CONTACT INFORMATION BlackRock Center for the Arts Amanda Moskowitz, Director of Marketing and Communications 703.785.8151 amoskowitz@blackrockcenter.org
GERMANTOWN, MD — February 3, 2021 – BlackRock Center for the Arts announced today a program to watch, engage, discuss, and create a piece of Montgomery County history. The Finding Fellowship Series, presented in partnership with The Pleasant View Historical Association (PVHA), BlackRock, and Docs In Progress, is a two-month program exploring the dynamic role African Americans played in the founding and development of the Quince Orchard Gaithersburg community.
The program centers around the documentary, Finding Fellowship, which was produced by local director, Jason Green. The 60-minute film tells the story of how three racially-segregated churches– two white and one black– merged into one congregation in the wake of Dr. King’s assassination.
“The documentary, Finding Fellowship, is not just a story about faith and how it brought together an otherwise segregated community,” says Jason Green, director of Finding Fellowship. “It is a story of our very recent, very local history that echoes the need for reconciliation in our present. It’s a story that tells us that we can—and need to—come together.”
The Finding Fellowship Series, will run from February 1 through April 11, 2021 and include the following opportunities for engagement:
Series of interviews with Finding Fellowship main participants
Free five-day screening of the documentary, Finding Fellowship
Live Q&A with the film’s director and producer, Jason Green
Five-week documentary workshop for students (Grades 8th - 12th)
Closing Reception and Fundraiser for the PVHA
“We are so excited to partner with Jason to bring you this exciting series,” says Keelyn Mitchell, Artistic Director at BlackRock. “Through this film and all the programmatic elements, we have the opportunity to help our community discover stories that remind us that we all have the ability to shape the kind of world we want to live in.”
Donations made as part of the film screening and the closing reception will support the Pleasant View Historical Association, who is raising capital to restore and preserve the three- acree historic site of the original school, church, and cemetery.
The Finding Fellowship Series launches this coming Monday, February 1st on the BlackRock website at www.blackrockcenter.org/findingfellowship.
If you have questions about viewing the film, Finding Fellowship, or the documentary workshop, please contact Keelyn Mitchell, Artistic Director (kmitchell@blackrockcenter.org).
If you have questions about supplemental education material, please contact Katie Hecklinger, Chief Programming Officer (khecklinger@blackrockcenter.org).
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ABOUT BLACKROCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS
BlackRock Center for the Arts is a nonprofit cultural arts center in the heart of Germantown, Maryland. Our mission is to bring inspiring performing and visual arts experiences to diverse audiences in a welcoming and intimate setting, providing opportunities to explore, celebrate and engage in the arts.
ABOUT THE PLEASANT VIEW HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
The Trustees of the Pleasant View Historical Association oversee the historic Pleasant View site located on Darnestown Road in North Potomac, MD. The three-acre site, originally procured in 1868, comprises the former Quince Orchard Colored School, the Pleasant View Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Pleasant View Cemetery. The Pleasant View Historic Site was once the center of the African American community of Quince Orchard, MD and continues to stand as a testament to the history and triumph of the African American legacy. The mission of the PVHA is to preserve this site and its stature for generations to come.
ABOUT DOCS IN PROGRESS
Docs In Progress creates and fosters a supportive community for documentary filmmakers. By developing, encouraging, and celebrating new and diverse voices in documentary film, we also seek to deepen the public’s experience, understanding, and appreciation for documentary as a form of art and expression. We do this by offering an array of programs and services aimed at aspiring and experienced documentary filmmakers and the broader community.
RESOURCES AND LINKS
The Pleasant View Historical Association Site www.pleasantviewsite.org
The Quince Orchard Project https://thequinceorchardproject.com/community/
Finding Fellowship: The Film https://findingfellowship.film/
Docs In Progress https://www.docsinprogress.org/
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