5 p.m. Performance, Office of Black Student Affairs
NIC Kay pushit!! [an exercise in getting well soon]
6 p.m. Discussion with Pomona College Professor of English and Africana Studies Valorie D. Thomas: NIC Kay’s Get Well Soon Project: Between Performance and Performativity, Museum of Art
With pushit!! [an exercise in getting well soon], performance artist NIC Kay investigates the possibility of wellness for Black bodies in a system that is not built for Black people to be truly well. The saying “Get well soon!” is a cultural trope that is deeply embedded in the neoliberal cultural economy. Why must we be #carefree and #joyfilled? Whom does this shift away from #blacklivesmatter and #sayhername conversations truly benefit? What is wellness in a culture that touts speedy recovery and self-help, while living with the constant of Black death and trauma?
The discussion following NIC Kay’s performance will question when Black performativity ends and when a performance starts. This performance asks, can resistance be choreographed? Problematic representations of the Black body as a sight for entertainment and stereotyping pervade the history of Black performance. Black bodies in public space are both hyper-visible and invisible, a threat or too insignificant to be cared for. This event will challenge audiences to revisit their own viewing positions.
pushit!! [an exercise in getting well soon] is supported by the Marian and Charles Holmes Performing Arts Fund at The Claremont Colleges.
Produced in partnership with OBSA 4th Annual Black Intersections Conference
