Join us for an Open House with Ama BE, WPA’s 2023 Artist-Organizer-in-Residence. Ama is using this residency to continue her research on the agricultural practices of first generation Africans living in the DC area. Throughout the summer, Ama has hosted interviews with local African immigrants to collect their stories about food, farming, and medicine, and how they have adapted traditional sacred practices since immigrating to this region. She is then translating these stories into sculptural pieces that come to life in the gallery space and change throughout her time in residence.

From May–July 2023, the residency was located at WPA’s Project Space and in August it moved to Gallery 102 at the Corcoran School of the Art & Design to further expand access to resources.

For this Open House, Ama would like to extend a warm welcome in particular to all “children of African Aunties” to join her in paying homage to the Aunties and Uncles who tend this earth to sustain migrated families. Within an installation of visual elements from Ama’s ongoing research, you are invited to lift up the labor of African elders who help families ground into new terrain. We will collectively thread their stories into our own in a continuous beading activity, to the sounds of old school African party music.

Refreshments & light snacks will be provided.

Gallery 102 is located at The Smith Hall of Art, 801 22nd St NW Washington, DC 20052. The gallery is located on the first floor.