Rokeby Museum Partners with Kasini House to Bring Contemporary Art to Ferrisburgh Historic Site

Rokeby Museum announces the launch of a new partnership with Kasini House designed to engage contemporary artists as interpreters of the museum’s unique history. Ric Kasini Kadour will assume the role of Curator and Project Director of Contemporary Art at Rokeby Museum.

Once a Quaker family farm, today Rokeby Museum is a National Historic Landmark that connects visitors with the human experience of the Underground Railroad, and with the lives of the ardent abolitionists and talented artists, writers, and naturalists who lived on and farmed Rokeby for nearly 200 years.

Kasini House is a creative production company and publisher of Vermont Art Guide, Art Map Burlington, and Kolaj Magazine. Co-owner Ric Kasini Kadour is a writer, artist, and culture worker with a deep history of working in Vermont’s art community.

“Rokeby Museum is a unique asset with great potential,” says director Catherine Wood Brooks. “Late 18th, 19th and early 20th century buildings, artifacts, artworks and archives provide insight into what it was to live through a time of profound changes. We tell these stories through the experience of the Robinson family in exhibits, programs and guided tours, and we work to connect this history to current events. Building on the artistic legacy of the Robinsons, Kasini House’s proposal to engage artists in interpreting Rokeby history is one more way that we can seek to serve the public.”

“This is an ambitious two-year project we are about to undertake at the museum,” said Kadour. “Through engagement with artists, the public, the archives, objects, buildings, and land, I hope to demonstrate how contemporary art can pick up the unfinished work of history, foster civic engagement, and address social, economic, and environmental justice issues our communities are facing.”

About the Project

Through the presentation of artwork and installations, the project will ask artists to respond to Rokeby’s history and collections. Some may be inspired to incorporate new media and techniques in creating work deriving from Rokeby history, examining current issues, such as sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change; the continued oppression of people of color and, in particular, African Americans; and the role of art in reaching across class and economic barriers to be meaningful to all.

Through workshops, forums, and discussions, the projects will engage with artists, support the development of their practice, and ask artists to view the property — land, farmhouse and outbuildings — as a canvas. The project is interested in works that compliment or transform how the viewer sees and relates to the property or activate the space in new and distinct, purposeful ways.

Questions?

Direct your questions about the project to Ric Kasini Kadour via email.

How to Get Involved?

Artists who wish to be involved are encouraged to send an email, join the Vermont Art Guide Artist Database, follow Rokeby Museum and Kasini House on Facebook to get updates and information about programs and artist opportunities.