A Powerful Tribute to the First Enslaved Africans in America: Art and Memory Collide in Kansas City
Kansas City, MO — On Friday, August 1, 2025, and again on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, The Missouri Arts Council Honoree 2025 Individual Artist https://missouriartscouncil.org/missouri-arts-awards-honorees-2025 – 1983/, Karen E. Griffin (KE) | Art by KE Griffin will host a groundbreaking, immersive installation honoring the 406-year journey of African descendants in America. The August 20th Candlelight Ceremony will mark the historical anniversary of the first landing of enslaved Africans in America. This solemn and sacred moment invites the community to gather, remember, and commit to truth-telling through art, history, and education.
The installation features eight illuminated orbs suspended from the ceiling, each representing a voice of the ancestors. The 29 piece installation will echo through the gallery space, capturing the spiritual and emotional odyssey from Africa to the warship and onto American soil.
Twenty visual artworks will line the gallery wall, interpreting messages left scratched into the woodwork of the slave ship — silent cries, survival codes, and sacred symbols translated through modern art. Each piece serves as a testament to the resilience and of the enslaved.
The August 20th Candlelight Ceremony and live performance will mark the historical anniversary of the first landing of enslaved Africans in America. This solemn and sacred moment invites the community to gather, remember, and commit to truth-telling through art, history, and education.
This historic production is led by an accredited visual, teaching, and performing artist, certified nationally and internationally recognized storyteller, whose life’s work is to awaken communities to the power of ancestry, history, and art. Designed by local Black visual artist, educator, and performer, “SN08201619” connects cultural memory to contemporary consciousness, bridging past and future through education and artistic expression.
Location:
The Bunker Center for the Arts
1014 E. 19th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108
Dates & Times:
Opening Installation: Wednesday, August 20, 2025 | 7 PM
This installation aims to educate and inspire future generations by grounding them in the untold stories that shaped America. Through the lens of Black History, Women’s History, Juneteenth, the Pan-African Flag, and the Women’s Suffrage movement, this exhibition sheds light on the legacy of the first 20 enslaved Africans — and the countless lives shaped by their journey.
Join us in honoring the unheard, unveiling the unseen, and remembering the legacy.
