Social Impact at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
announces
The Second Iteration of the Cartography Project
features
Two World Premiere Operas Exploring Black Dignity
The Seer
by Detroit’s Brittini Ward and Levi Taylor
Future of Dreams
by Houston’s Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton and Jaylin Vinson
January 10, 2025 in Studio K at The REACH
(WASHINGTON)— The Cartography Project harnesses the universal language of music and art as a means of healing and to encourage meaningful dialogue about the future of anti-racism. In this iteration, developed with the Washington National Opera (WNO), the Cartography Project features composers and librettists from Houston and Detroit who were prompted to create original work that addresses the poignant question, “What does a culturally equitable future look like?” Fueled by their passion for telling authentic stories, Houston’s Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, a seasoned librettist collaborating with award-winning composer Jaylin Vinson, and Detroit’s Brittini Ward, making her operatic debut alongside Emmy®–nominated composer Levi Taylor, are both former poet laureates addressing that question through these new operas.
“It’s about stripping away what we think is our identity and what we have been told is our identity and then allowing something to be birthed out of that curiosity, said Detroit composer Levi Taylor.
Following a year of artistic development with Cartography architects Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Carlos Simon, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will premiere two new operas on Friday, January 10, 2025, at 7 p.m. in Studio K at The REACH. The performance will feature artists from the WNO’s Cafritz Young Artists program and ensembles of musicians from the Washington National Opera Orchestra.
*Tickets for this event will go on sale in early December*
Future of Dreams
Houston has never elected a Black woman as its mayor. Future of Dreams, by Mouton and Vinson, envisions a 2064 Houston where two Black women aspire to that office. This uplifting opera amplifies a future where opportunities are limitless and aspirations precede traditional barriers.
Libretto by Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton
Score by Jaylin Vinson
Directed by Raymond Caldwell
Imani: Viviana Goodwin
Magdalena: Tesia Kwarteng
Narrator: Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton
Voters: Kresley Figueroa, Michelle Mariposa, Sahel Salam, Sergio Martínez
The Seer
Ward and Taylor’s The Seer tells the story of Ama, a young office assistant grappling with the monotony of her colorless life in Detroit. As she seeks deeper meaning, Ama embarks on a transformative spiritual journey filled with defeat, pain, growth, and ultimate renewal.
Libretto by Brittini Ward
Score by Levi Taylor
Directed by Raymond Caldwell
Ama: Melissa Joseph
Grandma/Elder: Tesia Kwarteng
Irie/Headwrapped Woman: Viviana Goodwin
Boss: Jonathan Patton
Offstage Voices: Tiffany Choe, Winona Martin, Nicholas Huff, Sergio Martínez
The Cartography Project
Inspired by the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and launched in 2020, the Cartography Project is a multi-year commissioning initiative, conceived by the Center’s Vice President of Social Impact and Artistic Director of Cultural Strategy Marc Bamuthi Joseph in partnership with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and Washington National Opera (WNO). Through commissions of new chamber orchestral and operatic works by creators from communities across the nation, the Cartography Project aims to expand the norms of classical music and position Black dignity as the prevailing narrative of the African American experience.
About Social Impact at The Kennedy Center
At the Kennedy Center, our systemic commitment to social impact lives in our belief that the arts hold unique power in our society to build community, center joy, inspire action, and drive meaningful change. We leverage the arts for non-arts outcomes to advance justice and equity in all that we do. At the Kennedy Center, our systemic commitment to social impact lives in our belief that the arts hold unique power in our society to build community, center joy, inspire action, and drive meaningful change. We leverage the arts for non-arts outcomes to advance justice and equity in all that we do.
Funding Credits:
Major support for The Cartography Project is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Bank of America.
Additional support is provided by The Bernstein Family Foundation, The Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation, The Ford Foundation, David C. Frederick and Sophia Lynn, The Microsoft Corporation, and The Orlebeke Foundation.
#CartographyProject
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PRESS CONTACT:
Jordan Stewart
771-200-7842
[email protected]