On view through June 2024, visitors will have the opportunity to view work-in-progress and research by the 2023 CAMHLAB's artists-in-residence at POST during open studio hours.
In 2023, Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy (HFTC) and Contemporary Arts Museum and Houston(CAMH) announced their partnership with with the City of Houston (COH) and artist Theaster Gates to promote Houston Freedmen’s Town as a monument of Black community, agency, and heritage through the multi-year Rebirth in Action: Telling the Story of Freedom initiative supported by the Mellon Foundation and NEA Our Town grant. The project’s first phase includes community engagement and artist-led activations through a continuation of CAMH’s artist residency program, CAMHLAB.
The 2023 CAMHLAB Freedmen’s Town artists-in-residence are The Black Man Project, Nia’s Daughters, Ann ‘Sole Sister’ Johnson, and Billion Tekleab. For this context-specific iteration of the residency program, the artists and collectives were selected for projects that highlight, honor, and animate the critical histories and stories of Freedmen’s Town, a neighborhood established in 1865 by over 1,000 formerly enslaved people that is now recognized as Houston’s first Heritage District.
In line with HFTC and CAMH’s goals, CAMHLAB at Freedmen’s Town generates research, contextualize, and connect artists and the general public to the stories of Freedmen’s Town through residencies. Each residency will culminate in a public presentation of a project within Freedmen’s Town.
Artists-in-residence are provided a dedicated work space at POST Houston and are supported by HFTC, CAMH, and the Freedmen’s Town Research Fellow to realize their projects and make connections throughout the neighborhood. Throughout each residency, the artists work alongside historians, archivists, and urban planners to create activations that contribute to robust discussions around local issues of social justice, equity, land, and art.
ON VIEW PROJECTS AND UPCOMING
HFTC x CAMH | The Reading Room by Amarie Gipson | On View
Visit The Reading Room, a library of books by and about Black artists curated by Freedmen’s Town Lead Research Fellow Amarie Gipson.
HFTC x CAMH | Nate Edwards | Upcoming
Edwards' work will culminate in the forthcoming Rebirth in Action documentary that highlights the Freedmen’s Town community of legacy residents and historic Black spaces both existing and removed.
About the Artist
About the Exhibitor
CAMHLAB | Stacey Allen of Nia’s Daughters | UHURU DANCES: Sites of Liberation | On View
UHURU DANCES: Sites of Liberation is a site-specific community gathering organized by CAMHLAB artists-in-residence Nia’s Daughters. The gathering will feature a movement workshop and a dance/photography project to commemorate the lives and shared histories of Freedmen’s Town.
CAMHLAB | Ann ‘Sole Sister’ Johnson | The Re-Education of Freedmen's Town | Upcoming
The Re-Education of Freedmen’s Town is a series of multi-media photographs by CAMHLAB artist-in-residence Ann ‘Sole Sister’ Johnson. Johnson will collaborate with Freedmen’s Town residents to reenact historical photographs of the neighborhood—including those of past Juneteenth celebrations and of Jack Yates’ family—then print the images on cotton and concrete. By utilizing her unorthodox printmaking methods, Johnson’s work will hearken back to Freedmen’s Town’s history by printing on cotton to invoke the neighborhood’s origins, and printing on concrete to honor the brick streets laid by its first residents. Johnson’s work aims to unify the past with the present.
CAMHLAB | Billion Tekleab | Freedmen’s Truths | Upcoming
Freedmen’s Truths is a body of work by CAMHLAB artist-in-residence Billion Tekleab, documenting the perspectives and histories of the residents of Freedmen’s Town. Instead of an investigative approach to documenting the neighborhood, Freedmen’s Truths is a collaborative, hands-on effort to capture the spirit that lives within the residents and the ground they walk on. Taking the form of a poetry picture book, Freedmen’s Truths aims to encapsulate the handwriting, pictures, and drawings of the people on the pages. Along with the printed version of the book, there will be a short film of the process of the project. With the help of the residents, the project will be an ode to freedom and futures beyond.
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CAMHLAB | The Black Man Project | Upcoming
The Black Man Project is founded on three main pillars of release, affirmation, and veneration, where men can navigate conversations relating to the themes of modern-day masculinity, cultural healing through creative practice, and the power in mental health. The collective aims to facilitate meaningful opportunities for dialogue and intentional programming reflective of the needs of the community at Freedmen’s Town.
About the Fellow
Nate Edwards
Nate Edwards is the 2023 Freedmen’s Town Film Documentarian. He is also a Houston-native multidisciplinary artist whose first love is filmmaking. His work can be described as “magical realism,” specializing in short form content through projects with artists including Pharrell Williams, Scoot Mcnary, Doja Cat, Tobe Nwigwe, Summer Walker, Bryson Tiller, and Mereba along with platforms such as The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Amazon Music, Google, Hyundai, Spotify, REI, and YouTube. Edwards’ work spans productions across the spectrum from travel documentaries to live-action samurai short films. He finds joy in finding new ways and tools to tell stories as a genre-bending artist. With a love for narrative storytelling, Edwards is currently turning more of his focus to film and television, currently in pre-production for his directorial debut, She Taught Love, starring Kirby Howell-Baptiste.
Amaire Gipson
Amarie Gipson is the 2023 Lead Freedmen’s Town Research Fellow. She is also a Houston-born art worker, writer, and creative entrepreneur. Gipson has held curatorial positions at The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Renaissance Society (Chicago), The Contemporary Austin, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Independently, her writing has been published in several journals and magazines such as Artforum, ARTNews, ARTS.BLACK, Cite, ESSENCE, Gulf Coast, MUD, and THE SEEN. She created an open format dance party and community called PHYSICAL THERAPY, where she serves as creative director and resident DJ. She is also the former Arts & Culture editor of Houstonia Magazine, where she worked to bring much needed attention to Houston’s art scene. With nearly a decade of experience in the realms of fine art, music and media, Gipson built The Reading Room with a desire to share her deep passion for Black culture. It is a culmination of her professional experience and a labor of love.
More About the Program
About CAMHLAB
CAMHLAB is an ongoing artist-in-residence initiative that offers critical and early-stage direct support for local artists. Launched in 2020 in response to the ongoing effects of COVID-19 on artists in Houston, particularly the loss of performance and rehearsal space. Through both short-term and long-term collaborations with artists, CAMHLAB aims to connect artists and audiences, and to support the realization of new and timely works.
About HFTC x CAMH
HFTC x CAMH is a partnership between Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy (HFTC) and Contemporary Arts Museum and Houston (CAMH) promoting Houston Freedmen’s Town as a monument of Black community, agency, and heritage. Freedmen’s Town, a neighborhood established in 1865 by over 1,000 formerly enslaved people is now recognized as Houston’s first Heritage District. The two organizations have partnered to create artistic activations through artist residency programs, research fellowships, and exhibitions with the mission to share and honor the story of Houston’s Fourth Ward and to establish creative opportunities informed by its legacy and community stakeholders.
In 2023, HFTC x CAMH announced their partnership with with the City of Houston (COH) and artist Theaster Gates to promote Houston Freedmen’s Town as a monument of Black community, agency, and heritage through the multi-year Rebirth in Action: Telling the Story of Freedom initiative supported by the Mellon Foundation and NEA Our Town grant. The project’s first phase includes community engagement and artist-led activations through a continuation of CAMH’s artist residency program, CAMHLAB.
For more information on HFTC x CAMH, visit CAMH.ORG/HFTC.
