Art Against Racism, a Princeton-based nonprofit organization, and the Trent House are partnering in “Freedoms Reframed: Art on the Edges of the Constitution,” a project examining fundamental human rights and social freedoms that extend beyond those explicitly enumerated in the U.S. Constitution but are significant to contemporary American life. These include the freedom to love without restriction, the right to equitable education, personal and collective safety, economic dignity and living wages, access to health care, and the freedom of self-definition and identity.

Central to the project is a month-long exhibition of art and poetry created by people of Black, Latino, Native American, and Asian heritage, accompanied by other project activities that expand on that theme. The exhibition will be placed in the historic house and other activities will take place on the museum site between June 13th and July 12th.

The exhibition will feature approximately 20 visual artworks and original poems by 10–15 poets, a provocative experience that connects artistic expression with civic engagement.

Other activities connected to the exhibition and to the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding and the centuries of American history will include:

A workshop at the Trent House on June 13th presented by Leslie Bramlett, a first-person re-enactor of Black women during the American Revolution, sharing historical accounts and reflecting on the experience of portraying these women during a fight for freedom for some and continued enslavement of others;

An opening reception for the exhibition on June 14th with a moderated panel discussion among the artists;

A program of poetry that accompanies and expands on the themes of the art on June 20th or 21st, read by the project’s poets;

A reading on July 5th of excerpts from Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech known as “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”;

A community celebration held on the Trent House courtyard following the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8th, the date in 1776 when it was first read in Trenton; and

An artist/poet-led program for local students on creative thought and artistic expression throughout the month with their works on display during the closing reception on July 12th.

Further details will be available at www.williamtrenthouse.org