August | 2018 | The Nap Ministry

Transfiguration was staged in Atlanta, GA, May 2017 at Colony Square.

Infused with black liberation theology, poetry, spirituals, archival photos, direct action intervention and performance art, “Transfiguration” is an artistic and historical examination of the legacy of slavery, plantation labor and the commodification of black bodies in American history. It seeks to honor, reimagine and recapture the dream space that was stolen for centuries. Naps are a holy place, spiritual practice and a form of resistance for those living in the margins, navigating racism, poverty, violence and discrimination. What could have happened if we were allowed the space to rest? What dreams and innovations could have been produced? How can we capture what was lost? “Transfiguration” is an experimentation and conversation between the artist and her ancestors via sleep.

Reparations LIVE! is an examination of rest as a form of resistance. In this durational performance and art meditation, performance artist and liberation theologian, Tricia Hersey will use her public napping ritual as a subversive act, Her goal in using sleep as resistance is to work with her ancestors to recapture the DREAM SPACE that was stolen centuries ago. Hersey invites the public into this living altar to rest as reconciliation via the radical notion of watching a black woman sleep and perform rituals of spiritual care.

Participants can view or actively engage as co-sleepers, bringing mats and blankets as desired.

Naps provide a visionary space that allows us to heal, create and imagine, so the audience is invited to bring pillows, yoga mats and blankets to rest and resist together. Reparations LIVE! is an experimentation and conversation between the artist and her ancestors via sleep. This is reparations.

victoriasandersphotography.com

JULY – AUGUST

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2018

Outdoor tent revivals meet lost Dream Space meet Chicago protest energy in REST, a new immersive performance created by the Free Street Youth Ensemble in collaboration with acclaimed performance artist Tricia Hersey, founder of The Nap Ministry. Both joyful and welcoming, REST uses movement, text, and yes, actual naps, to explore the history of forced labor in the United States, and to invite the audience to reclaim rest as a tool of liberation. Free Street toured REST to five parks across the city as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks initiative.

Hersey collaborated with the Free Street Youth ensemble to co-design REST, and will perform with the company for the opening event.

The Nap Ministry

Rest is Resistance

Month: August 2018

What we believe! Our Rest is Resistance framework.

One woman shows: Transfiguration and Reparations LIVE!

REST – A immersive performance and installation with Free Street Theater