“Black women’s art is a radical act of survival and a bold assertion of their humanity” – bell hooks (1995)
The Africana Studies Program’s highly anticipated 5th Annual bell hooks Symposium, “Black Feminism, Black Art,” brought together artists, academics, and activists to explore how Black feminism shapes not only the creation of art but also our engagement with it, as well as the larger world. Since its inception in 2022, this symposium has become a space for collective celebration and reflection of the groundbreaking work and legacy of bell hooks, a prominent Black feminist writer and activist. Each year, it serves as both a revitalization of and a marker of progress in Black arts and culture, inspiring continued movement forward.
The symposium began with welcoming remarks from Northeastern’s Director of Africana Studies, Régine Jean-Charles, setting the stage for a day filled with thought-provoking discussions and powerful artistic expression. Ghanaian-American performance artist Dzidzor Azaglo introduced a group exercise titled “Embodied Movement.” Her unique call-and-response approach combines Afro-folklore storytelling with poetry slam, creating a sonic experience that encouraged full participation from the audience and brought a sense of harmony to attendees.
Challenging Power Structures through Art
Jazz drummer and Berklee professor Terri Lyne Carrington, alongside multimedia artist Delita Martin, engaged in a keynote conversation exploring what it means for an artist to embody Black feminism. Both artists emphasized the importance of reconnecting with the “self” as a foundation for creating meaningful art. For Martin, embodiment involves seeing herself as a “multilayered spiritual being,” while Carrington shared her experience navigating the predominantly white, male-dominated music industry. Through music, she feels liberated, shedding societal labels and expectations. As an educator, Carrington emphasized the necessity of unlearning the ways in which her own self-expression had been limited in order to teach her students the full freedom of artistic expression. In this sense, her art becomes both a personal and collective act of healing and release.
As Martin poignantly stated, “Art has the power to touch minds, and minds have the power to change systems.”
The symposium then shifted to the “Art on My Mind” panel, which explored how altering our perspectives can reveal systems of power that are often subconsciously reinforced in society. Artist and Concordia University professor Nathalie Batraville used the popular dating show Love Island as a case study to explain how cycles of conflict and resolution often play out under the influence of underlying power dynamics. She discussed how reality television can serve as a microcosm for observing human behavior and the subtle ways larger societal power structures, including racism, shape our interactions.
Following this, Northeastern’s Grisha Coleman, an artist and CAMD professor, shared her project “Echo: System and Alternative Landscape,” a dance performance exploring ecological and technological systems through a Black and Afro-futurist lens. Her choreography and immersive design examine racial performance in technology, asking the question, “How does movement translate to data?” She reflected on how technological advancements, particularly during the Industrial Revolution, have been deeply rooted in colonialism and slavery. Through her work, Coleman aims to understand and challenge the experience of Black Americans who have historically been excluded from the digital world, and to build a future where Black people are empowered in tech.
Textile artist L’Merchie Frazier commemorated bell hooks’ legacy by sharing how the late author and activist inspired her return to art with a commitment to self. Frazier described her art practice as a “declarative” act, pressing against the hegemony of white patriarchy and the constant societal pressures on Black women to remain silent. She echoed Martin’s words on embodiment, stating that Black womanhood and feminism are always in a state of combat with dominant systems, especially when it comes to beauty standards.
The audience was then treated to a communal lunch break, providing an opportunity to reflect on the impactful discussions thus far.
The Healing Power of Black Feminist Art
After lunch, Wellesley College artist and historian Nikki Greene, Northeastern student Taliyah Williams, and photographer Scheherezade Tillet continued the conversation with the panel “Art Moves Us,” moderated by Northeastern student Sophia Idrissou. Greene shared her examination of Black artists using sonic elements to explore Black arts and culture, incorporating this into her teaching to engage her students in embodied movements. She explained how Black feminist practice can manifest in educational settings, particularly through curatorial studies and museum practices that promote collaboration and solidarity among artists.
Williams, a health science student raised by artists, shared how her upbringing influenced her perspective on art. She recalled her grandmother as a figure in “constant motion” and an embodiment of creativity that encouraged her to see art as a form of social commentary when words failed. Her relationship with her grandmother and New York’s “matriarch of art,” Gladys Baker Grauer, shaped her view of creativity as a “birthright,” a perspective that remains central to her work today.
Tillet, a photographer and artist, shared her project “A Long Walk Home,” an installation honoring Black women and girls who have disappeared. Inspired by her conversations with the family of Breonna Taylor following her murder in 2020, Tillet explained how the significance of altars guided her toward creating this commemoration project. Her work challenges viewers to reflect on the disappearances of Black women and girls, while also celebrating their lives and legacies.
Following these moving presentations, N. Fedeke Castor, a scholar of Africana and Religious Studies, discussed “conjure feminism,” a form of Black feminism that acknowledges the spiritual connections within Black culture. She spoke of the kitchen table as a symbolic space for inheritance and womanhood and invited the audience to engage in a reflective discussion about the ideas shared during the day.
Radical Vulnerability and Reclamation
The final panel, “Art Matters,” began with a screening of a deeply moving short film by director Tchaiko Omawale. The film explored her personal experience with motherhood, infertility, and miscarriage, and Omawale discussed how radical vulnerability shapes her filmmaking process. For Omawale, seeing the naked body as art is a form of reclamation and empowerment. By embracing her struggles and vulnerabilities, she not only reclaims her own body but also provides a space for other Black women with similar experiences to feel seen and heard.
Bimbola Akimbola led a discussion on fear, uncertainty, and grief in performance art. She debunked the myth that performance artists are fearless, explaining that they are simply committed to existing in the space of fear and uncertainty. Her performance piece, a seven-hour moving meditation to the tune of the Cha-Cha Slide, examined how Black culture and grief can be processed through the body, offering a unique and powerful method for understanding complex emotional experiences.
The panel concluded with Aja Burrell Wood, Berklee’s Jazz and Gender Justice managing director, who spoke about incorporating Black feminist practices into institution-building. Through her work with Jazz Without Patriarchy, Wood advocates for spaces where jazz music can be explored free of patriarchal influence. She highlighted the importance of initiatives like “101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers,” which aims to correct the untold history of women composers in Black music. Wood’s work pushes for institutional change, creating avenues for future generations of Black artists to innovate and thrive in their craft.
Remarks from Northeastern English PhD student Asia Potts closed the symposium. In addition to thanking the speakers and participants for their contributions to the symposium, she ended with a heartfelt “welcome,” a reversal of the usual goodbye, that encapsulated the sense of community and collective engagement fostered throughout the event. Her words left the audience with a sense that they had gained something powerful, rather than leaving something behind.
In this 5th Annual bell hooks Symposium, Black feminist thought and art intersected to not only reflect the struggles and legacies of Black women but to propel forward a vision of continued transformation, empowerment, and healing in both art and life.
Written and photographed by Sierra Desai, Communications coordinator co-op, SP25.
