On May 28, Reckonings Project Community Liaison Dzidzor Azaglo hosted “Remember!: A Chant, Cultural Café” at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston (ICA) in conjunction with their “Say it Out Loud: AAMARP, 1977 to Now” exhibit. AAMARP, or the African American Master Artists-in-Residence Program, is a collection of artists relating to the African American diaspora. Members of the Reckonings team invited people walking through the exhibit to answer two prompts: “Listen closely to the art. What messages are you hearing loudly from the exhibit?” and (in reference to the quote “AAMARP is for everyone”) “Who is included in your ’everyone?’”. Dzidzor Azaglo, as well as AAMARP artist Marlon Forrester and featured artists Thamanai Jeremie on vocals, Toussaint on percussion, and Esuyah Xavier on saxophone, then took the answers to create a call and response chant: they led the audience in the studio for an interactive live session of words, music, and movement.

The event, a collaboration between Tony Van Der Meer, the ICA, and the Reckonings Project, honored the legacy of the Cultural Café program series. The series was started by AAMARP, the program founded in 1977 by Dana C. Chandler Jr. and supported by Northeastern University, which today hosts studio space for 13 artists. Since 2002, the Cultural Café has served as an alternative independent cultural forum for film, music, poetry, and cultural exchange that addresses social issues of people of African descent and their relationships with other cultures.

The work of AAMARP is, in the words of L’Merchie Fraizer, to continue the “mission to preserve and conserve our own aesthetic.” AAMARP artists are fulfilling this mission with work across various mediums.

In Spring 2027, we will continue the conversation on the importance of preserving the work of artists. Stay tuned!