National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Announces New Exhibits, Confederate Currency: The Color of Money and Confederate Memory: Symbols, Controversy & Legacy March 5, 2018
MEDIA CONTACT:
Will Jones
(513) 333-7558
(513) 288-4834
wjones@nurfc.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Announces New Exhibits,
Confederate Currency: The Color of Money and
Confederate Memory: Symbols, Controversy & Legacy
Exhibits Open to the Public Friday, April 6
CINCINNATI, OH (March 7, 2018) –The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announced Confederate Currency: The Color of Money, sponsored by BB&T, and Confederate Memory: Symbols, Controversy & Legacy, today. Both exhibits will be in the Skirball Gallery and open to the public on Friday, April 6.
Confederate Currency: The Color of Money investigates the significance of slavery in the economy of the South. Artist John W. Jones researched and documented over 126 images of enslaved Africans that were depicted on the currency of the Confederate states. The exhibit displays images placed in a juxtaposition of framed confederate bank notes and acrylic paintings influenced by the currency etchings portraying slavery. The inspiration behind Jones’ work is his belief that, “in these paintings, history informs art, which in turn artfully reveals more history.” The exhibit has traveled to the Avery Research Center Museum, the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, Louisiana State University, Schumacher Gallery and the Augusta Museum of History. Jones was presented with the U.S. Consul General’s Award for Cultural Diplomacy by the Academia delle Belle Arti of Brera in Italy in April 2017.
Confederate Memory: Symbols, Controversy & Legacy examines historical memory and the lasting legacy of the Confederacy, addressing revisionist history and the national Confederate symbols debate.
“At the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center our mission requires us to not only reveal the stories of our collective past but to also participate and encourage dialogue that can be uncomfortable but necessary,” says Dion Brown, President and Chief Operating Officer. “These exhibits, examining the history of the Confederacy, will challenge and inspire those who have been misinformed of its legacy and the impact it has had on our country.”
Confederate Currency: The Color of Money, sponsored by BB&T, and Confederate Memory: Symbols, Controversy & Legacy, open Friday, April 6. Admission for both exhibits is $5.00 per person with general admission. For more information about exhibits and programming at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, visit freedomcenter.org.
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in August 2004 on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then, more than 1.3 million people have visited its permanent and changing exhibits and public programs, inspiring everyone to take courageous steps for freedom. Two million people have utilized educational resources online at freedomcenter.org, working to connect the lessons of the Underground Railroad to inform and inspire today’s global and local fight for freedom. Partnerships include Historians Against Slavery, Polaris Project, Free the Slaves, US Department of State and International Justice Mission. In 2014, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center launched a new online resource in the fight against modern slavery, endslaverynow.org.
