FRIDAY SESSION
January 13, 1:30 – 4:30 pm
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE BRENDA GRAUER
WOVEN
“Looking and seeing” something for the first time often provides us with a perception of reality that is in one dimension only. It is a first glimpse; introductory. When we couple that first glimpse with another experience of “looking and seeing,” then we are able to see that reality in a more multi-dimensional perspective. We see things that we didn’t see the first time; our perspective of reality is multiplied exponentially.
Now imagine that what you previously looked at begins slowly moving. It spins in circles like a slow waltz. Then it begins to make melodic sounds. Before stopping and quieting, it brushes against you, making you catch your breath.
The arts have the capacity to help you see and hear and perceive complexities and wholeness instead of simple glimpses. The arts convey beauty,
This year at Common Ground at the Border, you will not be invited to merely “look and see”. Instead, you will come to experience through all your senses, and through the lens of visual art, the realities of the Southern US/Mexican border.
This year at Common Ground at the Border, you will not be invited to merely “look and see.” Instead, you will come to experience through all your senses, and through the lens of visual art, the realities of the Southern US/Mexican border.
Saturday session
January 14, 1:30 – 4:30 pm
The Underground Railroad:
Connecting stories of old to stories of today
Sparky and Rhonda Rucker will share a historical presentation that gives a unique perspective into the songs and stories of slavery, abolition, and the Underground Railroad. Personalities such as Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Harriet Tubman are brought to life. Sparky and Rhonda sing the traditional slave songs that were filled with symbolism, messages of freedom, and sometimes even the information to guide the slaves’ escape.
Common Ground on the Border 