My senior project, titled In Her Skin, is focused on Black women and their journey to discover and define their identity. With selected programming that highlights the experiences of Black women, the performance will relate to those who share the experience, educate those who don’t, and impact everyone who witnesses. This showcase will provide a space that is catered to a marginalized group on a campus on which they are not typically accommodated. The programming will feature spoken word by Alexis Martin, a video by videographer Deja Collins, and dance pieces featuring Tajanté Wainwright and Alisia Lipsey. All proceeds from the event will be donated to a Philadelphia based non-profit organization, The Evoluer House, whose work is “guiding urban girls to bold and bright futures” (The Evoluer House). In Her Skin will be held at the Black Box Theater in the URBN Annex on Friday, May 10th at 7:30 pm.
As a culmination of my time at Drexel, I want to present something that highlights the skills I have acquired and put them to use surrounding a topic that I’m passionate about. As a Black woman attending a Predominantly White Institute, I’ve found myself in various stages of finding my own identity, learning how to navigate spaces with a growing awareness of how my race and gender plays a part in my day-to-day life. From my time as an Entertainment & Arts Management major I’ve furthered my understanding of the importance of the arts and their ability to communicate thoughts, feelings, and ideas along with the logistics of all the back-end work that's required in order to bring a vision to fruition. Building this project from the ground up in collaboration with other Black female artists on Drexel’s campus is something I felt necessary, not just for my own fulfillment, but also for the education and advancement of Drexel’s campus culture.