Centuries鈥� worth of stories left untold by the millions of enslaved men, women and children linger among the cypress trees and cotton fields of the American Deep South. 鈥淲oven Wind,鈥� led by Vanderbilt Professor of Art ,, is a collaborative research project that weaves together archival research, community engagement and artistic expression to create a vibrant tapestry of remembrance and reconciliation, honoring these untold stories and empowering the descendants of enslaved people.
Since it began six years ago, 鈥溾�� has received several significant grants, the most recent being this month鈥檚 18-month, $40,000 grant from the . Earlier grants, such as the Tennessee Arts Commission Arts Access Grant in 2022 and Mellon Partners for Humanities Education Collaboration Grant, in partnership with Tennessee State University, in 2021, helped support the NEA grant application.
The success of the NEA grant was also bolstered by a in 2022, which helped further develop the project and enhance its competitiveness for federal funding.
鈥淲oven Wind鈥� brings together a diverse array of institutions and disciplines. While Vanderbilt, through Pavlovi膰, has been central to the project, other institutions have played major roles as well.
has contributed significantly through community engagement and curatorial expertise via the . The (Sewanee) has provided archival access and historical research. , from , helped facilitate with the descendant communities.
鈥淰esna鈥檚 powerful and important work sheds light on a lost part of our country鈥檚 history,鈥� said Timothy P. McNamara, dean of the College of Arts and Science. 鈥淭hrough the 鈥榃oven Wind鈥� project, she expertly blends research, history, the community and visual art to bring these human stories to life.鈥�
鈥淲oven Wind鈥� began in fall 2018, when Pavlovi膰 joined the at Sewanee, which was investigating Sewanee鈥檚 historical ties to slavery. The work led to the in the university鈥檚 archives, containing extensive documents and plantation records related to the Lovell-Quitman family of Natchez, Mississippi, who were closely connected to the university after the Civil War.
鈥淲e see the papers and diaries detailing the lives of the donor family 鈥� (but) we know nothing about the enslaved. We learn their names, their value, their age,鈥� from the plantation inventories, but nothing else, Pavlovi膰 said. As an immigrant and artist specializing in photographic archives, Pavlovi膰 was both captivated and challenged by the task of honoring these narratives without perpetuating historical trauma. 鈥淚 grappled with how to approach this project and do it justice.鈥�
Students at Sewanee researched inventories listing the names and estimated ages of hundreds of enslaved people forced to work the Quitman family鈥檚 five plantations. They turned that research into a 45-minute spoken word performance intended to honor those individuals, who will never be known beyond the document. That was the first public display for 鈥淲oven Wind.鈥�
鈥溾�榃oven Wind鈥� is a living, breathing project that evolves with each exhibition, workshop and performance,鈥� Pavlovi膰 said.
As a living project, 鈥淲oven Wind鈥� has evolved through phases of deep listening and engagement with descendants of those enslaved on the Quitman plantations. Pavlovi膰 wove a new fabric of narratives culminating in a series of oral history recordings and a poignant 35-minute film, 鈥淭oles Family Going Home,鈥� which premiered in 2023. The film highlights the voices of the descendants with their stories of resilience and reclamation. Pavlovi膰 had logistical support for the project from the . Her collaborators were Nashville artist Courtney Adair Johnson, director of TSU鈥檚 Hiram Van Gordon Gallery; genealogist Jan Hillegas, who specializes in Mississippi African American family history; and community advocate Short-Colomb.
The term 鈥淲oven Wind鈥� has been used to describe fine cotton fabric, like muslin, symbolizing the light and airy nature of textiles. The project reinterprets this metaphor, historically linked to slavery through cotton, into a symbol that weaves together diverse narratives from the past and present.
In the project鈥檚 evolution, another powerful symbol emerged鈥攃ypress knees, a woody outgrowth of a cypress tree鈥檚 shallow, horizontal roots that extend above the normal water level, allowing the trees to live submerged in the plantations鈥� swamps. For Pavlovi膰, they represent the resilience of the enslaved and their descendants. The creation of abstract clay vessels that represent these knees by community members during workshops serves as an act of reparative justice. 鈥淓ach vessel, whether hollow, wheel-thrown or hand-built, carries the weight of collective memory and individual interpretation,鈥� Pavlovi膰 said. She describes these objects as 鈥渇amily members,鈥� bearing the 鈥渇ingerprints and emotional traces of their creators.鈥�
Currently, Pavlovi膰 is experimenting with materials bound to the geographical and historical context of the stories. Using Mississippi River clay to create special inks for printing photographs of the clay vessels, she connects the stories and artwork through the physical landscape.
With the recently announced NEA funding, the future of 鈥淲oven Wind鈥� is bright with a scheduled performance and exhibition at Nashville鈥檚 next year. The event will feature new edits for the Toles video, a live music performance by Rod McGaha and the First Amendment ensemble an integrated exhibition that further explores the themes of memory, identity and reparative history. Photographs printed with the Mississippi River clay-based ink will be on view at the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art in parallel with the NMAAM exhibition.
鈥淲oven Wind鈥� exemplifies the power of art to bridge the gaps between past and present, serving as a catalyst for community healing and historical reevaluation. By transforming archival materials into dynamic expressions of art and memory, Pavlovi膰 and her team invite us to reconsider what we think we know about history and engage with it in profoundly new ways.
About Scaling Success and Research Development and Support
The is an internal funding award designed to support faculty in scaling up to increasingly impactful team research, scholarship and creative works, including securing larger awards from external sponsors like the NEA. This program aids faculty on projects that have already attracted interest from federal, foundation or industry sponsors, helping to further develop the project or team before formal submission. , within the , assists faculty by coordinating funding opportunities, developing strategic sponsor relationships and diversifying funding portfolios. For more information, email rds@vanderbilt.edu