ITEM

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.

View

Text

Sandy Williams IV

Date

June 18, 2023

PDF

Upcoming Event

40 ACRES: Weeksville - Skywriting Performance
Sunday, June 18, 5 pm†
At the Weeksville Juneteenth Food Festival

†Date/time dependent on weather conditions. Please check back here or follow our social media accounts @theshedny for updates leading up to the event.

40 ACRES: Weeksville by Open Call artist Sandy Williams IV 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. The skywriting pays homage to the memory of Freedmen communities and acknowledges histories and social oppressions that are often unseen and paved over.

The flyover will take place in partnership with the Weeksville Heritage Center’s Juneteenth Food Festival. This October, 40 ACRES: Weeksville will be presented in the Open Call exhibition at The Shed.

40 ACRES: Weeksville was commissioned by The Shed (NYC) as part of Open Call. This work was developed in collaboration with the Weeksville Heritage Center and has been generously supported by the University of Richmond.