Black (they/them) is a renaissance, embodying the legacies of artists like Josephine Baker and Ntozake Shange, who were unapologetic and unbound in their creative expression. They were born on the ancestral and unceded land of the Massachusett people, (colonially known as Boston, MA). Raised by a family and community of artists and educators, Black inherited a reverence for creativity and its historic influence on the evolution of society and culture. From a young age, they both experienced and recognized racial and economic disparities that impacted access to the arts. This ignited their mission to become a creator, leader, and advocate within their communities.
Black is an Afro-Indigenous, genderqueer healing and teaching artist based in Bulbancha, on unceded Chitimacha, Choctaw, Tunica, Atakapa-Ishak, Hiuma, Cad, and Natchez territory, (or so-called New Orleans, LA.) They have been a youth worker, community artist, and organizer since Sunday School. After earning their B.A. in Communication from Boston College, with a double-minor in Theater and African Diaspora Studies, Black became dedicated to creative and liberatory practice. In 2016, they co-organized and hosted their first community event, “BYOB (Bring Your Own Blanket): A Black Arts Picnic.” Following BYOB, Black co-organized and led a discussion and healing space for BIPOC women in Boston called “Queens Talk.” They are passionate about cultivating community spaces and programming that nurture healing and liberation through creativity. This practice in worldbuilding nourishes Black’s own creative process. In 2016, Black wrote and self-published their first poetry chapbook titled Constellations*, a collection of poetry and haiku that captures personal reflections on love, self-image and the many ways we are divinely connected to the world around us.
Through anti/interdisciplinary creative practice, Black transcends the boundaries between art and form to create space for discovery and transformation. At the center of their work is reclaiming and reimagining holistic ways of understanding, affirming, and connecting to our lived experiences. Black is an Afrofuturist, conjuring and worldbuilding through the imagination in order to facilitate a sense of collectivity, wholeness and embodied wisdom. It is through this work that Black cultivates cultural and social transformation.
As a facilitator and teaching artist, Black is skilled in a variety of areas related to education and arts administration. Some of their proudest work has been as a three-time Director for True Colors (The Theater Offensive’s queer youth theater troupe), LTAB Slam Coach for 826 Boston, and writing instructor for Grubstreet. Their work as a freelance artist has also empowered them within entrepreneurship and creative practice. In 2017, Black was an inaugural awardee of the OUT’Hood Artist Residency at The Theater Offensive. This allowed them the opportunity to devise, direct, and perform in an original multimedia performance project: SPECULUM. Black was also nominated to be a Luminary Neighborhood Salon Artist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 2017. At the Gardner, Black engaged in community conversations with the Luminary Cohort, held creative workshops, performed + deejayed in the iconic courtyard.
Black has worked in various capacities with communities, nonprofits, and educational institutions across the U.S. In Spring of 2022, they earned a master’s degree from Lesley University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, specializing in Expressive Arts Therapy. Black now uses this knowledge and wisdom from their lived experience to offer support to individuals, communities, and orgs seeking wellness coaching and consultation.
