Tate House Museum and SPACE will host a closing reception on Friday August 16 from 5:00-7:00 pm for the art installation “Imagining Freedom” by Ashley Page currently on view at Tate House. This is your last chance to view this temporary exhibit which was part of Re-Site 2024 (FMI see space538.org).
Artist Ashley Page partnered with the Tate House Museum for her project, which she describes as follows. “Reconciling Portland, Maine’s history of industrialization and colonization while contending with the global reverberations of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Imagining Freedom, asks the viewer to step into the shoes of an enslaved Black individual, Bet. Her age, appearance, homelands, and quality of life are all unknown, lost to the unraveling nature of time. Only appearing in court records, we know nothing about Bet other than she was a servant living and working in the Tate House in the 1770s for an indeterminate amount of time. Researching the social, political and economic landscape of Maine during this period and reviewing archival documents, Page makes an intentional departure from the archive as she asks the guiding question: What did freedom look like for Bet? What did her daydreams look like, sound like, taste like? This historical recovery project grapples with the ways enslaved peoples were excluded from historical records and navigates new ways in which we tell our stories.
This free reception on August 16 will include Ashley’s original sound recording “Whispers in the Wind” which complements her visual artwork. Ashley will be at the closing reception to speak briefly about her artwork. Her exhibit can also be viewed as part of Tate House Museum’s regular guided house tours through Aug 16, Wednesdays - Saturdays, 10 am - 4 pm (tours available through mid-October.
Don’t miss this unique and provocative show and more inclusive telling of Tate House and colonial Portland history.
FMI: contact Director Holly K. Hurd
hkhurd@tatehouse.org
207-774-6177
Tate House Museum
1267 Westbrook Street
Portland ME 04102
