Requested Materials for UMASS Archive
Last month, I learned that I was selected for the Art+Everywhere / UMass Boston Archives’ inaugural “Unresidency” program. As an artist-in-(un)residency, I will work with UMass’s archival collections to develop the first piece in my Dream Coffins (for Tired Negroes) series, which will be exhibited at UMass from January through July 2026. I have chosen to focus on the Theresa-India Young Collection as the foundation for this work.
At the UMass Archives, my primary goal is to research African American world-building traditions. Theresa-India Young—a Griot fiber artist and educator—embodied this practice. She carried the stories of her ancestors and taught younger generations to do the same, even within an anti-Black world. Her grandmother, who raised her, was an educator from the Gullah community in South Carolina, teaching at a school for Black children. I had the honor of visiting that region two winters ago; learning about the community of freed Black people who were deeply committed to liberation, education, community, culture, and tradition. Young’s life and work reflect that same commitment to Black sovereignty and cultural preservation—building futures for young people. She was brought up in this tradition, so it would be wild if she hadn’t carried it with her in some way.
My goal in this residency is to use archival materials to guide the aesthetic and conceptual framework of this sculptural series—infusing it with an Afrofuturist and anti-colonial vision rooted in liberation, and joy.
Theresa-India Young Collection - Full List
Box: 2 (specifically genealogy)*
Box: 3 (series III: handwritten notes)
Box: 12 (curriculum planning)
Box: 18 (curriculum planning)
Small Flat Box: 23 (sketchbooks)*
Box: 27 subseries iii, cultural resources, circa 1983-2007*
Box: 32 (clippings)
Doc Case: 47
Doc Case: 48
Doc Case: 49*
*focus of 7/24/25 visit
Additional Reading:
https://www.wbur.org/news/2018/09/25/theresa-india-young-legacy-massart-thompson-gallery
