In Regarding the Slavery Matter, Elvira Clayton and George Kimmerling explore the traces and omissions of enslavement history in Beacon, NY. The works focus on specific sites in Beacon: the Brett Homestead, the former Matteawan Company clothing mill, Dennings Point, and 12 city intersections formed by streets that bear the names of enslaving families who enslaved people or otherwise profited from enslavement. Enslavement and its related economy were central to the development of New York State, from Long Island up through the Hudson Valley. In the 1790 U.S. Census, 10 percent of Dutchess County families reported enslaving people, including the Brett, Schenck, Phillips, and Van Kleeck families. Other families memorialized in Beacon also enslaved people on their properties, including Denning, DePeyster, Rombout, and Verplanck. Yet the history of enslavement remains largely out of sight in Beacon. Through photography, sculpture, fiber arts, historical texts, and new roadside markers, Regarding the Slavery Matter addresses this gap and aims to spark dialogue about historical erasure and the mechanisms of public recollection.
About the artists: Elvira Clayton is a multidisciplinary artist born in Lafayette, LA, raised in Houston, and now based in New York City. Her work has been shown nationally including at Open Source Gallery, A.I.R. Gallery, Textile Arts Center, Project Row Houses, Seton Hall University, and Riverfront Art Gallery. Her residencies and fellowships include Loghaven Artist Residency, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, A.I.R. Gallery, Shillim Institute, Women’s Studio Workshop, Robert Blackburn Studio Immersion Project, and Blue Mountain Center. Clayton has received awards from New York State Council on the Arts, Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and Manhattan Community Arts Fund. George Kimmerling has an MFA in photography from RISD and attended the Whitney Independent Study Program. His work has been exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt, the New Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and numerous venues in the U.S. and internationally. A NYFA Fellow, he has had residencies at PS1/MoMA and MacDowell Colony. His work is in both public and private collections, including at the New Museum and West Collection. Kimmerling has taught or presented at the University of Chicago, Syracuse University, RISD, and Hunter College, among other institutions. He lives and works in Westchester County, NY.