MASS MoCA Co-Presentation: Emily Johnson / Catalyst

Join celebrated dance artist Emily Johnson for YOUR HONOR, a care procession, a new performance gathering unfolding within Jeffrey Gibson’s exhibition POWER FULL BECAUSE WE’RE DIFFERENT.

We’ll pay attention to another scale, another form, another knowledge. We’ll traverse together. We’ll listen to stories and provocations transmitted from artists across territories and First Nations. We’ll take in the sounds of famed Lower East Side DJ, DJ Dat Gurl Curly. And we’ll gather on and amongst 84 hand-stitched quilts—a 4,000 square-foot design created over the past decade by hundreds of volunteers over multiple geographies. An extension of care itself, designed by Ojibwe artist Maggie Thompson and activated through our performances, these quilts reflect a collective vision toward better futures. They hold a record of historic actions alongside personal histories, migrations, and dreams. You’ll be invited to take part by adding your ideas to this monumental project: what are your non-negotiable care actions? How do we defend land in a city? How do we disrupt the misuse of the terms: great, free, he, she, illegal, migrant, border?