Wall text passage, excerpt from Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's 2018 interview with Dionne Brand. "Historically Indigenous and Black artists have been visionaries in our struggles and movements. They have also affirmed our presence—created temporary spaces of joy and freedom, and enabled me to go on. In the academy I think about things, and lecture about things, but in performance I can set up space together with an audience to share something different. I really liked creating these islands of freedom, little glimpses of freedom where we stand together and we get to feel, just for a second maybe, what freedom might be like, and to get that feeling into our bones. These spaces open up different possibilities. These spaces are not just spaces of refusal, they are also generative. They are also spaces of joy and possibility. I love how Ashon Crawley writes about the importance of joy."
Temporary Spaces of Joy and Freedom. Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 2020.