Conceptual Materials Social Practice Artist
I am giving a virtual lecture for the Mid Atlantic Fiber Association on March 28 at 7:00pm ET about Free Your Mind.
Free Your Mind is a collection of personal narratives. Participants are invited to share a personal experience with implicit bias to release this story from their personal narrative.
Please join me, registration is Free… HERE
And feel free to share your story HERE
Please join me for my artist talk this Saturday, October 15 from 1:00-2:00pm on Governors Island at to learn more about my social justice public art project Free Your Mind.
Location: Art Crawl Harlem House; 406b Colonels Row, Governors Island, NYC
Free Your Mind is a public textile art project aiming to collect, exhibit, embed and release personal narratives about Microaggressions in a multi-sensory installation facilitated by artist Theda Sandiford.
Participants are invited to write a story about a microaggression they have experienced onto a ribbon and tie this ribbon onto a net to release this story from their personal narrative. This is a story ribbon.
The installation evolves with each new story ribbon, keeping a public record of disempowering interactions, that can be exposed and talked about. Participants have the feeling of being seen and acknowledged while interacting with the work.
In 2021 Free Your Mind toured, collecting story ribbons in Bayonne NJ, Jersey City NJ, Sunsets @ The Standard, Miami Art Week. The installation is currently at Governors Island May through October 2022 and made stops in Indianapolis for Butter Fair. Free Your Mind is scheduled to travel to Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Newark and Michigan next year in 2023.
BUTTER seeks to push boundaries by elevating Black artists in the national conversation, promoting equity in the arts and fueling the creative economy. The multi-day fine art fair in Indianapolis will showcase the works of more than 50 Black visual artists from across the country. I am representing New Jersey with my installation “Free Your Mind” and my Emotional Baggage Cart series.
General admission tickets are available for purchase at www.butterartfair.com for $35 (guests 18 and under are free). Preview Night tickets (includes Thursday night access) will be available for purchase for $175.
I will be attending the VIP Preview night and part of opening day before heading back to Jerz.
Thursday, September 1: VIP Preview Night, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday, September 2: Opening Day and Night, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday, September 3: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Live Art Demos: August 6 and August 20 from 11a – 3pm.
Location: Governors Island, ArtCrawl Harlem house, 406b Colonels Row
The installation runs through the end of August 2022
Free Your Mind is a collection of personal narratives. Participants are invited to share a personal experience with implicit bias to release this story from their personal narrative. Later, artist Theda Sandiford will weave these stories into a protective blanket.
Share your Story here
Live Art Demos on July 23, July 30, August 6 and August 13 from 11a – 3pm.
Location: Governors Island, 406b Colonels Row
The installation is on display through the end of August 2022.
Come hang out and play with me while I live weave a new emotional baggage cart. Feel free to bring any recycled fibers or textiles to weave onto the cart. No experience necessary.
Live Art Demos on July 9, July 16, August 6 and August 20 from 11a – 3pm.
Location: Governors Island, 406b Colonels Row
The installation is on display through the end of August 2022.
Come hang out and play with me while I live weave a new emotional baggage cart.
Window Installation on display through July 30th
Location: Art 150, studio #231. 150 Bay Street.
Enter at Provost and First Street and ride the elevator to the 2nd floor. Studio # 231
Live Art Demos: July 9, July 16, August 6 and August 20 from 11a – 3pm.
The installation runs through the end of August 2022
Location: Governors Island, 406b Colonels Row
Exhibition Dates: June 25, 2022 – August 5, 2022
Location: Gallery Aferro, 73 Market St, Newark, NJ
Public Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 12:00-6:00pm
Exhibition On View: June 18, 2022 – April 30, 2023
Museum Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 9am to 4:45pm; Closed Mondays and all State Holidays
Location: New Jersey State Museum; 205 West State Street Trenton NJ
Exhibition Dates: Now through May 21, 2023
Location: 411 N. Sherman Parkway, Springfield MO
“Free Your Mind” is a cascade of story ribbons tied to fishing nets draped upon the wall like a blanket. Visitors are invited to share written statements about experienced microaggression on a “story” ribbon which I will weave into the “Free Your Mind” blanket. Infusing the essence and yarn of each participant into the social fabric of a protective blanket.
Exhibition Dates: On view for the public Thursday through Sunday from 12:00 to 5:00PM until the end of August
Location: ArtCrawl Harlem @ Governors Island, 406b Colonels Row
Theda In Residence: June 25, July 2, July 16, from 11a – 3pm.
“Free Your Mind” is a cascade of story ribbons tied to fishing nets draped upon the wall like a blanket. Visitors are invited to share written statements about experienced microaggression on a “story” ribbon which I will weave into the “Free Your Mind” blanket. Infusing the essence and yarn of each participant into the social fabric of a protective blanket.
Exhibition Dates: May 7, – August 27, 2022. On view for the public Thursday through Sunday from 12:00 to 5:00PM.
Location: ArtCrawl Harlem @ Governors Island, 406b Colonels Row
Theda In Residence: June 11, June 25, July 16, July 23, July 30, August 6, August 20 from 11a – 2pm.
