40 ACRES

40 ACRES: Chimborazo Park

Richmond, VA

40 ACRES: Chimborazo Park

On May 21, 2022 artist Sandy Williams IV worked with a skywriting crew to trace the dimensions of a 40-acre plot in the sky over what is now known as Chimborazo Park in Richmond, Virginia. University of Richmond student Ryan Doherty conducted months of research prior to this event, in collaboration with Williams, in order to develop pamphlets and a speech, which Doherty delivered at the event prior to the skywriting. This research was also used to justify the creation of a permanent land acknowledgment to the history of the Chimborazo Freedmen Community, approved by the State of Virginia in 2022, set to be installed and unveiled in 2023. This project was made with support from 1708 Gallery, Reynolds Gallery, Oakwood Arts, CultureWorks, Afrikana Film Festival, The University of Richmond, Arts & Letters Creative Co, the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, Trilobite Arts, and many other contributors.

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Date

May 21, 2022

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40 ACRES: Weeksville

Brooklyn, NY

40 ACRES: Weeksville

40 ACRES: Weeksville is a multilayered public performance that will take place in the sky above Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Two skywriters will trace the borders of the historic Weeksville community—an area 492.72 acres in total—in the sky, to honor the legacy of one of the first recognized free Black communities in the country, which occupied this location from 1838 to around 1930.

40 ACRES: Chimborazo Park

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Date

May 21, 2022

40 ACRES: Weeksville

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Sandy Williams IV

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June 18, 2023