Cliff Oliver & Battenkill Inspired

Cliff Oliver is one of the best people in Greenwich. His provocative slave narrative photographs, which utilize the Battenkill river, will stir your soul. & if you ever have the chance to catch one of his re-enactments of Solomon Northup of Twelve Years a Slave fame, take it.

Cliff (Harlem Hellfighter) & I (Suffragist Cyclist) at the 2018 Whipple City Days parade

Cliff Oliver as Solomon Northup

I hope you enjoy the video. Currently, all of the Battenkill Inspired videos can be seen at kiosks at Crandall Public Library, & Greenwich Free Library. Or you can view the videos on the Folklife Center's YouTube channel. There are currently 28 shorts, including films on Bob Warren, Susan B. Anthony, Eddy Plow Works, & the Gill Room.

Twelve Years is a Long Time to Hope, 2014 redwork embroidery by Tisha Dolton 

"Battenkill Inspired: The Flow of Creativity, Ingenuity, and the River" celebrates art and culture throughout the Battenkill watershed. Videos are released weekly as part of the celebration of the Folklife Center's 25th anniversary and Crandall Library's 125th year. . Filmed, Directed, and Edited by Kevin Rogan, Sara LaPell, Hannah DeGarmo & Todd DeGarmo Opening & closing music composed by Benjamin Phelps Closing image: "River Reflections" by George Van Hook www.georgevanhookartist.com Produced by Todd DeGarmo 2017 based on the exhibit, Battenkill Inspired Folklife Gallery January to June 2015 Funding for this project came from a 2017 Corridor of Commerce Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership Additional support was provided by: New York State Council on the Arts - Folk Arts Program Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust Helen & Michael Casper Fellowship for Internship Support