The Reparations in Residence (RiR) initiative creates opportunities for cross-sector collaboration, community building, and a commitment to spatial justice that goes beyond land acknowledgments and DEI statements. RiR does this by treating artist residencies as a form of, and avenue toward, reparations.
What if the last concert venue you entered was the site of an installation by a Nipmuc artist in residence? What if the next gallery you visit had a Black American musician in residence, responding to the artwork on the white walls? Recognizing that public and privatized American spaces are sites of European colonial violence and systemic racism, what can you do to platform the Black and Indigenous peoples who are here now?
By using public space, the self becomes aware of questions of power. How comfortable am I in this space? How welcome or unwelcome am I here? If working in a group, the self becomes aware of these questions in relation to the temporary community of that group. How comfortable are we, here? Are we welcome? Would we be welcome or perceived as a threat if we were differently constituted (race, gender, age group, etc.)? Spatial practices encourage or challenge one’s own embodiment of the issues.
- Jane Trowell
