PREVIEW: “Pull Up” to C.R.E.A.T.E. for a Can’t-Miss, Historical Cabaret
02/27 @ C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios, Saratoga Springs
For a truly unique and impactful Friday night experience, Saratoga Springs is where it’s at. Tomorrow night, C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios is hosting a “speak-easy style cabaret” that you’re not going to want to miss.
Dubbed Pull Up!, the cabaret is being presented in support of Erasing Spaces and Faces: The Legacy of Urban Removal in Saratoga Springs, an ongoing collaborative project that shines a light on the impacts of Black community displacement in the area. The event will include light fare and cocktails, an art auction and live performances from Garland Nelson, Donald Hyman and Tops of Trees, all to raise money and awareness for local Black artists.
For the last five years, Julie Lewis of C.R.E.A.T.E. and Joy King — great-granddaughter of Frederick Allen, an original charter member of the Black Elks Lodge — have been collaborating on Erasing Spaces and Faces. This important project seeks to look at Saratoga Springs through a historical lens, specifically in regards to the “urban removal” efforts of the ‘60s. These government-backed efforts led to the demolition of Saratoga’s West Side, spanning Broadway to Beekman Street. In the years before, this neighborhood was thriving with BIPOC families and Black-owned businesses like Jack’s Harlem Club, a venue which once welcomed musical legends like Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington.
And then it was gone.
Pull Up! hopes to transport attendees back to a time before urban removal, reviving vital moments and spaces in local Black history. The project features contributions from local artists including Marcus Kwame Anderson, Francelise Dawkins, Royal G. Brown, Jen Wojtowicz, and more, all providing their own unique interpretations of this time period. Featured filmmaker Careina Yard will also be screening portions of a documentary she is making on this very subject. Don’t miss the chance to be a part of this artistic restoration of erased histories, rife with local talent.
For more information about the event and the Erasing Spaces and Faces project, visit https://www.createcommunitystudios.org/projects/erasing-spaces---faces
