Sat 5/11 @ 1PM
moCa Cleveland has been hosting a quarterly series of Town Halls, in conjunction with the City Club of Cleveland, part of a national program called For Freedoms. It was created by artists Hank Willis Thomas and Eric Gottesman to engage creative people in civic participation and influencing the political discourse. Each forum brings out-of-town guests together with community members to explore a different topic such as immigration or gun violence.
The upcoming Town Hall is called “Love Is a Political Act,” and proposes, “We are all children and most of us will serve in a parental role at some point in our lives,” and asks “How do these experiences shape our ability to love and support strangers? How can we support parent/child relationships to improve community care in general?” It focuses on the role of compassion and empathy in our democracy and connects to moCa’s current show featuring works significant to its founders chosen by their daughters.
Speakers include Brooklyn-based evangelical pastor Jonathan Williams and author of She’s My Dad, talking about his father’s gender transition; artist Zun Lee whose project Father Figure: Exploring Alternate Notions of Black Fatherhood (2011-15) delved in depth into the lives several African-American fathers; founder/CEO of Cleveland’s Birthing Beautiful Communities Christin Farmer, which strengthens families through education, health care access and maternity resources; poet/artist Julie Ezelle Patton sharing her work and explaining how it connects with that of her mother, the late painter Virgie Patton; and For Freedoms founder Eric Gottesman. Artist/doula M. Carmen Lane moderates.
It’s free and open to all.
mocacleveland/freedoms-town-hall-love-political-act
Cleveland, OH 44106