ADA, Okla. – East Central University is pleased to announce it has received a $3615 grant from Oklahoma Humanities. The grant will be used to assist in funding a presentation of the Killing the Negative exhibit on the ECU campus for the benefit of student, staff/faculty and community members.
The event will take place Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. inside the Estep Multimedia Center located inside the Bill S. Cole University Center and will be free and open to the public.
According to Exhibit USA, “While looking through materials on Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects, visual artist Joel Daniel Phillips stumbled upon an image—a 1936 photograph by Walker Evans with a gaping black hole in the center. This chance discovery of a “killed negative” led Phillips and poet Quraysh Ali Lansana into a collaborative project, “Killing the Negative: Poetic Interventions,” that explores complex intersections of representation, truth, and power—crucial concepts that are at the center of our contemporary society.”
“We are pleased to receive this grant,” says Dr. Ken Hada, Poet and Principal Investigator for the Grant. “I am privileged to be a contributor to this book project. From the moment I was contacted about the project, I was excited for its significant possibilities in reaching a variety of audiences, across the state, and even the country. This program offers an intellectual but accessible understanding of some of our nation’s complex history. The live presentation of the art and poetic responses engenders a vital conversation with the audience on many layers, touching on representation, propaganda, visual rhetoric, economics, poetry and history, etc.”
Funding for this program is provided in part by a grant from Oklahoma Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program does not necessarily represent those of OH or NEH.
About Oklahoma Humanities
Oklahoma Humanities is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to strengthen communities by helping Oklahomans learn about the human experience, understanding new perspectives, and participate knowledgeably in civic life through humanities disciplines such as history, literature, film studies, art criticism, and philosophy. As the state partner for the National Endowment for the Humanities, OH provides a free educational magazine, Smithsonian Institution exhibits, reading and discussion groups, and other cultural opportunities for Oklahomans of all ages. OH engages people in their own communities, stimulating discussion and helping them explore the wider world of human experience.
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