This will showcase tangible, engaging ways solar power can be felt and experienced through an African American history and a cultural lens and kickstarts two years of energy focused work at The Wright which will contribute to Climate Actions. Earth Month at the museum is partially funded by a MidArts Gig Grant.
The Wright Museum is dedicated to climate justice and amplifying voices so that everyone can see they have a stake in—and can contribute to—environmental preservation. The museum is committed not only to preserving African American culture, but to preserving the environment, and the museum hosts several ongoing sustainability initiatives that focus on three core impact areas: water, energy, and waste. “Although the Charles Wright Museum of African American History is not the first institution that comes to mind when thinking about Earth Month, the museum has been engaged in its sustainability efforts for close to nine years,” said museum President & CEO, Neil A. Barclay. “We understand the importance of sustainability not only to our environment, but also to the museum and community that we serve as well,” said Barclay.
ABOUT ASH ARDER
Ash Arder (b. 1988, Flint, Michigan) is a transdisciplinary artist, organizer, and educator who has spent the last decade transforming DIY, hacker, and experimental approaches to problem-solving into formalized programs, projects, and collaborations. Her work and research use storytelling and speculative collaboration as frameworks to explore climate and social justice themes. See more: www.asharder.com
ABOUT THE WHOOP HOUSE
Whoop House is a completely solar-powered sound sculpture that records and plays back instruments and voices of community members. Whoop House uses music and storytelling as a catalyst for intergenerational gathering and connection, while creating a space for neighborhood stories to be captured, shared, and preserved. This project foregrounds hyper-local stories of resilience and triumphs to uplift Detroiters experiencing disproportionate economic and health disparities before and after COVID-19.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Solar Powered Conversations @ Third Thursdays: Late Night at The Wright
We will kickstart Energy Earth Month at our monthly Third Thursdays: Late Night at The Wright! Yes, every Third Thursday, The Wright is open late! Unwind after work or get the weekend started early with music and poetry, and a very special conversation between artist and solar enthusiast Ash Arder and East Side Riders Bike Club founder King Wayne.
Thursday, April 20, 2023
The Wright Museum, Rotunda
5PM – 7 PM ET
Solar Powered Music Set -Supercoolwicked
“Negro, Spiritual” is a solar-powered musical performance by multidisciplinary artist Supercoolwicked. This theatrical concert inside the Wright Museum rotunda, utilizes Ash Arder’s Whoop House, serving as a sound stage, solar hub, and sculpture as the physical focal point, This “good-old churchstyle revival” complete with a live band, a chorus, movement, theatrics, and original music. The performance is a live accompaniment to the identically titled album, which is an homage to the Negro spiritual.
The Wright Museum, Rotunda
TIME: TBD (INVITE ONLY)
Solar Powered Broadcasts
Reduce your carbon footprint! Attend Earth Month events like Community Clean-ups, solar tours (Manistique Community Treehouse Center), STEAM Lab, and Goddess Marketplace (Avalon Village) or Race to the Bottom waste reduction (Bailey Park). Each event ends with a solar-powered broadcast of The Wright Museum’s Late Night at The Wright, featuring Ash Arder, King Wayne, and SuperCoolWicked's 'Negro Spiritual' performance. Also see "Claiming Connections," a local film by Planet Detroit and more!"
Dates: Sat, April 22, 29, Sun, April 30, 2023
see: thewright.org/programs for more information.
Media Contact:
Kelly Miner, Marketing & Communications Manager
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
315 E. Warren Avenue, Michigan 48201
kminer@thewright.org or call 313.494.5865