On 6 Feet / A Message of Hope / Thank the Workers

Students in Duke’s MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts program created three short films for the spring 2021 graduate seminar class taught by Phyllis B. Dooney (MFA/EDA ’18). The films were inspired by artist Carrie Mae Weems’s outdoor exhibition RESIST COVID / TAKE 6!

On 6 Feet is a short animation that takes you around historical Durham. You see the artist’s Carrie Mae Weems’s Resist Covid/Take 6! public awareness campaign on buildings, subway stations, and store windows. The animation highlights the gravity of COVID on BIPOC communities using the Resist Covid/Take 6! campaign. As we highlight these critical topics, we also thank the frontline workers that have sustained communities during the global pandemic. Collaboration by Ivy Williams and Shirin Maleki.

A Message of Hope is a short film documenting reactions by members of the Durham community to Carrie Mae Weems’s outdoor exhibition RESIST COVID / TAKE 6! The film explores the disparate perceptions of the pandemic and the impact of Weems’s work in raising awareness of social inequity. The film was created by Emma Geiger, Nathan Wright and Taoyuan Jin.

Thank the Workers is a short film exploring the feelings and opinions of those on the front line, as well as thanking them for their continued service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The film seeks to continue the relationship between art and social justice as well as honor the work of Carrie Mae Weems. Created by Lily Frame, Marie Gayeski and Emily MacDiarmid.