Rashida Bumbray | Civic Practice Partnership, 2017–2021

"I grew up going to museums, loving museums, but also understanding the sort of complicated relationship that museums have for people whose objects are stored inside of them."

Civic Practice Partnership artist-in-residence Rashida Bumbray is a performance artist, curator, choreographer, and the Director of Culture and Art at the Open Society Foundations. Her work focuses on Black urban spaces and communities, and what it means to be in a space that has layers of generational trauma. During her residency, she was commissioned to make a film for the 100 Years, 100 Women Project, about the anniversary of suffrage for women. She also staged activations in the African art and Egyptian art galleries of The Met, which focused on revitalizing the objects those collections contain. She is currently completing a second film she directed as part of her residency.

Featured Objects:

Housetop and Bricklayer with Bars quilt, ca. 1955. Lucy T. Pettway (American, 1921–2004). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2014 (2014.548.52) © Estate of Lucy T. Pettway

The Temple of Dendur, completed by 10 B.C. Egypt, Roman Period. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Given to the United States by Egypt in 1965 and awarded to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967 (68.154)

The Met's Civic Practice Partnership (CPP), launched in 2017, catalyzes and implements creative projects that advance healthy communities by bringing the skills and interests of neighborhood stakeholders together with those of The Met and artists who are socially minded in their practice. Invited CPP artists work in their own neighborhoods across New York City and at The Met to develop and implement ambitious projects and forge meaningful collaborations.

Learn more about CPP: https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-studies/kenan-project/civic-practice-partnership

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