Artist Talk – Stephanie J. Woods

Saturday, May 27

1pm

Free for Museum Members

$20 Not-Yet Members

Sarasota High School Alumni Auditorium | Sarasota Art Museum

Stephanie J. Woods will speak about her inspirations, concepts, and works featured in her first solo museum exhibition, my papa used to play checkers. Join Woods as she shares how her recent body of work shown at Sarasota Art Museum was influenced by her life-changing 2021 artist residency at Black Rock Senegal in Dakar, Senegal. During the residency, she had come to further appreciate the thriving survival of African cultures and traditions in Black American communities.

Several mainstays in Woods’ artwork are themes of childhood play and games, cultural and historical connections to food, the African diaspora, and agency in the face of oppression. Woods will talk about her use of various materials to communicate her artistic concepts, interest in fusing photography and fiber arts, and the term, “moving audio photography,” which she coined to describe her video works. In this special conversation, Woods will also examine her frequent collaborations with poet Laura Neal and sound artist Johannes Barfield.