The Morgantown Public Library will host art interpretations of “Listening for Racial Understanding” as part of the Listening Project conceived by Morgantown locals, Eve Faulkes and Susan Eason.
The exhibition will be made public at the Morgantown Public Library downtown branch, 373 Spruce St., Morgantown, starting on Sept. 9 with an opening reception from 6-8 p.m., when visitors will have a chance to meet participants from the project.
Beginning with recorded interviews with 46 individuals of different racial and cultural backgrounds, The Listening Project invited artists to create renderings inspired by these very interviews. There are 23 pieces of art that range in form from poetry, digitally generated art, video and oil on canvas. QR codes will be available for each of the pieces to provide a multisensory, multimedia experience.
“As part of the library’s values of inclusion and stories, we are pleased to host this very unique exhibition and hope that visitors will pause and listen to the lived experiences that the participants have shared,” said Sarah Palfrey, library director.
Before the exhibition travels to Lewisburg and Beckley, it will be available to the public at the library during normal business hours through Sept. 30.
To close the exhibition on from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 30, meet other participants of the project with an appearance by poet, Susan Truxell Sauter, who will be reading her work that inspired one of the art renderings.
The Morgantown Public Library System serves over 100,000 residents living in Monongalia County in north-central West Virginia. The library, its four branches and local history center, work to provide free and open access to information, resources and experiences through its four core values: service, learning, stories and inclusion.
In addition to the downtown main branch, there are five other locations:
- Arnettsville Public Library, 4120 Fairmont Road, Morgantown
- Cheat Area Public Library, 121 Crosby Road, Morgantown
- Clay-Battelle Public Library, 6059 Mason-Dixon Hwy, Blacksville
- Clinton District Public Library, 2005 Grafton Road, Morgantown
- The Aull Center for Local History, 351 Spruce St., Morgantown
