Co-directed by Emmy Award-winning director Alphonzo J. Wesson and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s Social Justice Curator, Trudy Gaba, Excavated: From Soil to Stars follows Gaba’s journey to connect with the land upon which the Freedom Center’s nineteenth century slave pen was excavated in 2002. Before reaching its final resting place on the concrete floor and under the protective roof of the Freedom Center, this structure first stood on Kentucky soil and beneath the stars—the only surviving witnesses of a 190-year-old history. Excavated is a curator’s chronicle of land as keeper of memory.
Join us for a conversation between Wesson and Gaba, where they will discuss how this project came together and the use of time-based media to reveal new ways of connecting people and histories across temporal boundaries.
Presented in conjunction with the 2024 FotoFocus Biennial: backstories, the film will be on display inside the Slave Pen from October 11-13.
If you need accommodations or have any questions about our accessibility resources, please contact us in advance at accessible@nurfc.org.
Image: The Land as Keeper of Memory, Trudy Gaba (American, b.1988), Dover, Kentucky, digital photo collage, courtesy of the artist.
