WASHINGTON, DC.- Three of D.C.’s leading non-profit institutions—the Kennedy Center, the National Geographic Society, and the National Gallery of Art—unveiled The Human Journey, an unprecedented year-long collaboration that invites audiences to investigate the powerful experiences of migration, exploration, identity, and resilience through the lenses of the performing arts, science, and visual art. From October 2018 and running through July 2019, The Human Journey encompasses multidisciplinary performances, exhibits, and immersive opportunities drawing on the unique strengths and complementary capabilities of each of the partner organizations. Highlights include three projects by Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran exploring race, war, and personal narrative; a new National Geographic-National Symphony Orchestra commission for orchestra exploring the natural beauty and fragility of the Arctic; an original photography exhibit showcasing the work of young refugees; a major showing of the early work of pioneering photographer Gordon Parks; and a special exhibition of rarely seen lunar images to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
“The Human Journey is inspired by the powerful stories that each of our organizations witness every day when we place works on our stages, exhibitions in our halls, and photographs in our media,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter. “Each partner brings a unique perspective, and by joining together, we have an opportunity to promote deeper understanding of the migration of people and the resilience of humankind to overcome conflict, adversity, prejudice, and injustices, often emboldened by a spirit of exploration and hope.”
In addition to performances and exhibits across the season, artists, programmers, and educators from the Kennedy Center and visiting companies will also participate in cross-organizational discussions and events as part of The Human Journey. Performances will be bolstered with audience education and engagement offerings that allow artists and audiences to engage more deeply with the programmatic themes. As just one example, the Center’s Performances for Young Audiences will feature pre- and post-performance programming for young patrons and their families, including interactive experiences, creative conversations with artists, and deeper-dive engagement around the issues and ideas presented in performances.
High-profile panel discussions, currently in curation, will feature leaders from the arts, science, political, and academic communities considering the themes of migration, identity, exploration, and resilience. Slated topics include humans’ yearning for exploration and discovery, the impact of war on art, cultural identity inherent to comedy, and the contemporary experience of the “Hyphenated American.”
Migration and Identity Shape Our Collective Human Journey
“The Human Journey is primarily a story of migration—be it by choice or force. This movement of people has historically brought together cultures from around the globe, shrinking our planet and bringing the cultural identities that define us into sharper focus,” commented Tracy Wolstencroft, chairman and CEO of the National Geographic Society. “At National Geographic, we believe that understanding ourselves and what makes us human is a critical step in achieving a more equitable and sustainable future, and the story of human migration is central to that.”
A major highlight of the Migration theme will be a powerful photography exhibit showcasing National Geographic Photo Camp, on display in the public spaces of the Kennedy Center in April through June 2019. National Geographic Photo Camp is a fascinating global project in which young people from underserved communities, including at-risk and refugee teens, learn how to use photography to tell their own stories of survival, explore the world around them, and develop deep connections with others. World-class National Geographic photographers and magazine editors provide students with a personalized, immersive learning experience, inspiring the next generation of photojournalists and motivating them to find their voice. The Photo Camp exhibit showcases the selections of photography, video, and written text to weave a narrative of the experiences and realities of displaced youth from around the world. Exhibit dates and details will be confirmed at a later date.
Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran contributes three original projects to The Human Journey. His first project, James Reese Europe and The Harlem Hellfighters: The Absence of Ruin (December 8, 2018), explores the migration of cultural influence and jazz’s resonance both in Europe and in the U.S. A century after James Reese Europe—an iconic figure in the evolution of jazz music—landed in Brest, France, with the Harlem Hellfighters and at the height of World War I, Jason Moran celebrates Europe’s legacy in a multidimensional musical reflection on the impact of the African American presence in Europe in the closing years of World War I. Moran gives the U.S. premiere at the Kennedy Center following concerts in London; Cardiff, Wales; Berlin; and Paisley, Scotland as part of a tour marking the centenary of the Armistice. With contributions from John Akomfrah, and visual materials from acclaimed cinematographer Bradford Young, this new project demonstrates Moran’s profound insights into the creative world of key figures in jazz history. James Reese Europe and The Harlem Hellfighters: The Absence of Ruin is co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW: WWI Centenary Art Commissions, the Kennedy Center, and Serious Music.
In Two Wings: The Music of Black America in Migration (April 14, 2019), Jason and Alicia Hall Moran’s compelling new concert experience examines the major demographic shift known as the Great Migration in which millions of African Americans left the American South after emancipation for the North, West, and beyond. These men and women brought their unique musical tastes and awareness with them—as well as new concepts of instrumental excellence with African American rhythms. The Morans draw upon their own family lore and the stories of this historical movement with music from rhythm and blues to gospel, classical to Broadway, work songs to rock ‘n’ roll. Two Wings celebrates the enormous influence of the black community—what it left behind, the spirit it brought with them, and the essential art it continues to inspire. Full cast to be announced at a later date. This work receives its world premiere at Carnegie Hall, New York, on March 30, 2019.
Jason Moran also participates in a bold new project, Heroes Take Their Stands, with the Grammy®–winning Silkroad Ensemble (May 5, 2019). The ensemble engages with the social and political turmoil of our time in a program that, through music, tells the stories of five heroic figures from diverse cultures—from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., to Elektra from Greek mythology, to Arjuna from Hindu epic poetry. Moran contributes a piece inspired by Dr. King’s 1955 address to Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Other composers collaborating for this project include Pauchi Sasaki, Colin Jacobsen, Kayhan Kahlor, and Zhao Lin.
Other performances across a range of genres include: West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (November 7), Iranian American comedian Maz Jobrani (November 16), Cartography (January 11–13), Bobby Sanabria’s West Side Story Reimagined (January 18), David Sánchez’s CARIB (January 26), Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in The Analogy Trilogy (March 28–30), and Du Yun’s Where We Lost Our Shadows (March 31). Further programs representing the theme of Migration are detailed in the full chronological listing found on page 5 of this press release.
A Spirit of Exploration Expressed through Art and Music
Two exhibitions from the National Gallery of Art feature prominently in The Human Journey, emphasizing identity and exploration found in historical photography. Focusing on new research, Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940–1950 (November 4–February 18 at National Gallery of Art) and its accompanying catalog are the first to document Parks’s early photographs from the formative decade of the photographer’s 60-year career. Looking at the importance of these early years in shaping his innovative vision, the National Gallery of Art exhibition covers Parks’s rapid evolution from a railway porter to an accomplished, self-taught artist whose creative documentary and fashion pictures were regularly featured in the nation’s top periodicals. Parks’s photographs provide an engaging study of the competing purposes, readings, and meanings of photography during this turbulent decade, when he mixed commercial, government, industrial, journalistic, and private experiences to become the most prominent photographer of his generation.
2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. Given John F. Kennedy’s historic connection to the space race and his famous “Moon Shot” speech, the National Gallery of Art celebrates this anniversary of American exploration with the exhibition By the Light of the Silver Moon: A Century of Lunar Photography from the 1850s to Apollo 11 (April 28–October 14, 2019, at National Gallery of Art). The exhibit features some 50 works, including a selection of photographs from the unmanned Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter missions that led up to the Apollo, as well as glass stereographs, taken on the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Photography played a significant role both in preparing for the Apollo 11 mission and in shaping the cultural consciousness around the event. These photographs, from the 19th century to the “space age” 1960s, merged art and science and transformed the way humans envisioned and comprehended the cosmos.
“The Gallery is delighted to partner with the Kennedy Center and National Geographic on this collaboration,” said Earl A. Powell III, Director of the National Gallery of Art. “Our two exhibitions, Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940–1950, and By the Light of the Silver Moon: A Century of Lunar Photography from the 1850s to Apollo 11, both illustrate photography’s capacity to document the human experience. A range of programs presented in tandem with each will encourage visitors to consider the many ways the medium has influenced the formation of the American identity.”
A major world premiere project, titled ARCTICA, will feature the intersection of art and exploration in a new work by contemporary Russian American composer and pianist Lera Auerbach, performed by the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). Co-commissioned by the National Geographic Society and the NSO, Auerbach created ARCTICA in collaboration with National Geographic’s Explorer-in-Residence and global conservationist, Dr. Enric Sala. Auerbach’s work for piano, orchestra, and chorus is a major new multimedia project for which she traveled to the Arctic to collect stories, images, and sounds. With Auerbach at the piano, ARCTICA’s world premiere performance will be led by conductor Teddy Abrams, the transformative young Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra. Other co-commissioning orchestras represent the member countries of the Arctic Council, including Canada, Russia, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden. (March 30, 2019)
The Human Journey season closes with a world premiere Kennedy Center commission, EARTHRISE, featured as part of the Center’s Performances for Young Audiences (July 18–August 4, 2019). Lauren Gunderson’s immersive, original play commemorates the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, featuring music and lyrics by Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk. Using projections, songs, and real audio and video footage of astronauts, interviews, and President Kennedy, EARTHRISE captures the breathtaking feat of the historic Apollo 11 lunar flights as seen through the eyes of three children of NASA employees in 1969.
