PUTNEY — To pursue the much-needed conversations about systemic racism and learning how to speak for racial justice locally and nationally, Tarish Pipkins, better known as Jeghetto, will join Sandglass Theater for a Voices of Community residency that, according to a news release, “ties the past and present together and looks toward a more-just future.”
The residency includes a public livestream of Just Another Lynching: An American Horror Story and an artist/audience conversation on Saturday, May 22 at 7 p.m.
The 22-minute show, adapted for screen, will be streamed online. The second half of the event will be an open conversation led by Pipkins.
“Just Another Lynching has helped spark community dialogues around the country and [has] given new meaning to the ways in which we 'lynch' people in our society: literal murders that are still perpetrated today, threat to physical and psychological safety, and depriving access to basic rights such as health care, economic opportunities, and voting,” the theater writes.
“Audiences will have the opportunity to reflect together on the show, how it might be relevant in contemporary activism, and connect directly with the artist.”
On Sunday, May 23, at 4 p.m., a public panel, “Reflecting Vermont Back to Itself: Arts, Race, and Intersection of Realities in and out of Vermont,” will be moderated by author, artist, and multifaceted professional Shanta Lee Gander.
The panel will include Pipkins; Christal Brown, choreographer, dancer, and educator; Steffen Gillom, president of the Windham County Vermont NAACP; and Desmond Peeples, content manager for the Vermont Arts Council.
Panelists will consider the themes in Just Another Lynching and intersections of racial equity, community, creativity, and place within our state and national dialogue.
The livestream of Just Another Lynching and the panel discussion are free to the public. Visit sandglasstheater.org to reserve your tickets, required for access.
Pipkins will also work with the nonprofit Theatre Adventure of Brattleboro and with students at Brattleboro Union High School and Brattleboro Area Middle School with a focus on themes of racial justice, human communication, and the inspiration found in common materials like paper and cardboard.
Sandglass Theater's Voices of Community series presents top-level performance artists from around the country whose work embodies a commitment to the arts as a powerful means for affecting social change to inspire dialogue, understanding, and engagement with diverse issues within the community. These issues include housing security, racial equity, gender identity, and disability.
Audience members can support Voices of Community events or other Sandglass programs when registering for your ticket.