I am too, a piece of clay

About the Project

Going to Ground is a 2/3 scale reconstruction of Zipporah Potter Atkins home made of soil. Zipporah Potter Atkins was the first known Black woman to own a home in Boston in 1670. Her home was sited on land now cared for by The Greenway at Cross and Hanover Streets in the North End. This history was brought to light in 2010 by Dr. Vivian Johnson, Professor Emerita of Boston University, after a 6-year period of archival research.

The Boston Harbor was critical to the ecology and infrastructure of the Transatlantic slave trade. In the 1980s, the City of Boston displaced 10,000 primarily Black, Brown, and Immigrant residents to build the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway, which caved amid financial and construction constraints. The second conversion project known as “The Big Dig,” was a failed megaproject and the nation’s most expensive highway project. In 2008, the City converted the Expressway into a mile-and-a-half-long public park. Going to Ground sits on the site of both Atkins’ home and among the lived experiences of thousands of residents who built lives there.

In the sculpture, the home becomes a liminal structure, where the awning of the home is adorned with a scarification pattern. The structure itself acts as a sundial. As the sun moves throughout the day, the shadow of scarification is casted on the landscape. The home and foundation of the home is made of soil. Soil from the Greenway where Atkins’ home was located, and an ‘open call for soil’ to comprise the earthen bricks to build the foundation of her home. 

The sculpture centers Black placemaking as a locator of stories, histories, and memories, reframing what it means to "make place" within the larger narrative of American settlement. Learn more here.

Who Is Involved

• • Creative Team

    • LaRissa Rodgers 

    • MCLA

  • Festival Staff Assignments (show team) 

    • Production Management Lead: Adrian White

    • Line Producer: TBD

Location

This project takes place at Gallery 51 in downtown North Adams.

Ticket Information

This project is free and open to the public. No tickets required.

Parking Information

Metered street parking is available in downtown North Adams for 25 cents per hour for a maximum of two hours. Vehicles must be moved at least five parking spaces after two hours to avoid a parking violation. Long-term meters are 25 cents for 2.5 hours, with a maximum of 10 hours. Meters are in operation from 8am to 7pm daily except on Sundays and holidays. Only quarters are accepted.

Key Dates

• • Opening: Friday, July 18 5-7pm

  • Artist Talk: Saturday, July 19, 11:30am-12:30pm

  • Closing: Sunday, September 28

Link to Project on Festival Website - Info coming soon!