Free Family Day

The free family day features art activities by Black artists and creatives, poetry reading and writing, a documentary screening of Mandela in Chicago, Storytime, and live music by Madison Parish Ensemble. Southeast Minnesota High School Art Show opens too.

Still We Rise: Rochester’s Black Legacy is a traveling showcase of key leaders and events that have shaped the local community and its history.  

First developed through the leadership of Andre Crockett in partnership with the History Center of Olmsted County, the first “Rochester Black History” exhibit will be on view at Rochester Art Center during Free Family Day.  

This exhibit is the first of its kind in its span of Rochester Black history and its contextualization of this history within the wider state and regional history from the mid-1800s to today. 

11:00 AM - 4:00 PM | Mural Painting with Tierney Parker + Poetry Writing with Erin Sharkey

Tierney Parker is a self-taught mixed-media artist based in Rochester, MN. A Rochester native, she has spent the past few years exploring a wide range of artistic mediums, shaping a distinctive style rooted in personal expression. Her work is deeply influenced by her experiences as a biracial woman, reflecting themes of identity, resilience, and the shared struggles of everyday life.

Follow Tierney on Instagram: @mixiemadness

11:00 AM | Documentary Screening: Mandela in Chicago by Ava Thompson Greenwell

Followed by a discussion with Prexy Nesbitt

This documentary is most suitable for ages 16+. 

Ava Thompson Greenwell has been a professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism since 1993, teaching broadcast writing, reporting, and producing. She has held key administrative roles, including associate dean for curriculum and co-curator of the nationally recognized Ida B. Wells Award. Currently, she co-directs the South Africa Journalism Residency Program.

A seasoned journalist, Greenwell has reported for PBS’s Chicago Tonight, WGN-TV, and stations in Tampa, Minneapolis, and Evansville. She holds a BSJ, MSJ, and a Ph.D. in African American Studies from Northwestern.

She is the director and producer of Mandela in Chicago, a documentary on the city’s anti-apartheid movement, and is working on a film about Black women professors at Northwestern. Greenwell is also the author and podcast host of Ladies Leading: The Black Women Who Control Television News.

1:00 PM | Poetry Reading with Erin Sharkey

Erin Sharkey’s poem on the front of the Rochester Art Center building explores themes of sky, flight, and migration, created in response to the Art Center’s efforts to deter bird collisions. A Minneapolis-based writer, arts and abolition organizer, cultural worker, and film producer, Sharkey co-founded the experimental arts collective Free Black Dirt and has produced projects like Sweetness of Wild and Small Business Revolution (Hulu). She has received numerous fellowships, including the Black Seed Fellowship, and teaches with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. Visit the artist’s website: erinsharkeywrites.com

2:00 PM | Storytime with Nicole "Cole" Nfonoyim-Hara from Griot Arts

Griot Arts is a creative hub which operates a bookstore, art gallery and community space in Rochester, MN. It is a gathering space, resource hub, and convener of diverse, intersectional arts-based spaces, programming, alliances, and events for all, while centering Black lives and experiences from across the diaspora. We believe art connects and heals. Art is for everyone. Centering BIPOC communities in our city's arts and cultural life cultivates spaces where we can all engage, grow, and transform.

2:30 - 3:30 PM | Musical Performance by Madison Parish Ensemble

LaSonya Natividad is a Rochester, MN-based vocalist with Louisiana roots, blending southern gospel and jazz influences. She began singing in church at age six, later earning scholarships to LSU for her vocal talent. After focusing on her career as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, she returned to music, performing with 2 O’Clock Jump, KnuFunk, and Soul Train and collaborating on house music tracks with DJ Tony Fuel. She also made her acting debut in The Syringa Tree at Rochester Civic Theater. With a powerful voice and dynamic range, LaSonya continues to inspire across genres. Learn more about LaSonya on her website: ltnmusic.com

We are pleased to partner with our friends at griot arts for this Free Family Day program. Learn more about griot arts: griotartsmn.com

Thank you to The Clinton Family Fund for generously supporting Free Family Days.

Mark your calendar with upcoming FREE Family Days in 2025 at Rochester Art Center:

• Sunday, March 30 | Celebrating Women in the Arts
• Sunday, April 27 | Fun with Fiber

Image: Ascend by Alyssa Baguss and Erin Sharkey, 2024. Photo by Chris Rackley.