The Ancestors Project is an evolving community art making and performance project based on stories of ancestors who have inspired and guided us. This initiative is being led by Looking for Lilith Theatre Company through a series of community workshops, and the development of a community-based performance framework. Between January and August of 2023, LFL collaborated with different Community Partners throughout the Commonwealth, leading participants in activities exploring stories of their personal ancestors and transforming these stories into pieces of visual and performance art that were shared with fellow participants.
LFL is currently planning additional community workshops for the 2023-2024 season. The creations from last season's and this season's workshops will lead to the devising of a performance for the 2024-2025 season with the support of an NEA Challenge America grant. Participants and/or their stories may be featured in this performance. If you are interested in being a community partner or bringing an Ancestor's workshop to your location, contact shannon@lookingforlilith.org.
LFL defines "ancestor" as anyone who has come before you who has informed in some way the person that you are.
The 2022-2023 pilot program of The Ancestors Project was fully supported by the Kentucky Foundation for Women and Louisville Metro External Agency Fund and each workshop was completely free for participants and Community Partners. This project is also supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, for a public performance in 2024.
Become a Community Partner or bring a workshop to your location, community center or group. Pricing & fees are negotiable. Contact us below or reach out to shannon@lookingforlilith.org.
Download The Ancestor Project Flyer (pdf)
Shannon Woolley Allison, Co-Artistic Director
shannon@lookingforlilith.org | 502.638.2559
Community Partners participate in a 3-hour workshop designed for 10 to 25 participants. Each participant will be asked to bring with them a photograph* and story of an ancestor that is important to them. LFL facilitators will lead participants in theatre, visual art, and writing activities to bring to life their ancestors' stories. No prior arts experience is needed for participation.
*If no photograph is available, participants can bring a memento or other meaningful object connected to that ancestor.
Adelante Hispanic Achievers
Community Workshop Date: March 11, 2023
LFL has partnered with Adelante Hispanic Achievers since 2017 to bring GirlSpeak, a multi-week summer intensive, to their middle and high school Achievers as an extension of their Mentoring & Enrichment program. Each year, LFL Facilitators & Teaching Artists lead the Adelante EllasHablan (GirlSpeak) ensemble in crafting and presenting a play that explores ideas, issues and themes of their choice. Adelante Hispanic Achievers is a non-profit and volunteer-based organization which provides educational programs and resources to at-risk and underserved Hispanic/Latino middle and high school students and their families.
Berea College
Community Workshop Date: March 18, 2023
We have been partnering with Berea College ever since Peggy Rivage-Seul first invited us to perform at various Peanut Butter and Gender luncheons, leading to Convocations performances of Stranger/Extranjeras in 2010 and Defining Infinity in 2019. It has always been a natural fit, given our commitment to lifting up underheard voices and their commitment to providing accessible high-quality liberal arts education to young people of all races, primarily from Appalachia, who have great promise and limited economic resources. After bringing them stories for many years, now we get to work with them to lift up their ancestors’ underheard stories.
Highview Arts Center
Community Workshop Date: April 16, 2023
Highview Arts Center is a new neighborhood arts space in South Louisville, with a mission to ignite community engagement and promote the exchange of ideas through education and cultural expression. Long-time Louisville Metro Council Member James Peden sparked the original vision for HAC in an effort to make the arts more accessible to the community. Last summer, LFL partnered with Highview to host our 4-week summer intensive with Adelante Hispanic Achievers and a Cultural Pass performance of Mac’s World, and we are currently working together to offer various Summer Drama 2023 camps.
Kentucky Foundation for Women
Community Workshop Date: January 22, 2023
KFW has supported LFL since its inception, and we are so grateful for their support of this project, and excited that they will be hosting the first workshop in this series. Their mission to promote positive social change by supporting varied feminist expression in the arts has translated into KFW being an excellent ally and advocate to so many feminist art-makers, including LFL. This kick-off event will be open to the larger KFW community of feminist artist activists as well as stakeholders interested in the project, including those with interest in bringing the Ancestors Project to their community.
Muhammad Ali Center
Community Workshop Date: February 11, 2023
The Muhammad Ali Center is a multicultural center with an award-winning museum dedicated to the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali. The Center museum captures the inspiration derived from the story of Muhammad Ali’s incredible life and the Six Core Principles that fueled his journey. Their mission is to mobilize Muhammad Ali's legacy to foster respect, inspire generations of changemakers, and advance social justice. In the early days of LFL’ Racial Justice Initiative, the Ali Center guided LFL company members in a tour and reflection process based on the Race Exhibit. LFL is honored to work with them again.
Simmons College
Community Workshop Date: February 13, 2023
As Louisville’s only Historically Black College, we are excited to get to work with them to explore the stories of their community’s ancestors, who are so often under-represented in mainstream narratives. Back in 2020 and 2021, the LFL creations From Bardstown to Broadway: The Road to Votes for Women and The Suffrage Driving & Walking Tour gave us the opportunity to work with Simmons College to lift up Black Suffragists who taught, studied and met at Simmons College over a century ago. Working with them on The Ancestors Project is the perfect next step in our partnership.
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.