Cultural Production or Social Practice
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There Are Black People In The Future
There are Black People in the Future is inspired by afro-futurist artists and writers who highlight the need for Black people to claim their place. Through the inscription and utterance of the words, ‘There are Black People in the Future,’ the project addresses systemic oppression of black communities through space and time by reassuring the presence of Black bodies. In 2017, Wormsley placed these words on a billboard in East Liberty, a neighborhood in Pittsburgh’s east end that has suffered gentrification. When the billboard was removed by the city, community members protested, in response to this community support, Wormsley has raised grant money to artists, activists, and community workers in Pittsburgh and Houston around their interpretation of the phrase “There Are Black People in the Future”. Since then, the billboard has been replicated in Detroit, Charlotte, New York City, , Kansas City and Houston, internationally London, Accra and Qatar. The text, which Wormsley encourages others to use freely, has since been used in protest, critical art theory, essays, song, testimony and collective dreaming.
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An Invitation for Black and Indigenous Artists to Dream
A workshop given by Suzanne Kite and Alisha B. Wormsley in 2020 and 2021 where Black and Indigenous artists were invited to come together through the collective practice of dreaming and healing work – as an artistic and activist practice, to strengthen communities, and as a revolutionary act.
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Sibyls Shrine: an arts residency for Black Mothers
Sibyls Shrine is a new artist residency for Black women, womxn, trans women, and femmes who are mothers and identify as artists, creatives, and/or activists in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania created in 2019 by Alisha B Wormsley. www.sibylsshrine.com
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The People Are the Light
The People Are the Light, a project by Alisha B Wormsley, spans public art, social practice, performance, installation, film and publication. A month-long series of events that Wormsley curated in Homewood as part of the Hillman Photography Initiative. Wormsley partnered with twelve artists and collaborators to launch two site-specific installations and ten workshops in the community on subjects such as restorative writing, yoga and meditation, hair art, and the Black Maker Movement.
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River Roots
The River Roots rainwater project will capture the community’s history with water using a design that sets an example for water stories of the future. Alisha Wormsley, the selected artist, has been leading the community outreach and design process for the project.
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We Came From The Stars
For this park art design, titled, We Came From the Stars, I collaborated with children from ACH Clear Pathways to create drawings and collages that explored themes of time and space. This provided a starting point for the artwork, which creates a series of views into the past, present and future of the Hill District.