The Out on the Dry project reveals neglected narratives of Blacks pioneers during westward migration after the Civil War, during Reconstruction and post Reconstruction. The starting point for the project is the land, the rolling grasslands of northwest Kansas and the arid prairie of southeastern Colorado.
In these two territories, grassland and prairie were intersections, between individuals and survival. The descendants of Black settlers exist today in these territories because their settler ancestors possessed determination, tenacity, and perseverance. Yet, their stories and experiences are largely unknown.
The Out on the Dry project is an exploration. A visual narrative, combining research material, archival records, interviews and creative encounters. Inquiries include the voices of individuals silenced in America’s pioneering narrative and ecological survival.
The Out on the Dry project informs, conserves and protects the place and the voices of Black pioneers who once resided in this region using exploratory storytelling methods of artistic expression.
The Out on the Dry project shares these discoveries as
creative vehicles to educate and inform.
