As an undergraduate research scholar, Audrey Wright completed preliminary research on slavery during Summer 2013.
Abstract: African-American history, unarguably, is a subject that is important to understand because of its role in our lives. In an effort to improve the education of African-American history and to create art that provokes empathy and understanding as well as permanence, artists in collaboration aimed to showcase the life of one enslaved man, Dave the Potter, through dance, poetry, music, and artwork. Dave’s significance is highlighted in juxtaposition to the enslaved cotton workers of his time period. These differences between potter and picker were gleaned by studying personal narratives and doing a historical literature review on cotton slavery. In addition, artist Jonathan Greene’s painting of Edgfield, is used to illustrate the different dramaturgical perspectives of cotton slavery. The purpose of this research was to gather data to inform the choreography of a piece representing cotton slavery as well as collecting materials for the intention of taking the integration of Dave’s story and art into high school education. Future research will be conducted to aid the choreography and creation of education materials of other aspects of Dave’s life and slavery.
Click below to view her presentation given at the 2013 Conference on Undergraduate Research.