History at High Noon

Presenters: Mark Katz, PhD, Department of Music, College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Junious “House” Brickhouse, Director, Next Level, and Founder and Executive Director, Urban Artistry Inc.

Katz and Brickhouse will open with some background information on hip hop diplomacy and will include a short video from Next Level’s Myanmar residency. The two will then converse about the challenges and rewards of this work.

Katz, John P. Barker Distinguished Professor of Music and Director of Graduate Studies, speaks frequently on music, cultural diplomacy, conflict transformation, and entrepreneurship across the US and throughout Europe. Among his many accomplishments, he has written four books, including Build: The Power of Hip Hop Diplomacy in a Divided World.
All proceeds from this program will be donated to Urban Artistry, Inc.
In addition to Next Level, an initiative to use hip hop music, dance, and art to foster cross-cultural creative exchange in diverse communities, Brickhouse produces events for Urban Artistry Inc., a movement of artists dedicated to the authentic preservation of urban dance culture and community while finding ways to responsibly innovate. He is an internationally established, award-winning urban-dance educator, choreographer, community leader, and cultural preservationist who furthers his global mission through lecturing, performing, and promoting conflict resolution.
Key moments

Presenter: Michael Ausbon, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts

This may be a surprise to many, but Christmas decorating has not always been the frenzy it is today. Explore how the tradition of decorating has changed through the years, and learn how you can create a festive holiday décor that’s perfect for any time period.

Presenter: Johanna Metzgar Brown, Curator of Moravian Decorative Arts, Old Salem Museums & Gardens, Winston-Salem 

According to a December 1894 issue of The Wachovia Moravian, “The Moravians know how to keep Christmos [sic].” Many of those Christmas customs, such as Christmas Eve love feasts, date back centuries; others, like candle tea, have been added in recent times to highlight and share Moravian traditions with the community. Brown, a Moravian, herself, will share heartwarming stories of Moravian Christmas celebrations through the centuries and present objects from the Old Salem collection that can teach us about Christmases past. 

Brown has a BA in American studies and anthropology from Salem College and an MA in history museum studies from the graduate program in Cooperstown, New York. She began working at Old Salem in 1991 and has served in a variety of curatorial positions there and with the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA). She has written for a variety of publications, lectured on Moravian and Southern material culture, and curated exhibits for the 250th anniversary of Salem’s founding and the Dianne H. Furr Moravian Decorative Arts Gallery at MESDA; she also co-curated the exhibition Art in Clay: Masterworks of North Carolina Earthenware.

Presenter: Skip Elsheimer, Founder, A/V Geeks LLC, and Host, Home Movie Day Raleigh

In honor of this special holiday, Elsheimer, who is also a collaborator for the museum’s Longleaf Film Festival, will present an hour of home movies featuring veterans and discuss the importance of home movies to families and our common cultural history.