'Sampling Black Life': Allie Martin Discusses LoC Project

Assistant Professor Allie Martin, a current artist/scholar-in-residence with the Connecting Communities Digital Initiative at the Library of Congress, spoke with the iniative's staff for an interview posted to the Library's blog Of the People. Martin's project, Sampling Black Life: Soundscapes and Critical Intention, aims to reflect critically and ethically on recordings from three American Folklife Center collections: Voices Remembering Slavery, the Chicago Ethnic Arts Project, and Now What a Time: Blues, Gospel, and the Fort Valley Music Festivals. 

In her project, Martin says, "I'm sampling...collections at the Library to make soundscape compositions that challenge us to sample as ethically and intentionally as we possibly can."

On Sunday and Monday, Martin presented her work in a discussion and workshop at the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival with artist Maya Freelon. And on June 24, she presented her project in a listening session at the Library's Summer Fuse event. 

You can read the full edited interview on the Library of Congress blog here.