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Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow Alisha B. Wormsley Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship

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Name
Andy Ptaschinski
Title
School of Art
Name
Pam Wigley
Title
College of FIne Arts

Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow Ìýis among the recipients of theÌý. The award is widely considered one of the most prestigious honors for visual artists and provides generous funding to allow artists to undertake ambitious projects. Fellowships are awarded in other fields including the humanities, mathematics, the sciences, computer science, engineering and other areas of the arts.

Across her work in many mediums — including print, film, digital media, sculpture, sound, social practice and cultural production — Wormsley investigates collective memory and the synchronicity of time, specifically through the stories of women of color. Working with communities around the world, she fosters artistic engagement and celebrates identities.

Wormsley received the Guggenheim Fellowship for her collaborative project with Li Harris "D.R.E.A.M = A Way to AFRAM," a project about imagineering various technologies and applied sciences to continue the ancestral practice of creating safe places for Black people to exist abundantly on this planet and beyond. The project has aÌýÌýthat will screen at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center from April 14 through Aug. 28.

In 2018, Wormsley's text "There Are Black People in the Future" ignited a Pittsburgh-wide discussion on gentrification and the role of public art when the landlord removed the phrase from The Last Billboard, a project founded and curated by Professor . Since then, the iterations of the work have been presented in locations across the country including on a billboard inÌýdowntown Detroit, inÌýTimes Square, and in exhibitions at theÌýSpeed Museum of ArtÌýin Louisville, theÌýOakland Museum, and atÌýArtspaceÌýin San Antonio, among many others. Wormsley has expanded the project through anÌýÌýin Pittsburgh and through various community-engagement projects inÌýKansas City, Houston and elsewhere. "There Are Black People in the Future" has been shown inÌýQatarÌýand was awarded aÌý2020 Monuments Lab Fellowship.

Wormsley's projects and works have also been presented at numerous museums and galleries across the country including recent exhibitions at theÌýHunterdon Art MuseumÌýin New Jersey, theÌýElmhurst Art MuseumÌýin Illinois, theÌýUrban Institute for Contemporary ArtsÌýin Grand Rapids, Michigan, and at theÌýMattress FactoryÌýin Pittsburgh, among others.

In 2020, Wormsley co-founded Sibyls Shrine, an artist residency program for Black mothers.ÌýSiblys Shrine(opens in new window)Ìýrecognizes the unique intersecting challenges of Black women creatives and provides opportunities for self-care, childcare, space and support so they can further develop their craft and create a sustainable arts practice.

Wormsley taught courses in an adjunct capacity at the School of Art from 2015-2019 and was named a Carnegie MellonÌýPresidential Postdoctoral Fellow(opens in new window) in 2019.

"There is no artist more deserving of a Guggenheim Fellowship than Alisha Wormsley," said Head of the School of ArtÌý. "Alisha's practice harnesses the power of art to ignite critical dialogues, lift the voices of marginalized communities and imagine just futures. Her multidisciplinary practice moves outside the rarified confines of art institutions to embrace those who have been excluded by asking important questions and building new structures of material support. We are honored to have Alisha share her practice with our students as a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow."

sibyls shrine wormsley

Alisha Wormsley

Alisha Wormsley

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