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WEKU
WEKU
National
Neda Ulaby

A slavery-era instrument is on the National Mall, singing 'songs of liberation'

The Katastwóf Karavan is built from a steel frame mounted to lumber running gear with red oak and muslin wall panels, a propane fired boiler, water tank, gas generator and a brass and steel 38-note steam calliope. (Robert Shelley/National Gallery of Art)

An unusual artwork in the Sculpture Garden on the National Mall also makes unusual sounds: archaic and uncanny.

It's an old-fashioned steam calliope, an instrument once commonly seen in carnivals and on riverboats many decades ago. But this calliope was designed in 2018 by a leading American artist, Kara Walker, and plays music composed by Jason Moran, a luminary in the world of jazz.

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