solange on asserting blackness in white spaces: “tear the got damn walls down”

On Thursday, Solange performed two intimate shows at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as part of the Red Bull Music Academy Festival New York. The performance, titled “An Ode To”, was conceptualized, choreographed, directed and composed by Solange, whose Saint Heron platform will also be curating a stage at AFROPUNK Brooklyn 2017. “An Ode To” was a mediation on themes from the singer’s last album, A Seat At The Table, through movement, installation, and experimentation with reconstructed musical arrangements.

The performances featured a full band, a horn ensemble and dancers who performed throughout the museum in front of an audience dressed entirely in all white. Solange explained that the piece was a statement on tearing down oppressive structures in a tweet posted last Wednesday:

Check out some images from the event below!:

Photography via by Carys Huws, Krisanne Johnson, and Stacy Kranitz for Red Bull Music Academy.