“Recognition Beyond Sight” for:

IT AIN’T ALL BLACK AND WHITE 

It surely isn’t. In fact, it’s entirely nuanced beyond explanation. To those who are familiar with the Black experience at large, it is characterized by something intuitive—shared between head nods, polyrhythms and slow-cooked meals—all riddled with ancestral memory. This is something not only worthy of acknowledgement, but of continual exploration. An avenue to achieving a level of constant regard for this state of being is to create rituals of respect, gratitude, and reflection. 

To simply live the Black experience is one phenomenon, while carefully making oneself aware of all its aspects is another. In “Recognition Beyond Sight”, attendees will be guided by Mona Abraham—a multidisciplinary artist and organizer—through a workshop in identifying the nuanced experiences of their global diasporic community. In this intimate setting, guests are invited to re-acquaint themselves within the gallery space to sit amongst each other and engage in discourse. A series of prompts will be given to ask participants to recall elements of their life and select moments in and out of the photographs to align them with. 

This will be an exploration of building familiarity with mutual experiences that already exist within the individual–a gateway to finding solace in the collective and the self. Emphasis will be placed on the value of introspection to be had on a daily basis. To practice the “liberation of introspection” is not extraneous, but rather essential in emotional rest from the demands of life.