TRAVELING EXHIBITION COMMEMORATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF NON-PROFIT MUSIC & SUPPORT ORGANIZATION
Music Maker Relief Foundation – the non-profit organization that
supports traditional Southern musicians by documenting and presenting
their art – will be the subject of a museum exhibition set to preview July 9 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (40 Lincoln Center Plaza) and run through August 29
in the Dorothy And Lewis B. Cullman Center, Corridor Gallery. “We Are
the Music Makers,” which delves deeply into the living southern musical
culture and the musicians themselves, will travel to venues throughout
the country over the next five to seven years.
GRAMMY Award-winning musician Marty Stuart said, “Throughout We Are The
Music Makers, the viewer is granted access to worlds that are beyond
reach and off limits to most. There is less than a razor’s edge of
difference in royalty and rogue at the bedrock of American roots music.”
Folk music and photography legend John Cohen said, “I have never seen
photographs generate so much of the atmosphere and personalities of
blues music.”
In addition to musical instruments, the GRAMMY Award won by the Carolina
Chocolate Drops, North Carolina folk art, and vintage cameras, visitors
will experience thirty panels that feature photographs of traditional
Southern musicians taken by Music Maker founder and head Tim Duffy over
the last twenty years, many of which are also featured in his Nautilus
Press book We Are The Music Makers, out September 30.
The exhibit panels speak to the significance of each musician’s style
and have a storytelling quality, putting each figure in the context of
his cultural community. Audio recordings and a film are also included
which further enhances the content of the panels.
The instruments include a fiddle handcrafted by Music Maker artist
Samuel Turner of Asheville, NC; folk art by Sam McMillan of
Winston-Salem, NC; and a banjo signed to Tim Duffy by Guitar Gabriel;
and a guitar named Pawnshop owned by Adolphus Bell of Birmingham, AL.
Showing posts with label new york public library. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new york public library. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH MUSEUM EXHIBITION, COMPREHENSIVE 2CD SET, NEW BOOK, AND MORE
Music Maker Relief Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit, which supports
traditional, southern musicians who are living in poverty, is
celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2014. Music Maker has assisted
hundreds of artists with emergency aid and performance opportunities,
and their label has released 166 albums since Tim and Denise Duffy
founded it in 1994.
Taj Mahal, Music Maker advisory board member and strong advocate of the organization, said, "Through the efforts of the Music Makers Relief Foundation, these amazing people and artists have been able to live dignified lives. In many cases they were rediscovered during their golden years by Tim and Denise Duffy, then given the joy of new recognition by their families, peers and fans world-over!"
Music Maker has planned a series of events to commemorate the anniversary:
+ April 4 – Kickoff event at The Crunkleton, Chapel Hill, NC featuring Ironing Board Sam.
+ April 14 – Performances by Ironing Board Sam and David Bryant at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, MS.
+ July – August 2014 – We Are the Music Makers museum exhibit on view at New York Public Library
+ September 15, 2014 – Release of We Are the Music Makers: Preserving the Soul of America's Music book on Nautilus Press
+ September 30, 2014 – Release of 2CD set 'We Are The Music Makers.'
+ October 3 – Official Launch of We Are the Music Makers exhibit at the Arts Center in
Carrboro, NC.
+ October 3 – 4 – Music Maker Reunion Weekend in Carrboro and Hillsborough, NC.
Written by the Duffys, the book features over 65 photographs taken by Tim Duffy over the past 20 years of artists he has worked with, along with the stories and songs of these musicians. Tim Duffy's previous book, Portraits and Songs from the Roots of America, was released in 2002 and sold 15,000 copies.
A 20th Anniversary compilation album will also be released on the Music Maker label in September 2014. The 44-track collection includes Taj Mahal, Guitar Gabriel, John Dee Holeman, Etta Baker, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Leyla McCalla, Ironing Board Sam, and many others, with over two hours of music.
The traveling exhibit will include photographs from the book alongside field recordings and music from Music Maker's archive and will lead viewers on a journey of discovery through the often-overlooked artists of the American South.
Watch a video about Music Maker's mission.
"Early on, while studying with tremendous blues musicians throughout the South, I realized that our nation's musical traditions were suffering from starvation and underemployment," says Tim Duffy. "We founded the Music Maker Relief Foundation as a nonprofit in 1994 to preserve America's music by directly supporting the people who make the music. We get gigs for those that want to perform, guitars for those who want to play, and feed the hungry. Our initial grassroots effort to meet the needs of a handful of blues musicians in Winston-Salem, NC, has grown to assist hundreds."
Their talents were hidden by poverty, but they did not ask the Duffy's for money – they wanted work. The Duffys created a model of support focused on helping the artists they encountered meet basic needs so they could concentrate on their art – you can't play your guitar at a gig if you've pawned it to pay for heat. While assisting with day-to-day essentials, Music Maker staff work with an artist to develop booking materials such as an album and photographs, and work to get them gigs around the world. A priority for the Duffys was also to document these artists' music for future generations, and their extensive field recordings are archived at the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Taj Mahal, Music Maker advisory board member and strong advocate of the organization, said, "Through the efforts of the Music Makers Relief Foundation, these amazing people and artists have been able to live dignified lives. In many cases they were rediscovered during their golden years by Tim and Denise Duffy, then given the joy of new recognition by their families, peers and fans world-over!"
Music Maker has planned a series of events to commemorate the anniversary:
+ April 4 – Kickoff event at The Crunkleton, Chapel Hill, NC featuring Ironing Board Sam.
+ April 14 – Performances by Ironing Board Sam and David Bryant at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, MS.
+ July – August 2014 – We Are the Music Makers museum exhibit on view at New York Public Library
+ September 15, 2014 – Release of We Are the Music Makers: Preserving the Soul of America's Music book on Nautilus Press
+ September 30, 2014 – Release of 2CD set 'We Are The Music Makers.'
+ October 3 – Official Launch of We Are the Music Makers exhibit at the Arts Center in
Carrboro, NC.
+ October 3 – 4 – Music Maker Reunion Weekend in Carrboro and Hillsborough, NC.
Written by the Duffys, the book features over 65 photographs taken by Tim Duffy over the past 20 years of artists he has worked with, along with the stories and songs of these musicians. Tim Duffy's previous book, Portraits and Songs from the Roots of America, was released in 2002 and sold 15,000 copies.
A 20th Anniversary compilation album will also be released on the Music Maker label in September 2014. The 44-track collection includes Taj Mahal, Guitar Gabriel, John Dee Holeman, Etta Baker, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Leyla McCalla, Ironing Board Sam, and many others, with over two hours of music.
The traveling exhibit will include photographs from the book alongside field recordings and music from Music Maker's archive and will lead viewers on a journey of discovery through the often-overlooked artists of the American South.
Watch a video about Music Maker's mission.
"Early on, while studying with tremendous blues musicians throughout the South, I realized that our nation's musical traditions were suffering from starvation and underemployment," says Tim Duffy. "We founded the Music Maker Relief Foundation as a nonprofit in 1994 to preserve America's music by directly supporting the people who make the music. We get gigs for those that want to perform, guitars for those who want to play, and feed the hungry. Our initial grassroots effort to meet the needs of a handful of blues musicians in Winston-Salem, NC, has grown to assist hundreds."
Their talents were hidden by poverty, but they did not ask the Duffy's for money – they wanted work. The Duffys created a model of support focused on helping the artists they encountered meet basic needs so they could concentrate on their art – you can't play your guitar at a gig if you've pawned it to pay for heat. While assisting with day-to-day essentials, Music Maker staff work with an artist to develop booking materials such as an album and photographs, and work to get them gigs around the world. A priority for the Duffys was also to document these artists' music for future generations, and their extensive field recordings are archived at the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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