Remember the bumper stickers from the ’80s that said “Think globally, act locally”?

I’ve decide to adopt that philosophy as I experience outrage, sadness, frustration, hopelessness and other emotions as I read and watch the news, interact on social media, and have conversations with family and friends. I reason that the worst thing I can do, is do nothing.

That’s why I was excited to learn about a new project called “In This Moment: revolution, reckoning, reparation.” The project pairs 10 Black writers and 10 Black photographers to capture the extraordinary work of 10 Black leaders in Rochester, N.Y. The profiles will be published as chapbooks (small books).

My friend John Strazzabosco alerted me to this way cool idea, which feels right up my alley given my background in journalism and publishing. (BTW, John is the author of a revelatory book called Ninety Feet Under: What poverty does to people.)

Turns out that John’s wife, Jeanne, is the project coordinator and artist Amanda Chestnut is the curator for In This Moment. (You can read their bios at the end of this blog.) After reading about the project, I decided to support it financially (you can do so for as little as $10 although I hope you do more!)

I recently Zoomed with Jeanne and Amanda to learn more about the project and how it came to be.

Artist’s work inspires idea

Jeanne told me that she was impressed with the work of Rochester photographer and artist Adam Eaton, and his work related to the killing of George Floyd and other Black people. “That struck my heart so deeply that I had this idea that I could find a publisher who would publish a book of this beautiful art by Black artists and photographers, and it would highlight a Black artist or a Black leader.”

Jeanne shared that idea with a friend who told her, “Jeanne, you’re white and you want to highlight Black artists. You need a Black curator.” The friend referred her to Amanda.

Jeanne and Amanda connected via phone and then Zoom. Once Amanda understood Jeanne’s idea, “it sounded like a project that I had the kinds of connections and knowledge to do.” Coincidentally, Amanda was already in the process of having a book published by the Visual Studies Workshop. Tate Shaw, director of VSW, agreed to work with the pair to publish the chapbooks, and have VSW, as a 501c3 organization, oversee the fiduciary aspects.

The three brainstormed ideas of what to call the project, and settled on “In This Moment,” as it’s a phrase that keeps coming up in the media. The words “revolution,” “reckoning” and “reparation” seemed appropriate, given the project’s scope.

In choosing which Black leaders to profile, “I wanted to focus on people who are at the center of the community and people who might not necessarily have access to a platform,” Amanda said. “We want to highlight voices who are doing great work and are engaged in leadership” but may not be widely known.

Here’s the list. I’m looking forward to reading about these leaders.  

Samra Brouk: Non-profit leader
Luticha Doucette: Owner of Catalyst Consulting
Shawn Dunwoody: Artist
Gatekeeper Adrian Elim
Dorothy Simmons Hall and Dorian Hall: Grassroots Community Builders
Debora McDell-Hernandez: Senior Director of Public and Community Affairs, Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York
Dr. Celia McIntosh: DNP, RN, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC, SCRN, CEN, CCRN, CNRN, President of the Rochester Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking
Kathryn Mariner: Wilmot Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Visual and Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester
Danielle Ponder: Musician and attorney
Herbert Smith, Third Trumpet, Rochester Philharmonic; Director of Jazz Bands at Rochester Institute of Technology; composer, recording artist, conductor.

Amanda said she relied on her gut in pairing the photographers and writers with the hope that something more could come out of their working together. “Are these people who could elevate each other in the future?”

Here’s the list of teams:

Leader                                             Photographer              Essayist
1. Shawn Dunwoody                      Arturo Hoyt                 Chris Thompson
2. Herbert Smith                             Jackie McGriff             Taurus Savant   
3. Samra Brouk                              Andre Walker               Quajay Donnell
4. Dorothy & Dorian Hall              Ralph Thompson          Lu Highsmith
5. Luticha Doucette                        Erica Jae                        Irene Kannyo
6. Danielle Ponder                          Quajay Donnell             Luticha Doucette
7. Gatekeeper Adrian Elim             Cocoa Rae                     Jevon Cooper
8. Debora McDell-Hernandez        Rashaad Parker              Lisa Maria Rickman Agnello
9. Kate Mariner                              Christopher Caldwell       Erica Bryant
10. Dr. Celia McIntosh                   Olivia Bacot                      Vanessa Cheeks

Another cool aspect to this project is that each team member is getting paid the same stipend. No one is being asked to share their talent for free. “We want to recognize the value of Black artists and Black leaders,” Amanda said. As an artist, Amanda is well aware of the ways in which artists are taken advantage of, such as being asked to share their skills and their art just for the opportunity. “We deliberately made the contracts so they are fair to the writer and the artist.”

Fund-raising for In This Moment took off quickly after Amanda tweeted, “Do I know people interested in funding Black art? I have a project. It’s really great. Like think of the biggest art projects in #ROC over decades: it’s on that scale. But I need to pay my artists. Get at me?”

So far, most donations have come from individuals, but Tate is writing applications for grants. At this writing, about 30 percent of the $50,000 goal for this phase (creating chapbooks) has been raised. Organizers have their sights set on a phase two in 2021, to raise $25,000 for Avenue BlackBox Theatre on Joseph Avenue in Rochester. 

Jeanne says that her world has opened up, thanks to her collaboration with Amanda. “When I initiated this project, my goal was simple—to elevate the extraordinary work and talent of Black leaders and artists in our community so that others’ hearts are moved into action around addressing the deadly effects of systemic racism. Amanda has taken me into her community where I have had the fortune to meet people like Mrs. Dorothy Hall and her son, Dorian. Through my laptop screen I am in their homes, seeing their photos on the walls behind them, and I witness how the photographer and interviewer gently build trust and turn uncertainty into anticipation.”

Organizers hope to have all the chapbooks printed by Thanksgiving, an ambitious goal!  The collaborators are designing events to be inclusive and affordable for all. Some chapbooks will be given away for free, too.

In the spirit of  Amanda’s tweet, I ask: Are you willing to support Black people, Black artists, and ultimately Rochester? Click here to check out the levels of support.

Here are bios of Jeanne and Amanda:

Jeanne Strazzabosco is a retired French teacher from Barker Road Middle School. There she founded and supervised the Gay Straight Alliance, created and implemented staff development around Introversion In The Classroom and Hidden Bias, and organized school and district-wide events such as KICKS for Campers that raised awareness of the inequities that exist between our suburban and urban neighborhoods.

Jeanne is a board member of the YMCA Carlson MetroCenter. As volunteer, she created the YMCA Empowering Young Women of Color to Boards of Management initiative.

Jeanne is currently coordinating In This Moment: Revolution Reckoning Reparation and is beyond grateful to be working with and learning from Rochester leaders and artists.

Amanda Chestnut is an adjunct faculty member of St. John Fisher College. Her work focuses on the representation of history, and in particular, how the history of race and gender impacts modern narratives. Her art has been exhibited in Rochester at Firehouse Gallery, University of Rochester and High Falls Art Gallery at the Center at High Falls; she has also exhibited at Davis Orton Gallery in Hudson, N.Y. She was formerly a resident at the Studios of Key West in Key West, Florida; Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester; Center for Photography at Woodstock in Woodstock, N.Y., and at Genesee Center for the Arts & Education in Rochester.

Amanda has held graduate assistantships at Visual Studies Workshop and the Criminal Justice Department, both at the College at Brockport in Rochester. Chestnut holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Visual Studies Workshop. As an artist interested in both upending and interpreting traditional definitions of the archive, she pairs archival images and text with contemporary imagery and her own perspective to convey the history, emotion and lasting socio-economic impact of the past. Her previous works incorporate photographic poems that draw from archival imagery, text-based poems and Chestnut’s hair.

Recently, Chestnut curated “Verified,” a group exhibition at Loud Cow in Spencerport, N.Y., and exhibition at the Rochester Biennial at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo). To learn more about Amanda Chestnut, her personal artistic and curatorial endeavors, visit amandachestnut.com.