Bottling it Up: Youth Art Show

262 South 52nd Street,Philadelphia PA 19139

28 January, 2022

Description

Bottling It Up is a BIPOC youth-led art exhibition meant to spark difficult, but healing conversations. Who We Are The Restorative Community Project is a collective of youth healers, agitators, and visionaries who are creating "black joy, security, and freedom" in West Philadelphia through events and long-term strategizing. Background Since October, we have convened weekly to discuss the ish surrounding, suppressing, and attempting to erode us into formations that will certainly crumble with time. We began to call these weekly meetings our maroon—at first a place of escape and eventually one where we asked, what does freedom mean? Our discussions often lead to more questions than answers, but one thing became clear: it is our mission to experiment with making meaning of it. Is this freedom? That brief moment when we felt as unconfined as the air, as loud as rustling trees, and as continuous as rippling water? We created this piece, which conjoined personal images of security with historical accounts of the maroon--sites where African/African-descended peoples abandoned enslavement by establishing free societies. About the Event Naming our everyday experiences with racism, misogynoir, queerphobia, anxiety, poverty, violence, etc. didn’t make these problems disappear, but it did help us contain their power over our livelihood. We want to share that with you. Join us for “Bottling it Up” — an artistic representation of the things we refuse to carry. Our evening of art exploration will also include poems from Shirmina Geneva and Restorative Community Project youth. This is the launch of our invitation for you to bottle your ish up too. Thank You to: Karl Morris (the mind behind the Urban Art Gallery) for sharing this space with usShirmina Geneva (a brilliant poet and performer and one of your favorite jawns) for knowing the words to add to this space.Our sustainersAnd you!Covid-19 Disclaimer Covid-19 continues. Please show proof of vaccination at the event. We will require masks in the event space. We will not have food or drinks on-site to ensure there is no reason for anyone to remove their mask during the event (unless performing). We have space remaining for 20 neighbors to join (due to prioritizing youth and family attendance). Let us know you are coming by reserving a ticket!