DC-based interdisciplinary artist Tsedaye Makonnen presents “Black Women as/and the Living Archive,” a multi-part project 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 Professor Alisha Wormsley that functions as a metaphor for the survival and power of Black women in a dystopic future. The project will take place online May 2 through June 13.
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, and Jasmine Hearn. 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]. The afterlife of the project will exist as a publication that will serve as a repository for the conversations and intimate interactions between participants and the audience.