Between The Everyday and The Sacred | February 5, 2025

Overview

"The Portal: Between The Everyday and The Sacred"

Using Zadie Smith’s essay on photography, Through the Portal, as a point of departure, this three-session workshop series explores the relationship between contemporary art-making and the sacred in everyday life. Through a range of multimedia practices—including video, literature, and photography—the series examines how artists use these mediums to document the present, engaging with it as a site of both artistic and spiritual inquiry.

Over the series, participants will develop their own individual or collective digital exhibition. This exhibition will reframe participants' works within the theme of transformation and transcendence, inspired by the ritualistic qualities found in daily experiences. The series draws upon online exhibitions such as Art in a Time Like This by Barbara Pollack and Anne Verhallen, Queer.Archive.Work by Paul Soulellis, Home Alone Survival Guide by Max Siedentopf, and The Free Black Woman’s Library by OlaRonke Akinmowo, which all emphasize the act of preserving the ordinary while transforming it into a space of reflection.

Workshop Description

The second session will explore the concept of transforming nothing (silence or absence) into something (form). Participants will develop a collective understanding of how art has intersected with social justice movements, with a particular focus on the work of local Massachusetts artists since 2020. We will engage in a discussion of the assigned reading and view a presentation that highlights and celebrates the contributions of these artists. Additionally, participants will take time to define their personal goals for the future, setting a foundation for their artistic and professional growth.

Facilitator Bio:

Tyahra Symone Angus is a Boston-based photographer and artist dedicated to celebrating Queer and Black identities. She founded AfroCentered Media in 2015 to enhance the representation of Black and Brown individuals in media, with a focus on Black women and Queer women. Known for her vernacular portraits and event photography, Tyahra created an archive of event photography from Black-owned groups in 2018. She also organizes photo-booth pop-ups, film screenings, and workshops on documentary photography. A Smith College graduate with a concentration in Black Queer Literature and Art, Tyahra earned her MFA in Visual Arts from Lesley University and recently became an Art Therapy Practitioner. Her work has been featured in Black Futures (Penguin, Random House, 2021).