Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon, in collaboration with Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, serve as artists mentors, guides, and advocates for the project.
The Cartography Project
The Cartography Project
A new curatorial music program
A collaboration with the Kennedy Center’s Social Impact team, the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera, The Cartography Project is a multi-year commissioning project engaging artists from around the nation to map Black dignity and Black futures.
About the Project
Inspired by the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a visual interpretation of the moral trauma of our history, The Cartography Project seeks to use music both as a source of healing and as a way to open dialogue about the future of anti-racism. NSO, WNO, and the Kennedy Center have commissioned composers and librettists from all over the country to create work specific to their regions, responding to the question: “Where do we go from here?”
Click a State to Discover its Local Commissions
In Collaboration With
Project Mentors
Filmmaker
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MECCA Filmworks
Black Futures
The Cartography Project | Black Futures
The Cartography Project | Black Futures
Black Dignity
The Cartography Project | Black Dignity
The Cartography Project | Black Dignity
AS FEATURED IN CENTER MAGAZINE
Mapping the Way Forward
The Cartography Project empowers Black artistry nationwide.
The January-February 2025 issue of CENTER magazine features an in-depth look at The Cartography Project, the Kennedy Center’s Social Impact initiative that engages Black artists in cities around the country and encourages them to explore fields historically inaccessible to them.
Sponsors
Mellon Foundation
The Social Impact Endowment Fund Shelley and Allan Holt, Principal Founding Contributors
Amazon Web Services, The Microsoft Corporation, The Orlebeke Foundation
Additional support provided by
Bernstein Family Foundation, the Microsoft Corporation, and the Orlebeke Foundation