21c Louisville is proud to continue our collaboration with 90.5 WUOL to present New Lens, a free concert series exploring diverse and intriguing sounds and ideas in new music, art and society.

April’s event brings a variety of artists together to reflect on and interrogate the violence systemic racism perpetuates against Black people, both throughout history and today.

The centerpiece of the program is Joel Thompson’s “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed,” a setting of the final words of seven, unarmed Black men killed by police and bystanders. The words of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Kenneth Chamberlain, Amadou Diallo, and John Crawford are sung by a choir of tenors and basses, with strings and piano.

Phillip Morgan will conduct, and will also sing “Two Black Churches” by Shawn Okpebholo, a reflection on the bombings of two Black churches separated by five decades: The 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama and the 2015 Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

NouLou Chamber Players will play on Thompson’s work, and will present Rhiannon Giddens’ “At the Purchaser’s Option” arranged by Jacob Garchik, a song based on 19th-century advertisement for a 22-year-old female slave, and her 9-month-old baby for sale, but “at the purchaser’s option.”

New Lens is free, but seating is limited and a ticket is required by visiting Eventbrite.com.

Attendees are encouraged to arrive early, grab a cocktail and view the current exhibitions at 21c or visit Proof on Main to enjoy some culinary artistry. Seating opens at 6:30 p.m. and the program begins at 7 p.m. Concerts will be held in the museum’s atrium.

In the interest of maintaining safety for artists and attendees, masks will be required in the event space (Atrium) only. COVID protocols are subject to change based on the safety level of Jefferson County as tracked by the CDC. We will communicate any changes through email provided with your Eventbrite registration.

For those wishing to enjoy the performance virtually, a video of the event will also stream live on the 90.5 WUOL @classicallouisville Facebook page.