Existence as Resistance

Originally conceived and curated as an exhibition for the Women’s Center, Existence as Resistance: The Magic in Blackness features NC State students, staff, and faculty creatives who have taken an Afrofuturist lens to create radical Black futures for themselves and viewers. The works consist of photographs by Jacqueline Perry that have been manipulated and collaged into Afrofuturistic designs by Joanna Ali, students, staff, and faculty artists. The exhibition is curated by Angela Gay, Assistant Director of the NC State Women’s Center and a doctoral student in the NC State Higher Education program. She studies race and systemic racism from Black Feminist and Critical Race theoretical perspectives utilizing an intersectional approach.

For the Innovation Studio’s rendition of the exhibit, Existence as Resistance: The Magic in Blackness will be paired with (Re)Imagining Black Futures Through the Archives, a section of the original exhibition curated by Victor Betts that uses images and information from the NC States digitized archives. This section explores the history, the legacies of slavery, and systemic racism to challenge perceived conceptions of land, labor, home, existence, collective joy, and knowledge. It shines a light on the differing perspectives of relationships to these innate human aspects.

Existence as Resistance is made possible through the talents of Joanna Ali, Kyra Barrier, Victor Betts, Jordan Bullock, Tia Canada, John Pierre Craig, Elikem Dodor, Jay Encarnacion-Rivera, Rasheedah Fletcher, Angela Gay, Bri Hart, Tonya Renae Hines, Jerrica Jones, Asia King, Sonya Lassiter, Jonathan McCorey, L. Jameco Mckenzie, Christopher Moore, Juniper Nie, Antoinette Norton, Josephine Mawuena Abena Ocran, Khadija Parker, Jacqueline Perry, Tre Ricanek, Kory Saunders, Chaniqua Simpson, Elyse L. Smith, Toni (Mama) Thorpe, Brittany Wake, Aaliyah Whitfield, Nashia Whittenburg, Amari Wilson, Miyah Wilson, and Shantoneeka Zorn.