Musician Rhiannon Giddens in Conversation with Helga Davis

About the Video

Grammy and MacArthur award-winner Rhiannon Giddens, founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, is no stranger to “unmasking” the arts, shedding light on African American contributions to folk and country music and bringing a deep, historical thread to contemporary music. Isolated from her American roots while in Ireland throughout the pandemic, she released a new album with partner Francesco Turrisi in April: They’re Calling Me Home, a tribute to the concept of both literal and figurative “home.” She discusses this and more with host Helga Davis in the final installment of our Unmasking the Arts conversation series.

“In this time and in this space of such upheaval and strife and economic and environmental devastation, how can I contribute to the conversation that is positive and that is looking forward to the kind of beautiful things of which we are capable…”

—Rhiannon Giddens