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Session

Void Spa

Akeema-Zane and A. Sef

Due to the process-based nature of the Session program, this project will undergo constant modifications; the features of this page provide accruing information on the project’s developments.

Date:
May 20–June 13, 2023

Visitor info
To make an appointment, please sign up no later than 10 am the same day at recessartscheduling.as.me

Void Spa aims to challenge and subvert the extractive and appropriative use of Black and Brown spirituality within the luxury wellness industry. Drawing on the archaeological notion that ritualistic mourning in early human societies signified the emergence of significant cultural epochs, the artists posit that feeling into immense grief–rather than luxuriating in comfort–can prepare us for new social forms. To design Void Spa, they draw from familiar rites in their own Afro-Caribbean and Midwestern Great Migration lineages, as well as scientific research on sonic frequencies used for healing human tissues.

Inspired by the church-like sanctity of underground clubs (ex. music, drag, dungeons, contact sports) for racialized, queer and Disabled people, the artists hope to challenge dichotomies between "noble" pursuits of spiritual transformation and "wild" pursuits of subcultural catharsis. They challenge the idea that recreational or risky activities are meaningless, unholy or hedonistic. Within the Judeo-Christian and imperial context of the United States, the cave is a site of resurrection, excavation and theft. The artists ask what happens when we spend more rather than less time touching death, disorientation and mystery in the cave.

Their Session space will encompass three zones: Rubble Grid, Noise Bath, and Trash Burial. Rubble Grid is an intentional collection of New York City detritus drawing on the practice of geomancy. Noise Bath is a black box where visitors can recline in total darkness or near darkness and experience intense sound or vibration, consisting of a 20-minute sound piece composed by Akeema-Zane that will continue to evolve with visitor feedback. Haptic transducers and headphones will be used to create “big” sound and intense vibration, while preventing hearing loss and offering precision to d/Deaf & HoH participants. Trash Burial is a debriefing space where the artists or docents will assist visitors to reflect, regulate and exit the experience through comforting tactile props and conversation.

Access Note: The space of Void Spa is designed to feel intense, like a rite of passage, but the emphasis remains on psychological safety and physical comfort. In order to gauge access intimacy with a wide variety of visitors, those who RSVP for individual or couples sessions will engage in an intake process with the artists before entering the space. Void Spa will attempt to conform to the access needs of each individual.

Individual/Couples Spa Treatment Thursday-Sunday 10 am-1 pm, 3-6 pm Reserve your 1-hour slot for a private visit during open hours. The artist(s) will guide you through the full sensory installation adapted to your needs. Followed by conversation to explore their evolving practice.

Ways to experience the project

Calendar

About the artist

Akeema-Zane

Artist

Akeema-Zane is an artist and researcher working in the mediums of literature, film performance and sound. a²z is the arm which houses some of the artists' music/sound practice which includes deejaying, composition and scoring/sound design. Her sound design is credited in Nile Harris’ “Testify (The Worst Is Yet To Come” (2023; commissioned by Under The Radar and Ping Chong and Company), Shea Moisture’s Pride campaign (2021), Mia Wright-Ross’ “A Moment To Breathe (2021; commission by MAD MUSEUM), Naima Ramos-Chapman’s short film, “In Place of Monuments” (2021) and Art 21’s short doc “Doreen Garner on Her Own Terms” (2021). With collaborator Rena Anakwe, the artist has developed works that combine her literary, film, performance and sound practices including “Sonic Escape Routes: Shall We Fly? Or, Shall We Resist?” (2020; commissioned by Weeksville Heritage Center) and “Our Mourning Due: A Funeral Sermon” (2022; commissioned by SCAD Museum of Art’s Evans Center for African American Studies). She is currently serving as board chair of The School of Making Thinking and on the board of Cucalorus Film Festival.

Projects

Artist Website

A. Sef

Artist

A. Sef is a somatic educator, access worker and artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Sef organizes strategies for intimacy and collaboration based on sensory awareness. Drawing on dance, writing and design tools, they foreground pleasure in the project of self-determination. Sef is also a co-founder of Autosomatica, a relational bodywork practice prioritizing services for BI/POC, T/GNC, Disabled, queer, migrant and working class individuals. Sef has performed, taught and supported through The Brick, School of Making Thinking, Abrons Art Center, Arts on Site, Triskelion Arts, Mark Morris Dance Center, Gibney Dance, Bronx Museum, Chocolate Factory Theater, Judson Memorial Church, Minka Brooklyn, Roulette Intermedium, The Shed, Whitney Museum, UC Santa Barbara, Rutgers University

Projects

Artist Website

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