SHRINE: A site of renewal, discovery, and personal and collective healing
A program that uplifts and recognizes Black m/others, artists, creatives, and activists by honoring their creation of sacred and holy spaces as sites of resistance and struggle
"Mommies Vs. Aunties," Naomi Chambers
Mommies Vs. Aunties is constructed in a playful fashion – precisely what the installation’s themes are rooted in, along with health, wellness and personal goal-building. A simulated soccer field is adorned with concrete cones, a collection of black swans and a television stream.
Mommies Vs Aunties (2022) by Naomi ChambersMattress Factory
In the video, Chambers coaches other Black women who identify as mothers and/or aunts various life skills. All stands before an enormous end goal, inviting the viewer to work through their personal battles and celebrate their accomplishments in collaboration with the artist.
"Soul Culture," Renée Cox
In this multiple room installation that is deeply concerned with the racial discrepancies in society, Renée Cox explores Black identity through photography, collage, video and other media, using the body to displace religious symbols from the white-centric paradigm.
Soul Culture (2022) by Renee CoxMattress Factory
Developed with international and interdisciplinary team of Carnegie Mellon University grad students SoulRounded, this collaborative team designed, developed and constructed two new worlds using imagery, projection mapping and other innovative, interactive tools and technologies.
"A Constant Struggle for Reciprocity," Mary Martin
A blue-hued room serves as a calming backdrop for an active tea ceremony full of various small objects and vessels made of clay, wood, fiber and glass. The artist describes the vessels as containers of spiritual and physical realms that have the ability to both give and receive.
A Constant Struggle for Reciprocity (2022) by Mary MartinMattress Factory
Martin weaves distant ancestral connections & the natural world, and her west African roots & ancestry. Her functional pieces are intended for gatherings that bring humanity together, honor tradition, reclaim time and make space for reciprocal exchange despite our differences.
"How Deep Is Your Love," LaKeisha Wolf
Cotton string stretching from floor to ceiling serves as a beautiful reminder of the artist’s personal and spiritual growth. The environment feels deeply personal and fully charged by countless gemstones, crystals, salts & other natural elements that activate all of the senses.
How Deep Is Your Love (2022) by LaKeisha WolfMattress Factory
The centerpiece of the space is Wolf’s medicine wheel, made up of herbs and plant medicine that the artist harvested naturally from the earth. It is a strikingly physical representation of the love reflected back to the artist from Mother Earth on her journey as a Black woman.
"Remnants, Portals and Power," Alisha B Wormsley
Much of Alisha B Wormsley’s work is focused on creating what she has referred to as a “thriving radical Black dimension.” This meditative void offers a glimpse into the artist’s deep investigation into themes of family dreamscapes, sister and m/other-hood, and science fiction.
Remnants, Portals and Power: The Afterlife (2022) by Alisha B WormsleyMattress Factory
Remnants, Portals and Power: The Afterlife includes an altar adorned with candles, offerings, crystals & personal objects, a two-channel wall projection and three dryer salon chairs with pyramid helmets that feature a series of excerpts from Wormsley’s “children of NAN” archive.
"7," sarah huny young
A lush underground sanctuary blanketed with vines of ivy, eucalyptus, and wisteria. This grotto houses six towering Black goddesses who live harmoniously in a space where cultural lines are nonexistent. The goddesses are all tied into motherhood, fertility, vengeance and rage.
7 (2022) by sarah huny youngMattress Factory
And “7”, highly symbolic in numerology and multiple cultures, religions, antiquities, and practices, is ultimately a reminder, as the artist says, “to every Black woman who steps in this space that self-preservation begins with a worship within one’s self and in one’s likeness."
SHRINE is presented in partnership between the Mattress Factory and Sibyls Shrine, an arts collective and residency program rooted in the radical care, rest and support for Black women, womxn, trans women, and femmes who are m/others and identify as artists, creatives, and/or activists.
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.