Institute for Contmporary Art, Richmond, VA,
“IT’S ALL OUT OF MY ARMS, OUR COLLECTIVE MOUTH IS SPEAKING” holds visionary Black queer legacies within our mouths, woven into our relationship to our collective liberation. It honors the builders, crafters, sculptors, poets, educators, activists, and web keepers of our futurity, bringing together the practices and language of Amaza Lee Meredith, Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, Ayana Zaire Cotton, Alexis De Veaux, and Joseph Cuillier and Shani Peters of The Black School, into a spell and ceremony to build with. The title reference, “it is all out of my arms,” is drawn from a poem by fellow Black queer architect, poet, activist, and educator June Jordan, and our collective mouth is speaking, giving our words power to craft a future full of collective worldbuilding. We wrap our mouths, homes, lovers, and sacred objects in words, letters, correspondence, spells, wishes, and demands, letting this language be the building blocks to craft our sacred survival spaces, in honor of and with Amaza.“
