Holding Space takes place on sidewalks in Mid-Manhattan, NY. The conversation is derived from personal experiences moving through spaces in America as a black woman. Ignited by what was called the #DontMoveOffTheSidewalkChallenge by writer Hanna Drake, I was moved to create a performance walking in a straight line, down a sidewalk, wavering for only children and elderly. This is to bring up conversations around women being over apologetic, and black women especially, not being seen in society. Thinking about systematic trailings of the generational psychological effects of slavery, Jim Crow and racism that conditioned black people to subconsciously be more “aware” and “cautious” of interrupting a white persons path, this is my attempt to unlearn/rebel against that.

Video with sound
2:55 min.

Mama Always Told Me It’ll Be Alright, 2020

Reflecting on the times that I have given myself permission to mentally decompress, music has always been a major part of that practice.

It has been a way for me to cultivate an environment that felt familiar when no other physical space has.

In moments when I need to self-soothe,

I hum.

A comfort I learned from my mother.

My mother, who is a preacher

and singer,

would hum while cooking, while cleaning, while rocking in a chair,

while rubbing my back,

just

humming and singing.

Humming everything from gospel

to Negro spirituals.

Thinking about these memories that reach down to the center of my soul and feel

SO much like home,

I can find liberation from this world knowing that

as a

black

woman,

in this exact moment,

I don't have to be “strong” or on the front lines or screaming or shouting

…or crying.

I can just be me.

I can sit with this jar of coconut oil and I can rebell,

silently,

in this moment.

“Don't worry 'bout the small things,

I know I can do all things,

Mama always told me it would be alright”*

* “Coconut Oil by Lizzo”