Roots Historical Arts Cou
Our Mission:
The Lubbock Roots Historical Arts Council seeks to enrich life by promoting a greater understanding of the African American experience through the practice and appreciation of the visual and performing arts and through the study, interpretation and preservation of the history of the African American in the Early American West.
Our Roots(history):
The Roots began as the Roots Committee in 1978. At that time the organization's desire was to share the African American experience in the Early American West. This led to the committe to organize the first-ever reenactment of Nolan's Staked Plains Expedition of1877, where a troop of10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers survived on the parched West Texas Plains by drinking the blood and urine of their dying horses. The success of the reenactment and the group's desire to share the African American historical and cultural experience with the region led to incorporate as a nonprofit arts and humanities organization.
The Council's first director was Dr Rudolph Davis. Following his departure in the early 1990's, the organization engaged in very limited arts programming and was almost dormant from 1995 until 2007. The council presented numerous successful arts and humanities programs in the 1980's and the early 1990's. The activities included the State-Wide Tour of the Forgotten West Monument Replica, the Springfusion Talent Showcase, More Sky City Jazz Celebration and numerous art exhibits. The organization awarded various arts and humanities scholarships to high school graduates.
In February of 2007, upon the event of his university retirement of organizational founder Eric Strong, the council was reactivated. Strong became the new director. Under his leadership the vouncil has engaged in numerous arts and humanities activities and recommitted to itself the original mission and a new staregic plan.
2009 Initiatives:Youth Art Space
The Lubbock Roots Historical Arts Council seeks community sponorship to help enhance its ongoing outreach initiatives aimed at underserved populations by the establishment of a youth art space in Lubbock, Texas. The space will serve as a physical address for a youth arts gallery and an address for the coordination of the council's youth arts advocacy initiatives. The youth art space will not have paid staff, but will maintain a limited schedule designed to accommodate exhibits, receptions, meetings, and the distribution of tickets and arts-related literature.
Sponsorship Levels
o Installation Level Sponsor……….. $2,100
o Canvas Level Sponsor ship………. $1,050
o Paint Brush Level Sponsor………. $750
o Sketch Book Sponsor…………..... $350
The Roots Historical Arts Council’s Long-Range Initiative
The National Forgotten West Monument
The Nation Forgotten West Heritage Park Project proposes that historic structures from throughout the seventeen western states be located, or replicated, in East Lubbock as part of a national interpretive center
The cornerstone and tourism anchor for the park project will be a bronze relief monument standing three stories tall and stretching in length of a football field, commemorating the contributions of African Americans in the Early American West by Lubbock artist Eddie Dixon. It is estimated the Heritage Park Project will cost approximately $20,000,000.
The National Forgotten West Monument Steering Committee will work in concert with the City of Lubbock and Texas Tech University in support of this national effort. Funding the project would be enhanced initially by the creation of the Wind Garden, a kinetic sculpture area, featuring larger-than-life, low cost, wind-animated whirligigs. These artistic and whimsical machines will help spark the initial tourism interest in the site.
An equally important component of the developmental concept is also the creation of a Center for Foundry Craft. Students at the center would help to cast and construct the monument while also gaining marketable foundry craft skills in the process of building community pride. The Foundry Craft Center would serve as unique source of in-kind funding as well as a creative trigger for establishing Lubbock as a national art community.