The Willing, a performance by Helina Metaferia

The Willing, a newly commissioned live performance that activates artist Helina Metaferia’s sculptural tapestry through a procession from KADIST to Dolores Park

Thursday, June 13, 2024, 4 to 5 pm, meet at KADIST promptly at 4 pm (the procession will begin shortly thereafter) 

The Willing, a newly commissioned live performance that activates artist Helina Metaferia’s sculptural tapestry through a procession from KADIST to Dolores Park. Metefaria engages in song, movement, and text alongside collaborators; Tiffany Austin, Kenya Moses, and Valeria Troutt who will evoke the figures of late Black women activists who were prominent in the Bay Area, sharing stories of artistic and political ancestors, who participated in defiant actions against colonization, white supremacy, and patriarchal oppression. The tapestry, passed between the all-women performers provides ritualistic entry points to conjure memories and oral histories. The tapestry’s sculptural components point toward the aesthetic of regal adornment as a way to elevate one’s position in societies that are fraught with institutionalized and systemic oppression against women’s bodies.

Please note that the performance involves approximately an hour of slow, walking (with stops for performance activations) from KADIST to Dolores Park. The total distance is 0.7 miles with an elevation of approximately 50ft. The procession will depart promptly at 4 pm, late arrivals may miss the performance and procession. Please reach out to sanfrancisco@kadist.org with any questions.

Helina Metaferia is an interdisciplinary artist working across collage, assemblage, video, performance, and social engagement. She is the daughter of Ethiopian activist immigrants unable to return home after their studies because of the political situation, with a mother who led a nonprofit organization advocating for the rights of Ethiopian women. As a Black person of the diaspora in the US, Metaferia’s biography plays an important role in her practice, which asks broadly where does history and revolution live? She proposes it lives in archives, genealogies, canons, and oral histories, but also in bodies, acts of reunion, in releasing trauma and celebrating joy, in dreaming.

Tiffany Austin is a vocalist, composer, educator, event producer, philanthropist and Berkeley Law Juris Doctor whose musical influences include Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, Bessie Smith and John Coltrane. She has performed with luminaries such as Pharoah Sanders, Roy Ayers, John Handy, Cyrus Chestnut, and Doug Carn. She has also performed at prestigious venues including Birdland and Dizzy’s Den in NYC, Walt Disney Concert Hall in her native Los Angeles, SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, and on nationally televised programming in the United States. Beyond California, she has performed in Europe, Asia, and Australasia.

In the vibrant tapestry of the East Bay community, Valerie Troutt has not only emerged as a respected artist but has also become a prominent figure within the esteemed creative circles of the region. Collaborating with various entities, including Oakland’s Zoolab, Queer Cultural Center SF, Boomshake, Embodiment Project dance company, Afrosolo, and more, Valerie has left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of the Bay Area. Her musical compositions have graced performances in partnership with renowned institutions like The Eastbay Center, SFJazz, and The SF Skywatchers.

Kenya Moses is a performing artist who synergistically combines classical voice, Brazilian song and contemporary movement in her bodies of work. As a vocalist, she has performed throughout the United States, Italy and France. While her career as a professional dancer has allowed her to perform with acclaimed contemporary ballet and modern companies throughout the U.S. Additionally, Kenya is a leadership and communications keynote speaker, marketing consultant and mother of two.