June 25 at 4 p.m., 5 p.m, 6 p.m
Duration: 90 minutes
Tours begin at
192 Front Street
New York, NY 10038
Capacity is limited. Free with RSVP. Click here to RSVP.
All events in the River To River Festival are free and all are welcome.
Sarah's Fire
Black Gotham Experience was founded in 2010 by artist/historian Kamau Ware in New York City. This project celebrates the impact of the African Diaspora with historic walks, media and signature events.
Sarah’s Fire is the second of five core stories that make up the Black Gotham Experience. The tale takes place on day two of British New York in 1664 on the southern tip of the island of Manhattan (a place home to both free and enslaved Black people), in the small town known as Land of the Blacks. This walking tour illustrates the peculiar universe of urban slavery in a port city with deep ties to the sugar plantations of the West Indies. A key persona in this story is an enslaved woman named Sarah who is one of 29 people that participate in the first militarized Black rebellion on the island of Manhattan that took place April 6, 1712.
RELATED EVENT: Talk with BGX Creator and Artist Kamau Ware
June 25 at 8 p.m.
192 Front Street
Approx. 60 minutes
Following the walking tours, Black Gotham Experience invites everyone into their space at 192 Front Street, where they’ve had a physical presence for their research, operations and public programming for the past two years. The founder of Black Gotham Experience, Kamau Ware, will hold a fireside chat with Danielle King, Director of Cultural Programs at LMCC, about the role that space plays in the Black Gotham Experience, the evolution of the project and why artists need spaces for a variety of purposes.
About Black Gotham Experience
Established in 2010 by artist/historian Kamau Ware, Black Gotham Experience is an immersive visual storytelling project that celebrates the impact of the African Diaspora on New York City since 1625. Our mission is to reimagine the histories of the places directly impacted by the African Diaspora as human stories. We explore these stories through interactive walks, talks, events, and media, weaving together art, research, fashion and entertainment. The heart of this experience are three stories that revisit Manhattan in 1623 and move forward through three centuries: Other Side of Wall Street, Sarah's Fire, and Caesar’s Rebellion.
Kamau Ware is a multidimensional creative blending complementary yet disparate disciplines as an Artist / Historian. He is best known for his flagship storytelling project, Black Gotham Experience (BGX), which is an immersive multimedia project founded in 2010 that celebrates the impact of the African Diaspora on New York City through a series of walks, talks, and events.
The BGX studio is made possible by an artist residency with Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and support from The Howard Hughes Corporation.