The I Was here AR application uses Augmented reality to highlight the untold stories of enslaved Africans in Inwood, who later forged an African American identity and shaped American history.
I Was Here is a blend of technology and the arts that explores the history of America through the lens of the African diaspora, from enslavement to the forging of an African American identity. In collaboration with the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, this app allows the user to visit significant historical site in Inwood, and learn about the history of enslavement in Upper Manhattan.
The project exposes the significance of memory, history, and ancestry through public art and public history installations that serve as a mindful, reverent, and powerful acknowledgment of American history.
Beginning in 2016 in Lexington, Kentucky – the site of the largest auction block for the enslaved, west of the Allegheny Mountains – contemporary African Americans were photographed to create archetypal Ancestor Spirit Portraits. These models stood in the gap, representing the spirits of the Ancestors, forming cohesive, ethereal images that convey the dignity of the African American individual and family. The project creates a visual for the history that has been unwritten.
VISIT THE DYCKMAN FARMHOUSE MUSEUM TO LEARN MORE, AND TO TRY OUT THE AR EXPERIENCE!
VIRTUAL WALKING TOUR
ABOUT I WAS HERE
I Was Here: Reshaping the American Commemorative Landscape
The project is a synthesis of history, image, geography, and soundscape creating an opportunity for citizens of all ages to come face to face with a visual history lesson rarely, if ever, encountered on the streets of America. Created by photographing contemporary African Americans as archetypal Ancestor Spirits, the Portraits embody the Human Family: Man, Woman, Child, Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Brother. These emblematic Ancestor Portraits ask us to examine who we are to each other, who we are as a nation and how we can address healing the wound that enslavement created.
Through reshaping the American Commemorative Landscape, we present an opportunity to help repair the wound that enslavement created in our citizenship.
Dr. Michael Preacely, Music Producer/Director
Marjorie Guyon, Artist
Patrick J. Mitchell, Photographer
Mary Quinn, CEO VisitLex
Syndy Deese, Administrative Volunteer
Marshall Fields, Community Liaison
Barry Burton, Prayer, Model, Installations, and Writer
This program is made possible by funding from the New York Community Trust.