From the Ground UP consists of a series of gatherings at Ann Street Gallery and other local sites that are free and open to the public with the aim to solicit, discuss, and materialize answers from a wide variety of community stakeholders committed to collectively asking such questions as: How should memorials function? How should the dead, once desecrated, now be honored? What is the reparative capacity of a memorial and how can gestures, space, or objects serve that capacity to its fullest potential?

Calling Them Home: A Tribute to the “99”

Saturday
February 24, 2024
2-4pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

Join us for a From the Ground UP performance celebrating the lives and honoring the deaths of those buried in Newburgh “Colored” Burial Ground, including the 99 individuals who were exhumed during construction of the City of Newburgh’s courthouse in 2008, and continue to await reburial.

This last performance in the series of From the Ground UP events will include Newburgh’s all-star cast of Ralph, Jazzy, Manni & Dev M’Vore performing hymns, spirituals and movement. From the Ground UP project lead Jean-Marc Superville Sovak will introduce newly commissioned artworks on exhibition in the Gallery through March.

The Gallery exhibition will continue to be open Saturdays and Sundays 12-4 through March 31.

@ftgu2024 is a convergence of local community stakeholders and artists led by Ann Street Gallery Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak @supersovak. The project brings Superville Sovak’s creative research and practice together with community members dedicated to imagining, rendering, and presenting collaboratively-designed visions for remembering and honoring African- Americans buried in, and disinterred from, Newburgh’s “Colored Burial Ground” through conversation and the arts.

Please visit our Opportunites page to read about our Open Calls for participation in the project. Visitors can bring your offerings, letters, sketches, ideas, and questions on Saturdays & Sundays 12-4. We will continue to host events every Saturday through February.

No reservation needed. All are welcome!

Myra B. Young Armstsead, Author of Freedom’s Gardener; James F. Brown, Horticulture, and the Hudson Valley in Antebellum America & Professor of Historical Studies at Bard College, & Ann Street Gallery Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak

Saturday
February 17, 2024
4:30-5:30pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

Dr. Armstead and Superville Sovak will conjure the extraordinary ordinariness of the life of James F. Brown, an emancipated Black man turned Master Gardener who established in 1851 the "Colored Peoples Union Burying Ground" at Fishkill Landing (present day Beacon, NY).

The care and concern shown for burial spaces for African-Americans by an enfranchised, free Black man such as Brown as well as the concerns and activities of his days as chronicled in his journals, demonstrate dignity and respect claimed in both life and death, which contrast with descriptions and records of the "Colored” Burial Ground as operated by Newburgh’s Almshouse until 1867. The comparison invites us to look closer at evidence that the Ancestors buried in Newburgh’s “Colored” Burial Ground were cared for by their loved ones while also considering a vision for how they could have been shown proper care and respect under the city's charge.

@ftgu2024 is a convergence of local community stakeholders and artists led by Ann Street Gallery Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak @supersovak. The project brings Superville Sovak’s creative research and practice together with community members dedicated to imagining, rendering, and presenting collaboratively-designed visions for remembering and honoring African- Americans buried in, and disinterred from, Newburgh’s “Colored Burial Ground” through conversation and the arts.

Please visit our Opportunites page to read about our Open Calls for participation in the project. Visitors can bring your offerings, letters, sketches, ideas, and questions on Saturdays & Sundays 12-4. We will continue to host events every Saturday through February.

No reservation needed. All are welcome!

Unfolding Grief

Saturday
February 10, 2024
2-4pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

We invite the public to a community conversation in the Gallery. In remembrance of Ancestors buried in Newburgh's "Colored" Burial Ground, Ann Street Gallery Artist Researcher in Residence Jean-Marc Superville Sovak & artist, storyteller, and conservationist Vivian Sansour will hold space for local faith leaders, invited guests, and community members to share personal stories of loss from experiences across time & cultures.

The conversation and stories that will be shared from direct experience aim to collectively consider:

Whose deaths get to be mourned?
Who deserves to be remembered? And how?
How should the dead, once desecrated, be honored?

Please join us on Saturday to listen and converse within the evolving Gallery installation for the project From the Ground UP, which currently includes an installation by Jean-Marc Superville Sovak, photographs by Donna Francis, sumi ink drawing by Michelle Corporan, and a collection of books on loan from A Little Light Bookstore & Educational Center for Culture, History, & Freedom in Newburgh.

@ftgu2024 is a convergence of local community stakeholders and artists led by Ann Street Gallery Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak @supersovak. The project brings Superville Sovak’s creative research and practice together with community members dedicated to imagining, rendering, and presenting collaboratively-designed visions for remembering and honoring African- Americans buried in, and disinterred from, Newburgh’s “Colored Burial Ground” through conversation and the arts.

Please visit our Opportunites page to read about our Open Calls for participation in the project. Visitors can bring your offerings, letters, sketches, ideas, and questions on Saturdays & Sundays 12-4. We will continue to host events every Saturday through February.

No reservation needed. All are welcome!

Poems for the Ancestors

Saturday
February 3, 2024
2pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

We are thrilled to invite the public to a free poetry reading in the Gallery on Saturday, February 3rd at 2pm to conjure, remember, and honor those laid to rest in Newburgh’s “Colored” Burial Ground. Kate Hymes, Ulster County Poet Laureate, Poet Gold, Dutchess County Poet Laureate, and Edwin Torres, Nuyorican Legend, will be performing and reading new and existing works in response to Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak’s research on the Burial Ground, speculation on who may be buried there, and the context and circumstances of their burials.

Please join us on Saturday for this unique reading performance amidst the evolving Gallery installation for the project From the Ground UP, which currently includes an installation by Jean-Marc Superville Sovak and photographs by Donna Francis.

@ftgu2024 is a convergence of local community stakeholders and artists led by Ann Street Gallery Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak @supersovak. The project brings Superville Sovak’s creative research and practice together with community members dedicated to imagining, rendering, and presenting collaboratively-designed visions for remembering and honoring African- Americans buried in, and disinterred from, Newburgh’s “Colored Burial Ground” through conversation and the arts.

Please visit our Opportunites page to read about our Open Calls for participation in the project. You can bring your offerings, letters, sketches, ideas, and questions on Saturdays & Sundays 12-4. We will continue to host events every Saturday through February.

No reservation needed. All are welcome!

Songs for the Ancestors

Saturday
January 27, 2024
2pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

We are thrilled to invite the public to a free ensemble performance in the Gallery on Saturday, January 27th at 2pm to Honor the Ancestors. Led by award-winning violinist, Gwen Laster, this ensemble includes bassist Damon Banks, guitarist/vocalist Patrick Jones, & percussionist Todd Isler. The ensemble will perform music from the Black American Diaspora, including folkloric music, African ceremonial music, Blues, and Jazz to honor those laid to rest in Newburgh’s “Colored” burial ground.

Please join us on Saturday for this unique performance amidst the evolving Gallery installation for the project From the Ground UP.

@ftgu2024 is a convergence of local community stakeholders and artists led by Ann Street Gallery Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak @supersovak. The project brings Superville Sovak’s creative research and practice together with community members dedicated to imagining, rendering, and presenting collaboratively-designed visions for remembering and honoring African- Americans buried in, and disinterred from, Newburgh’s “Colored Burial Ground” through conversation and the arts.

Please visit our Opportunites page to read about our Open Calls for participation in the project. You can bring your offerings, letters, sketches, ideas, and questions on Saturdays & Sundays 12-4. We will continue to host events every Saturday through February.

No reservation needed. All are welcome!

Conjuring the Ancestors

Saturday
January 20, 2024
12-4pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

ASG Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak, invites the public for a drop-in workshop this Saturday. Superville Sovak will give short presentations at 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30 to introduce his residency project, From the Ground UP, and explain his strategies for Conjuring the Ancestors, creating Collective Monuments, and honoring those buried in Newburgh’s “Colored” Burial Ground.

Through the drafting of letters, shared conversation, and visioning ceremonies, Superville Sovak, will guide visitors in ways of using his research on the Newburgh “Colored” Burial Ground to honor and remember their ancestors. Visitors are encouraged to come with questions or messages to write or to be transcribed by the artist.

Come by to learn about Newburgh history, engage in conversation with Superville Sovak on his latest research on the Burial Ground, Alms House Records, and Census Reports, and learn about the different ways you can contribute to the project! Visitors need not have prior knowledge of the project or the history to participate. All materials provided.

No Appointment needed: drop in, stay as long as you wish, all are welcome!

Letters to the Ancestors

Saturday
January 13, 2024
12-4pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

We are excited to invite the public to our next FTGU event this Saturday January 13, 12pm-4pm! Please join ASG’s Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak for the workshop, “Letters to the Ancestors,” an opportunity to put pen to paper and craft messages to those buried in, and those disinterred from, Newburgh’s “Colored” Burial Ground.

Open to all ages, this workshop will include all materials, writing prompts, technical demonstrations and introductions to the historical context of New York’s (painfully) Gradual Abolition of Slavery.

Superville Sovak will introduce his residency project and the historical context of the workshop at 12:30, 1:30, & 2:30.  Come anytime, stay as long as you wish!

From the Ground UP events will continue on Saturday afternoons throughout January and February 2024, including artist talks and hands-on workshops as well as commissioned performances and poetry readings.

The Gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays 12-4 (and by appointment) through February to:

view Superville Sovak’s evolving installation in the Gallery, which will gradually transform to include commissioned artworks from other regional artists
collect, document, discuss, and display offerings, messages, and conjuring bundles from the public
discuss the project and your visions for memorialization with the artist
collect coats for distribution in Newburgh
reference our curated collection of reading materials

FTGU events are updated weekly on ASG website and IG accounts and @ftgu2024

Artist Talk & Research Presentation: Jean-Mark Superville Sovak, ASG Artist Researcher in Residence

Saturday
January 6, 2024
2-4pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

Please join us Saturday January 6, 2024 2-4pm in the Gallery as Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean Marc Superville Sovak, presents his evolving residency research for the Project, From the Ground UP. Superville Sovak’s presentation will review his findings from the Newburgh Alms House Records (1853-58) and the Newburgh "Colored" Burial Ground Archeology, Osteology, and History Report. The event will feature guest artists reading Phillis Wheatley, Khalil Gibran, David Mills, and more!

From the Ground UP is a coalition of local community stakeholders & artists dedicated to imagining ways to remember & honor African-Americans buried in Newburgh’s “Colored” Burial Ground through conversation & the arts. The project is led by Ann Street Gallery Artist Researcher in Residence (ARiR) Jean-Marc Superville Sovak.

Events will continue on Saturday afternoons throughout January and February 2024. The Gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays 12-4 through February to:

view Superville Sovak’s evolving project
collect coats for distribution in Newburgh
document, discuss, and display offerings and conjuring bundles from the public
discuss the project and visions for memorialization with the artist

To learn more visit supervillesovak.com and follow @supersovak and @FTGU2024.

Artist Talk: Jean-Mark Superville Sovak, ASG Artist Researcher in Residence

Saturday
Dec. 16, 2023
2-4pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

Please join us today at 2pm in the Gallery or on Zoom for an artist talk by ASG Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak. Zoom link @ftgu2024
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 882 6827 6731
Passcode: FTGU2023

Superville Sovak will present his art practice and research leading to his residency project, From the Ground UP. He will discuss his approach to the project and answer questions about his research followed by a discussion and reflection.

Superville Sovak and From the Ground UP are in residence at ASG through February. Over the course of the residency, the project transforms the Gallery into a lab, workshop, and exhibition space dedicated to the memorialization of African-American lives and deaths in Newburgh shortly after the Gradual Abolition of slavery in NY state.

Coat Collection:

As a participatory and durational form of memorialization, the gallery requests donations of gently used winter coats to distribute in the vicinity.

Community Gathering

Saturday
Dec. 9, 2023
2-4pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

Historian Dr. Christina Ziegler-McPherson will Zoom in to this in-person gathering to introduce visitors to the historical context of the project From the Ground UP
during the post Emancipation (1827) and antebellum years (1861-65) that coincide with the Newburgh “colored” cemetery’s usage. THe presentation will be followed by a Q&A hosted by Ann Street Gallery’s Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville-Sovak & community organizer Gabrielle Burton-Hill.

Coat Collection:

As a participatory and durational form of memorialization, the gallery requests donations of gently used winter coats to distribute in the vicinity.

Community Gathering

Saturday
Oct 28, 2023
3-5pm
Broadway & Robinson Ave

Free & open to the public.

Community Gathering, Workshop & Artist Talk

Saturday
Oct 21, 2023
3-5pm
Ann Street Gallery

Free & open to the public.

Please join sculptor Vinnie Bagwell, Community Activist Gabrielle Burton Hill, and artist Jean-Marc Superville Sovak for a community gathering, artist talk, and workshop this Saturday October 21 from 3-5pm in Ann Street Gallery.

This event launches From the Ground UP, a coalition of local community stakeholders & artists led by Ann Street Gallery Artist Researcher in Residence, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak, who are dedicated to imagining ways to remember & honor African-Americans buried in the “Newburgh Colored Burial Ground” through conversation & the arts.

From the Ground UP will consist of a series of gatherings at Ann Street Gallery and other local sites that are free and open to the public with the aim to solicit, discuss, and materialize answers from a wide variety of community stakeholders committed to collectively asking such questions as: How should memorials function? How should the dead, once desecrated, now be honored? What is the reparative capacity of a memorial and how can gestures, space, or objects serve that capacity to its fullest potential?

Saturday’s program will include:

An introduction to the initiative From the Ground UP from artist and educator, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak
An artist talk and presentation from sculptor Vinnie Bagwell about her visionary work in reframing public art and memorials to include historic black images
A workshop with community activist Gabrielle Burton Hill, which will provide an overview of the history of the “Newburgh Colored Burial Ground” and the Newburgh Colored Burial Ground Association’s 15 year-long effort to raise awareness about this overlooked aspect of Newburgh’s history. The workshop also aims to identify the priorities of local community stakeholders in the project From the Ground UP