REBUILD FOUNDATION AND EXPERIMENTAL SOUND STUDIO ANNOUNCE JUNETEENTH QUARANTINE CONCERT BENEFITTING THE TAMIR RICE FOUNDATION

REBUILD FOUNDATION AND EXPERIMENTAL SOUND STUDIO ANNOUNCE JUNETEENTH QUARANTINE CONCERT BENEFITTING THE TAMIR RICE FOUNDATION

The virtual concert, curated by Rebuild Artist in Residence Yaw Agyeman, will commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth while supporting the creation of the Tamir Rice Afrocentric Cultural Center

Rebuild Foundation and Experimental Sound Studio today announced a critical iteration of the Quarantine Concerts commemorating the 155th anniversary Juneteenth, the oldest national celebration of the ending of slavery in the United States on June 19th, 1865. Proceeds from this concert, hosted just days before what would have been Tamir Rice’s 18th birthday, will support the Tamir Rice Foundation’s endeavors to create the Tamir Rice Afrocentric Cultural Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Quarantine Concerts are a collaborative endeavor among a growing number of organizations and organizers meant to provide artists experimenting across genres a space to share their work and continue to earn a living during this time when most live performance opportunities have been cancelled due to COVID-19.

“This vital performance both celebrates and challenges the notions of freedom, celebrating 155 years of freedom on paper but contending with injustice in practice,” said Tregg Duerson, Chief Operating Officer of Rebuild Foundation. “I’m proud to partner with Experimental Sound Studio to support artists who have been unduly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the extrajudicial killings of Black people across our country. I’m grateful to Ms. Rice for her continued fight to amplify Tamir’s legacy.”

All proceeds from the concert will benefit the Tamir Rice Foundation. Through the Tamir Rice Afrocentric Cultural Center, Samaria Rice, Tamir’s mother, will create a safe space for children where they can learn about their African descent through participation in the visual arts, music and dance. The center will serve as a safe haven where children can find mentors and learn how to harness their own power through civic engagement and activism.

"The Quarantine Concerts began to address an immediate need and we remain committed to responsive action as the country re-focuses its attention to the ongoing crisis of gross inequity and abuse of power in our society,” said Oliva Junell, Director of Community Interaction at Experimental Sound Studio. The fact that this program was planned before the most recent atrocity of George Floyd's murder is notable because it reminds us that we are in the middle of a struggle that spans generations. ESS is honored to partner with Rebuild Foundation and the Tamir Rice Foundation on this event."

On November 22, 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was murdered by a Cleveland police officer at the Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Within two seconds of opening his car door, officer-in-training Timothy Loehmann shot and killed Tamir, who was playing in the snow with a toy pellet gun. The officers who killed Tamir were not indicted for his murder. In 2016, at the request of Samaria Rice, Tamir’s mother, Rebuild Foundation received the gazebo where Tamir was playing when he was killed.

In memory of Tamir, the gazebo has been reconstructed in a reflection garden on the Stony Island Arts Bank lawn. The concert, curated by Rebuild Artist in Residence Yaw Agyeman, will feature words and performances by artists Megan McNeal, Krista Franklin, Rebuild Poet Laureate avery r young and Rebuild DJ in Residence Duane Powell. This virtual concert will be filmed in the presence of the gazebo and broadcast online at ess.org/the-quarantine-concerts.

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