Exhibit on Loan from German Consulate

Grace Church School has been honored to host an exhibit on loan from the German Consulate in New York titled, “Homestory Deutschland: Black Biographies in Historical and in Present Times.” The exhibit is a series of black and white portraits accompanied by biographies of black men and women who have made significant contributions to Germany.

 

The exhibit debuted at GCS as part of this year’s International Family Night – Gracefest, a celebration of Germany, sponsored by the Parents’ Association. The portraits continue to be on display on the 86 Fourth Avenue campus. Touring the exhibit and reading the biographies is a stirring experience, underscoring the critical need for all countries to examine which voices have been stifled in their histories and the power of bringing those perspectives to foreground. The message is particularly poignant during America’s Black History Month.

 

From a release by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education:

 

The exemplary biographies of Black men and women of different generations have something to offer in a special way. They bring to light the ways in which systemic conditions and structures are imprinted upon individual life stories and form and shape them. At the same time, they allow us to comprehend the level of individual negotiation and decision-making that is still possible. Making lived experiences visible as a testimony to time and as an act of contemporary witnessing, therefore, represents an integral basis for collective cultural memory in which the legacy and the perspectives of people of African descent regain their place and their voice.    

 

The school is grateful to the German Consulate for sharing this exhibit with our students, faculty and parents. A special thank you to GCS Parent Anna Kehlmann for coordinating this project.

 

Read the full description of “Homestory Deutschland.”