“Forgetting to Remember” is an 18-month collaboration between Sag Harbor Cinema and the Plain Sight Project, made possibly by a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Congressionally Directed Community Project Funding, sponsored by U.S. Senator Hon. Charles E. Schumer.
This collaborative endeavor expands the vital work of the Plain Sight Project, which aims to unearth the identities and stories of enslaved, indentured, and free people of color on the East End of Long Island, into the Sag Harbor region.
The “Forgetting to Remember” collaboration intends to develop new audiences through continued archival research, public exhibitions and events, a short-form documentary film, and curriculum development, recounting a more inclusive understanding of our collective history.
5:00-6:30 pm - Forgotten Founders: David Hempstead, Senior is a short-form documentary, directed by local filmmakers Sam Hamilton and Julian Alvarez. The film highlights the life of David Hempstead, Senior on the East End, tracing him from slavery to freedom. Hempstead, Senior’s children were founding members of the Eastville community in Sag Harbor.
The screening will be followed by a “Projections” Q&A, featuring the filmmakers alongside Donnamarie Barnes and David Rattray, Co-Directors of the Plain Sight Project. The talk will be moderated by Dr. Jennifer L. Morgan, Professor of Social & Cultural Analysis at New York University.
6:30-7:30 pm - The opening of the Black History exhibition in Sag Harbor Cinema’s Rosenberg Workspace will follow the film premiere and talk. The exhibition will feature the work of renowned Sag Harbor artist Michael A. Butler, and thematic rooms that commemorate the legacies and stories of enslaved, indentured, and free people of color on the East End. The exhibit will also feature state-of-the-art, interactive, digital mapping technology that allows one to trace the locations of enslaved, indentured, and free people of color in Sag Harbor and beyond, developed in collaboration with the Vanderbilt Institute for Spatial Research.
For more information on research, public outreach, mapping initiatives, and curriculum development, visit forgettingtorememberproject.org.