-
Title
-
Breath, Soil, Water, Life
-
Artist/Creator
-
Students in African American Studies 152, UC Davis
-
Margaret Laurena Kemp
-
Description
-
A live performance at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis, created by students in African American Studies 152: Major Voices in Black World Literature, taught in the museum's galleries by Professor Margaret Laurena Kemp, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, during the 2025 run of Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice. Through a multimodal curriculum, students read Tina Campt's Listening to Images, Claudia Rankine's Don't Let Me Be Lonely, and LaToya Ruby Frazier's Flint Is Family in Three Acts, which documents the Flint water crisis, and explored writing, singing, and dance with Professor Bhumi Patel, using breathwork as a way of staying grounded while engaging climate and social justice. The course culminated in a public performance in the galleries alongside Frazier's photographs, a meditation on breath, identity, resistance, and the power of listening that wove poetry, movement, and voice to confront injustice and affirm resilience, agency, and spirit. Students' responses were also added to the exhibition as a soundscape visitors could reach by QR code, and the museum documented the project in a short video.
-
Event Type
-
Performance
-
Date
-
November 18, 2025
-
Location
-
Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis, Davis, California
-
Organizer
-
Professor Margaret Laurena Kemp and students in African American Studies 152, UC Davis
-
Geographic Scope
-
Site-Specific / Single Site
-
Climate & Ecology Themes
-
Climate Justice
-
Environmental Racism
-
Public and Environmental Health
-
Discipline / Field
-
Arts & Design
-
Humanities
-
Concepts
-
Embodiment and the Senses
-
Healing and Repair
-
Audience / Engagement Type
-
Classroom and Formal Education
-
Performance
-
Public / General Audience
-
Methods & Approaches
-
Education and Pedagogy
-
Storytelling / Narrative Practice
-
Rights
-
Rights held by artist or creator
