On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and described the United States as a nation “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
As we continue to witness disproportionate brutality against Black Americans, NON:op Open Opera Works presents a concert tour of three commissioned works by Black artists that re-interpret and re-present Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Sal Martirano’s 1967 antiwar classic, L’sGA.
Hip hop artist Kao Ra Zen, 3Arts awardee and multidisciplinary artist A.J. McClenon, and Urbana poet laureate Ja Nelle Davenport-Pleasure explore themes of liberty, oppression, patriotism, racism, and revolution. Chicago Emmy winner, actor, and playwright, Willie “Prince Roc” Round, will be featured in a new production of Martirano’s L’sGA.
The Bloomington concert takes place at the McLean County Museum of History at 7 pm on March 4, 2023. It will be preceded by a reading of the Gettysburg Address, poet and L’sGA collaborator M.C. Holloway’s Dance Wreck, and a panel presentation by local scholars and activists.
The Urbana concert takes place at the Independent Media Center at 6:30 pm on March 5, 2023. It will be preceded by a reading of the Gettysburg Address, M.C. Holloway’s Dance Wreck, poetry from the Writers of Oya workshop, and a panel presentation by local scholars and activists.
The Chicago concert takes place at Elastic Arts at 7 pm on March 12, 2023. It will be preceded by a reading of the Gettysburg Address and Holloway’s Dance Wreck.
For more information visit www.nonopera.org
The McLean County Museum of History and the Independent Media Center are wheelchair accessible. Please contact [email protected] by February 24 for other access requests.
Elastic Arts is NOT wheelchair accessible. Please contact [email protected] by March 1 for other access requests.
