Black Women as/and the Living Archive

Washington Project for the Arts is pleased to announce “Black Women as/and the Living Archive,” curated by DC-based, interdisciplinary artist Tsedaye Makonnen. “Black Women as/and the Living Archive” is a virtual film, performance, and talk series aimed at initiating a conversation about the modes in which Black women encode, preserve, and share memory through community. Central to Makonnen’s inquiry is Children of NAN: Mothership, a recent film by Alisha Wormsley that functions as a metaphor for the survival and power of Black women in a dystopic future.

Artist-curator Tsedaye Makonnen writes about the project: “I see myself (a mother, Black woman, artist, and conduit of Light) throughout Alisha Wormsley’s practice and film, Children of NAN: Mothership. Wormsley’s film carries material that we all need to acknowledge, uphold, understand, and absorb in order to survive the present and thrive in the future. The message is clear — until Black women are supported, loved, and nourished in our eternal role as the Creator, none of us are going to make it, period.”

Over the course of six weeks, Makonnen will bring together Wormsley and many of the cast and collaborators of Children of NAN: Mothership for a film screening, a reading, two performances, and a discussion. The participants include artists Li Harris, Autumn Knight, Jasmine Hearn, Jamila Raegan, and curator, Ingrid LaFleur. Additionally, Ola Ronke, creator of The Free Black Women’s Library, contributes an annotated bibliography of five books, inspired by Wormsley’s film.

Black Women as/and the Living Archive programs are organized around four themes: Space, Moving Image, Memory; Collective Memory; Pleasure Memory; and Mama Memory [& Care]. All programs are open to the public and require an RSVP to join online (except those that take place on Instagram).

SPACE, MOVING IMAGE, MEMORY

A Pre-Screening Happy Hour w/ Alisha Wormsley & Li Harris
Instagram Live Event
Friday, May 1 at 5:01-6 pm

A Double Feature Screening of Alisha Wormsley’s film Children of NAN: Mothership and Li Harris’s film Cry of the Third Eye: The Last Resort
Virtual Event
Saturday, May 2 at 6–8 pm

COLLECTIVE MEMORY

A Reading by Ola Ronke, from N.K. Jemisin’s book How Long Til’ Black Futures Month Instagram Event
Wednesday, May 27 beginning at 12 pm

A Newly Commissioned Performance, The Length, by Autumn Knight inspired by Alisha Wormsley’s film Children of NAN: Mothership
Virtual Event
Thursday, May 28 at 8:30–9:15 pm

PLEASURE MEMORY

A Performance using Embodied Sound, Storytelling, and Dance by Jasmine Hearn
Virtual Event
Saturday, June 6 at 5–6:30 pm

MAMA MEMORY [&CARE]

An Informal Discussion with all Participants and Special Guests: Ingrid LaFleur and Jamila Moor
Virtual Event
June 13 at 6–8 pm