Collaboration Between Germaine Ingram, Bobby Zankel, and John Dowell

The Philadelphia Folklore Project's artist residency program supported a collaboration between tap dancer Germaine Ingram, saxophonist Bobby Zankel, and photographer/printmaker John Dowell, who created choreography, music, and visual environments to commemorate the nine Africans enslaved in the President's House—Philadelphia's White House—during George Washington's presidency. The project was meant to encourage reflection on the implications of slavery's practice in America's first seat of government, and on our own responsibilities in the light of this history. Work-in-progress showings at the Community Education Center and the African American Museum in Philadelphia elicited conversations that were captured and published in the spring 2010 edition of the Philadelphia Folklore Project's magazine, Works in Progress. A 2010 Project Grant supported the ensuing collaborative work, Parallel Destinies.