Cameron Art Museum To Open PNC USCT Park With Community Day Celebration

Wilmington, N.C. – Cameron Art Museum (CAM) will celebrate the opening of PNC USCT  Park with a special Community Day filled with programming and events Sunday, Nov. 13. Admission to the museum galleries and all events will be free to the public. CAM invites the community to join in celebrating the only sculpture park in the country created to honor the United States Colored Troops and their fight for freedom.

The opening of PNC USCT Park marks the one-year anniversary of the unveiling of Boundless, the public sculpture by artist Stephen Hayes that commemorates the United States Colored Troops and the Battle of Forks Road. This park creates a gathering space for the more than 60,000 visitors from across the country who come to CAM each year and the 8,000 school children who visit the museum on field trips. PNC USCT Park will become a community space for gatherings, field trips, classes, workshops, storytelling, live music, and USCT living history events for years to come, in which the sculpture Boundless will be the centerpiece.

The park is made possible in part by generous funding from PNC Bank, which also was the lead donor for Boundless. “At PNC, we believe education can be a great unifier, and we are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with CAM on this important work,” said Jim Hansen, PNC regional president for Eastern Carolinas. “Learning about the past is essential for achieving a more equitable and inclusive future for all, and our hope is that this park will provide a forum for further dialogue and progress.” 

CAM Deputy Director Heather Wilson says, “We are grateful to PNC Bank for its ongoing commitment to help CAM tell the story of the USCT, which is meaningful within our region and beyond, and for its leadership in the creation of Boundless and this park, which will become an important educational resource and gathering place for our community.”

Boundless creator Stephen Hayes says, “This is so amazing and I am very honored to be a part of the first USCT park in the nation. My goal was to create a monument that paid tribute to the USCT and to connect with the generations to come.”

PNC USCT Park is designed by Wilmington-based architectural firm LS3P.  Charles Boney, Vice President of LS3P shares insight into the design: 

“In this work honoring the US Colored Troops, we have been able to expand the vision of Stephen Hayes’s powerful Boundless sculpture by providing more context.  The entry sign displays a wonderful quote from one of the soldiers on the battlefield. An information kiosk describes the events surrounding the park. The seemingly random seats distributed in the woodlands surrounding the sculpture are deliberately placed as single seats, forcing each visitor to contemplate the message provided by the sculpture in their own space and in their own time, and from their own perspective. 

At night the seats will be like candles in the woods, and the pathway is illuminated to reflect the steps taken by the troops as they marched to Wilmington.

The corten steel we used in the park will rust over time and stain the concrete bases, symbolic of the bloodshed during America’s greatest conflict. This project was one of passion for everyone at LS3P, and we are so proud to play a part in its completion.” 

The opening celebration for PNC USCT Park begins at 1:00 p.m. Nov. 13 with a land acknowledgment ceremony by Aya Shabu, conductor and creator of Whistle Stop Tours, along with remarks by community leaders, CAM leadership, and representatives from PNC Bank. Programming will continue throughout the afternoon with a much-anticipated musical performance by The Williston Alumni Choir. Actors Johnny Lee Chapman and Carolyn Evans will then channel the voices of the USCT and their families. The day will conclude with Wilmington Reconstructed, a powerful theatrical reading from Mouths of Babes Theatre Company, followed by a Q&A session.

Living history will be ongoing all day as reenactors from Battery B, 1st Battalion, and the 35th USCT from Tryon Palace join the celebration.

During the free Community Day, the public is invited to participate in the Community Lantern Workshop. The Community Lantern for this year will celebrate CAM’s 60 years of Art, Community, and Love. All ages are welcome to work with artist Fritzi Huber for a few moments or all afternoon. When completed, the lantern will hang with other lanterns in Illumination in CAM’s galleries.

Sunday, Nov. 13 Community Day Schedule

1:00 pm: Land Acknowledgement Aya Shabu

1:15 pm: Remarks by PNC Bank and Cameron Art Museum

1:30 pm: Johnny Lee Chapman, spoken word poetry from the point of view of Powhatan Beaty

2:00 pm: Williston Alumni Choir

3:00 pm: Carolyn Evans, storytelling inspired by the sculpture

4:00 pm: Mouths of Babes: Wilmington Reconstructed 

About The Performers

 Aya Shabu is the Conductor and Creator of Whistle Stop Tours, a decade-old walking tour company remembering African American neighborhoods through the performing arts. Shabu has choreographed for some of the Triangle’s best theatrical productions, most notably The Parchman Hour performed for the 50th Anniversary Reunion of The Freedom Riders in Jackson, MS, and Orange Light memorializing the 1991 Hamlet, NC chicken plant fire. An alum of the African American Dance Ensemble, Shabu has performed with Ronald K. Brown, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and continues to dance and drum with a 30-year-old family ensemble – The Magic of African Rhythm. Aya protects the genius of Black neighborhoods and communities alongside Black parents as the Associate Director of Arts and Culture at Village of Wisdom, Inc. This spring, Ms. Shabu will premiere her first autobiographical work – LandED – at UNC-Chapel Hill’s The Process Series.

Spoken word poet Johnny Lee Chapman III will perform a work inspired by the life of USCT Medal of Honor winner Powhatan Beaty, a soldier who fought at Forks Road and became an actor after the Civil War, at 1:15 pm and 2:15 pm. Johnny Lee Chapman, III is an interdisciplinary artist from Fuquay-Varina, NC. In 2014, he leaped from the page to the stage, beginning his career as a spoken word artist. Since then, he has performed regionally and nationally and is an active voice within his Triangle community. His professional range includes spoken word performances, screenwriting and acting, facilitation of poetry showcases, craft workshops, and artist mentorship.

The Williston Alumni Choir

The Williston High School Glee Club originally organized an alumni group in 1984 under the name of the Williston Alumni Choral Ensemble directed by B. Constance O’Dell. The ensemble performed at Kenan Auditorium, Thalian Hall, and Williston Alumni reunion events and even performed at the White House in December 1994. The original glee clubs were graduates of Williston Industrial School & Williston Senior High School under the direction of James Thompson and B. Constance O’Dell. The Willistonians participating in the group range from graduating classes of 1944 to the last graduating class of 1968 and 1968 sophomores & juniors that attended Williston Senior High School. The group also consists of associate members that include alumni of the Williston Marching Band, and family & friends of Williston graduates. The Wilmington Community Choir under the direction of Theodore Thorpe organized along with Williston Alumni Choral members to perform for the Wilmington Ten 40th Anniversary Commemoration on February 3, 2011. The two groups reorganized and combined as one in August 2011 renaming the group Williston Alumni Community Choir. This reorganization was under the direction of Marva Robinson with Theodore & Eastlyn Thorpe as Associate directors and accompanied by Monnie Swepson and Carolyn Jacobs. Due to death and illness, the group is presently under the direction of Marva Robinson and accompanied by Monnie Swepson. This group is interested in continuing the legacy of the Williston Glee Club by recruiting new members through auditions. 

North Carolina storyteller Carolyn Evans will perform a story based on the true experiences of the mother of a USCT soldier in Wilmington, NC, at 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm. A gifted storyteller, Evans became interested in acting at Syracuse University and continued to act at the City University of New York. She has performed on stage with entertainers including Glenn Close, Melba Moore, and Terry McFadden. She has appeared at the Apollo Theater, on New York’s WBAI radio, PENN Center Inc., at Gettysburg, as well as on PBS TV and CNN TV.

 Mouths of Babes

Theatre, outreach, and local stories. Mouths of Babes (MoB) creates and produces original theatre, media, and storytelling. They focus on stories of community, stories of protest, and stories from history. While their works are intended for everyone, all of their creations contain the voices of teen and young adult artists. Ultimately, MoB wants to promote and support young actors and audiences to be active participants, not only in the arts but in the world around them.

Wilmington Reconstructed

MoB Theatre is developing a new play. A play dealing with the racial history of Wilmington, NC – starting with the events of 1898, the play explores the Wilmington massacre and coup of 1898 and discusses the modern-day impact and modern-day implications. The play uses oral histories, interviews, and archival materials to paint a picture of Wilmington’s past and present.

 The play is being presented as a staged reading and will be followed by a brief talk back.

Community Lantern Artist – Fritzi Huber

Fritzi Huber gave her firsthand papermaking workshop in North Carolina at St. John’s Museum of Art in 1988. Having been a hand papermaker for over 45 years, she has been involved with both St. John’s and the CAM by giving workshops, participating in exhibitions, and facilitating three Community Lantern Workshops. This will be the fourth! She is honored to be a part of CAM’s celebration of its 60th year of serving the community.