Threads of Blackness: A Cross-Cultural Exploration in Japan

Threads of Blackness: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Blackness in Japan is a two-phase artistic project beginning with three months of immersive travel from June through August 2026, during which I will explore Japan’s four main islands and use photography, writing, and cultural engagement to document the historical and contemporary connections between Black American identity and Japanese culture across music, artisan craft, and daily life, while engaging the tea ceremony as a living ethic of hospitality and attention and sourcing handmade papers and other substrates from Japanese makers to ground the work. Upon returning to Philadelphia in fall 2026, Ubuntu Fine Art Gallery will serve as the hub for a cycle of free public access through May 2027, including a three-month exhibition of large-format prints on Japanese-sourced washi and related substrates with immersive sound and artifacts, as well as 5 to 10 lectures, panels, and workshops, community tea gatherings and tea practice demonstrations, papermaking demonstrations with invited practitioners, origami sessions, and language activities, developed with partners such as the Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center, Japan America Society, and YEAH Philly. By structuring the project as concentrated exploration abroad followed by sustained exhibition and programming at home, the work carries lived experience into public life, connecting Black diasporic presence in Japan with neighborhood learning and mindfulness-centered gathering at Ubuntu Fine Art.