On the ship that represents the plight of the Africans who were brought unwillingly to New York is an engraved map of the African Burial Ground that shows its size and location relative to its surroundings. Our group loved the representation and it inspired a “Draw My Life” approach to our project. We want to frame the video as a “Draw My Life”- for the very beginning at least- and start it off with us exploring the location of the ground or at least keeping it in perspective.
The size of the burial ground is remarkable- it winds through five city blocks, but the monument itself takes up one city block. It’s incredible to think about all of the graves that are underneath the ground and how much history is buried there. It’s also horrifying to think about how people tried to recklessly excavate this vast site. I think the map also speaks to how isolated the ground is. I passed by the African Burial Ground every day for four years and had no idea what it was or that it existed until this year. Chances are, if you ask anyone, they also won’t know what the African Burial Ground is unless they work on that block, where the information center also is. The burial ground, not just physically but also the idea of it, seems to exist only within this space. Our group found that tragic.
The entire point of our I-Movie is to raise awareness of the ground, but also celebrate the history of these people. We are aiming for our video to showcase the burial ground and explain its significance, hopefully inspiring other people to check out the ground and look at the images of hope dispersed throughout it.
I love how the location that your group chose is a hidden gem. That gives dual motive to your project, as you can showcase the artwork at the space as well as bring awareness to the space. I find it interesting that people walk by the African Burial Ground everyday and don’t even know the impact that the area has on history and culture. I also think the “Draw My Life” style for your video will be super interesting, as it isn’t the typical documentary video style used when making videos about art and it’s impact in a specific space. The unique approach of video style as well as the unique location chosen should make a very fascinating project.