I finish my first year of the Low Residency MFA program at School of the Art Institute of Chicago with an interesting course exploring African architecture, design, and technology- Sculpting Space: Design, Architecture and Sacred Systems in Africa and the Diaspora led by Denenge Duyst-Akpem.
I’ll be highlighting elements that stand out to me most from this class in my studio blog. This semester, I expect to make personal and professional connections with subject matter from this course, informing elements of my past and introducing me to new concepts. Students were asked to introduce themselves for the opening week by describing a memorable place we’ve visited. I could think of no other place than the historic district of Pelourinho in Salvador, Bahia.
The historic district of Pelourinho, in Salvador, Bahia, is the home of all Brazilian folklore and cultural heritage brought to life with vivid color, vibrant of incomprehensible energy. The energy in the curly afros of locals, energy in the percussion vibrations from street baterias, energy in cobblestone streets. Each corner, every door, every scent has a historical moment. I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Brazil for the first time in spring 2019 for my birthday and post-exhibition opening celebration. As a practicing capoeirista and sambista, this marked a turning point in my practice of these Afro Brazilian artforms. It was a spiritual pilgrimage that each (American) student of these art forms must engage in developing an experientially informed narrative of the people, cultures, and conditions that created capoeira and samba. I've never been anywhere where I recognized myself in the art like I did Pelhorino. Murals by the visual artist Carlos Kahan felt like whispers to other dimensions, the gaze of his subjects were like mirrors into lost parts of my ancestry. I'm not sure what exactly draws me to Pelhorinho, but my visit made me realize it was probably more than just the art forms that drew me there.
