UMBRA

Umbra is dedicated to your existence and your experiences. 

Far too often, you are overlooked, ignored, and interrupted. It is my hope that in this exhibit you feel centered, validated, and heard.

Intersectionality has been co-opted by the ignorant and privileged. In reality, intersectionality was created in response to the unique racist, sexist, and classist experiences that you go through everyday. Whether it be the racial gaze and awe of your magic, adultification bias, police brutality, sexism within religious institutions, feeling the obligation to save everyone but yourself, apologizing for the guilt and fragility of White women, dying at the hands of biased doctors, being angry (and rightfully so), fighting so hard you have nothing left to give, or fixing this horrible world you didn’t even create– YOUR EXPERIENCES ARE REAL. Even though this system was created to erase your existence, you are seen.

Your call to action throughout this show, beautiful Black womxn, is to breathe deeply, smile big, cry when needed, and write about your experiences. Your call to action after this exhibit is to breathe deeply, smile big, cry when needed, and find joy. 

You deserve joy Black womxn.

Umbra centers the experiences of Black womxn. 

You might feel sad, frustrated, or angry– but understand that your feelings do not change the experiences of Black womxn. In fact, your overwhelming guilt harms Black womxn because you to fail to act when Black womxn need you most.

Intersectionality is a term meant to describe intersecting marginalized identities, not just two identities that intersect. Understand that all of the issues presented to you today– also involve you. Gaze, control, savior, (d)anger, burden, liberation– you are a contributor to each of these concepts. Seek to understand if you perpetuate the harm or find ways to remove and prevent it.

Your call to action throughout this exhibit is to accept the facts presented before you. These experiences are not left up to your “interpretation” of art– I make that very clear in the descriptions of each piece, so read them. Your call to action after the exhibition is to show up for Black womxn, open your mouth when you see a Black womxn being harmed, use your power to enact change, and fight for the liberation of Black womxn.