The Old Manse is a National Historic Landmark built in 1770 and former home and gathering place for politicians, deep thinkers, and transcendentalists including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Sam Durant, known for his multimedia works that take a critical view on our social, political, and cultural tropes (and often references American history), had created a structure on-site in the North Field near Old Manse that served as a meeting place for the local and surrounding community to discuss and debate relevant issues of the day such as slavery and segregation and their continuing impact on today’s society.

The artist says of his work, “[The Meeting House] seeks to make the connection between our difficult past, slavery and segregation, to the fact that we are still today unable to create the just society that our revolution promised. I believe that the aesthetic realm offers a unique way into such difficult and intractable issues.” The structure of The Meeting House itself referred directly to homes of the first emancipated African men and women in Concord. Over the course of the exhibition, The Meeting House pavilion was the host for a series of programs inviting visitors to participate in a dialogue about the issues brought to light by this thought-provoking work. These programs included workshops, readings, and discussions focused on African-American writing, philosophy, music, food, and spirituality.

In the spirit of 19th-century public events of the same name, the artist also organized four core Lyceum events. As part of the Lyceum, the floorboards of the pavilion gradually filled with poetry commissioned from notable African-American writers. When not busy with public programs, the pavilion functioned as a site for quiet contemplation and discussion for curious visitors to The Old Manse and Minute Man Park.