The Parable

Courtesy the Artists

“The site of the MLK memorial will be a launchpad into the future, from the legacy of the Civil Rights era will be born a new emancipation, one which unites humanity by connecting the present to the future and allowing the past to pass by, like the view of the earth from inside a spaceship, flying away.” —Alexandro Segade

The Parable is a performance in which a local African-American choir sings a new composition by Malik Gaines, with words adapted by Alexandro Segade, based on the speculative religion Earthseed, created by Octavia Butler in her speculative fictions The Parable of The Sower and The Parable of the Talents. The tenets of Earthseed propose that humanity evolve in new situations in new places in the universe. At heart is a drive toward space travel as a means of re-contextualizing humanity, to unite people across racial, sexual and other identificatory divides.

A visionary, futuristic, optimistic and enormous post-world view made powerfully through the combination of words, voice, music, video, performance and science-fiction spectacle.

About the Artist

Courtesy the Artists is a New York-based collaboration between Malik Gaines and Alexandro Segade. Best known for their work with the group My Barbarian, Gaines and Segade have collaborated for over 20 years on projects that bring together performance, music, and visual art.  Courtesy the Artists invites other creative collaborators to make performances responding to historical texts that shape our current moment.