In Our Elders’ Footprints Public Art Installation
From activists and educators to civil rights leaders and artists, the (Un)Known Project In Our Elders’ Footprints public art installation honors and commemorates Black Louisville elders who have impacted the community. The installation is located adjacent to On the Banks of Freedom, which was unveiled in summer 2021 on Juneteenth.
In Our Elders’ Footprints is by (Un)Known Project lead artists Hannah Drake and Josh Miller. Walkway by Seven Seas Construction, sandblasting by Stoneworks Lettering.
Location: Between 9th and 10th Street along the Louisville riverwalk. Take Main St. west, turn right on 10th, drive past the floodwall and into the parking lot. You can also access it within a block by parking in the Science Center Parking Lot.
A majority of the footprints were collected in summer 2023 during a “Celebration of our Elders” event where the (Un)Known Project team painted and documented the footprints of 20 Black Louisville elders.
The installation was made possible by support from Mellon Foundation, Louisville Metro Arts + Creative Industries, and Fund for the Arts. The unveiling event was supported by the Juneteenth Jubilee Committee.
In Our Elders’ Footprints was a gift to the City of Louisville from (Un)Known Project and now part of the city’s public art collection.
On the horizon… (Un)Known Project, an artist-led effort to unearth and honor the names and stories of enslaved people, is creating an Augmented Reality experience to bring history to life at (Un)Known Project sites using storytelling, art, and innovative technologies. The web-based mobile experience, launching fall 2024, will generate new and engaging ways to learn about the history of enslavement and its connection to present day experiences through volumetrically captured holograms, environment overlays, and more. This experience is being developed through a collaboration with Collimation and MindWise with support from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and Fund for the Arts. In addition, Metastage and Arcturus are assisting with the volumetric capture and delivery. The first sites that will be activated include (Un)Known Project’s On the Banks of Freedom and In Our Elders’ Footprints public art installations in Louisville, KY, the project-specific art installation at Frazier History Museum, and two cemeteries where enslaved people are buried.
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WDRB News: Trailblazing Black leaders honored by Elders Footprints exhibit on Louisville waterfront
Photos by Kriech-Higdon Photography