Social Practice

2006
Political Fruit was originally included in the exhibition A Conversation At the Table at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, PA. Seeking to use fine art as a tool for direct aid, in the piece I distributed parcels of fruit wrapped in hand printed silk scarves to the house-less residents of St. John’s Hospice in Philadelphia. 

2007–2017
Over the course of ten years I accompanied and worked with Christina Roberts, Director of Education at the Fabric Workshop; Cynthia Porter, textile artist; and Lucy Lau Bigham, founder of Tosheka Textiles on a textile education and economic enrichment project in Wote, Kenya called Marafiki Arts. Graduates from our program become paid master-artisans in weaving, natural dying, and fiber-spinning. For this project, I volunteered as an assistant, documenting the process, creating social media content, and interfacing with students. Having had the unique opportunity to live and work in Africa during my formative years, this sense of global perspective informs my ethics and art making.

2016
I collaborated with artist John Stone on a piece entitled The Nine, honoring the victims of the Charleston Church Massacre. My drawings of the victims hung on the wall behind a bible sitting on a small table. Passages admonishing violence and exalting peace were highlighted, its pages bookmarked with images of assault weapons and bullets.

2020
In response to the renewal of the Black Lives Matter movement in summer of 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, national calls were made for our institutions to begin making systemic changes away from white supremacist hierarchy. Representing California College of the Art’s Students of Color Coalition, I acted as a liaison between CCA’s BIPOC student groups, staff, student union, alumni groups, and faculty to develop a strategy for racial and socio-economic equity at our institution. I worked closely with Former CCA President Stephan Beal and Provost Tammy Rae Carland as a commissioned DEIB Student Fellow to aid in the operationalization of our strategic plan.