The Black Madonna & Other Sacred Spaces

The Black Madonna & Other Sacred Spaces is a multidisciplinary exhibition and cultural experience that centers healing, ancestral memory, and sacred creative practice within Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. Through visual art, installation, and public programming, the exhibition explores the Black Madonna as both symbol and portal—an archetype of protection, resilience, divinity, and maternal power across time and geography. Artists were invited to interpret “sacred spaces” expansively: as physical environments, interior landscapes, spiritual inheritances, and sites of resistance, rest, and restoration. Presented by The Sacred Spaces Collective in collaboration with community partners like The Urban Arts Space, Wexner Center for the Arts, The Pollen Patch Columbus, and Straight Through, the exhibition will transform the gallery and community spaces into an immersive, reflective environment that prioritizes care, accessibility, and collective storytelling. Programming will include workshops, artist talks, and healing-centered gatherings that deepen engagement beyond the visual experience. Participating Artists: Arris' Cohen, Ade Asiko, BLingual aka Benay Walker, Keya Crenshaw, Hollie Davis, Ajanae Dawkins, Shelbi “SheL10” Toone, BasSheva (Sonia) Mañjon, Tyiesha Radford-Shorts, Gaye Reissland, Carlos Roa, Lisa Shepherd, Tiffany Musa, April Sunami, Paisha Thomas, Nina “9” Wells, Joni Acuff, gloria wilson, Roni Auset, Michol Childress, Umze', aka Leslie Battle, Sheena Daree Romero, David Butler, Marshall Shorts, Uko Smith, Gia Sol, Alé Sison, Sheena Hanscel, Mark Cardwell, Mercurylion, Monique McCrystal, Chris Hartway, Shavona Little, and Kenny Eaddy This inaugural exhibition marks the beginning of a larger vision: to build sustainable platforms, resources, and physical spaces that support artists and communities in creating, preserving, and experiencing sacred work. Instagram: @sacredspacescollective Featured Promo Artwork by Mark Cardwell, with typography and design by Miles Dobson On view concurrently with Homing *This page will be updated with times and locations as event details are finalized. Reception: Friday, July 17, 6–8 PM Urban Arts Space A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde Tuesday, July 21, 7:00 PM Wexner Center for the Arts Film & Video (Ada Gay Griffin and Michelle Parkerson, 1996) A Litany for Survival chronicles the remarkable life of Black lesbian, poet, teacher, and activist Audre Lorde, from her childhood in Harlem to her 14-year battle with breast cancer. A champion of civil rights, the women’s movement, and gay and lesbian rights, Lorde “narrates” the film through recordings of her poetry, prose, and interviews conducted during the final years of her life. Reflections from her children, students, and contemporaries—including Adrienne Rich, Essex Hemphill, and Sonia Sanchez—add to this incredibly rich portrait of one of 20th century’s most influential writers. Sacred Spaces Collective Curator Keya Crenshaw and Poet Tyiesha Radford-Shorts lead a discussion following the screening. (90 mins., digital video) The Listening Room Presents: Straight Through, An Atemporal Experience Wednesday, July 22, 7:00 PM Location TBD In partnership with Sista Rhythm aka Dr. Adrienne Kennedy, Straight Through is a live, immersive sound experience that collapses time through deep listening. Rooted in Black sonic traditions and experimental practice, this offering invites audiences into a shared auditory ritual—where past, present, and future converge. Curated by The Sacred Spaces Collective, Atemporal: The Listening Room centers sound as a site of memory, healing, and transcendence. This event is guided by the visionary work of Sista Rhythm and Straight Through. Artist Commune: Mystic Sticks (A Hand-Rolled Incense Making Workshop) Friday, July 31, 6:30–8:30 PM Urban Arts Space In partnership with Sheena Hanscel of the Pollen Patch Columbus, Mystic Sticks is a hands-on incense-making workshop rooted in ancestral knowledge and sensory ritual. Participants will learn to blend, bind, and roll their own incense while exploring the spiritual and cultural significance of scent across diasporic traditions. As part of The Urban Arts Space Artist Commune series and in collaboration with the Sacred Spaces Collective, these offerings nurture creativity, embodiment, and communal care through intentional making. The Care Studio: Interactive Rituals for Skin, Body, and Self Love Friday, August 7, 6:30–8:30 PM Urban Arts Space In partnership with Sheena Hanscel of the Pollen Patch Columbus The Care Studio is an interactive wellness experience centered on ritual, touch, and self-devotion. Through guided practices and plant-based care techniques, participants engage in embodied rituals for skin, body, and spirit. Grounded in traditions of holistic healing, this offering expands care as both a personal and collective practice—inviting restoration, reflection, and reconnection. The Listening Room Presents: Straight Through, An Atemporal Experience Saturday, August 15, 2:00 PM King Arts Complex in the Elijah Pierce Gallery In partnership with Sista Rhythm aka Dr. Adrienne Kennedy, Straight Through is a live, immersive sound experience that collapses time through deep listening. Rooted in Black sonic traditions and experimental practice, this offering invites audiences into a shared auditory ritual—where past, present, and future converge. Curated by The Sacred Spaces Collective, Atemporal: The Listening Room centers sound as a site of memory, healing, and transcendence. This event is guided by the visionary work of Sista Rhythm and Straight Through. Encoded Bodies, Living Archives: Ghosts in the Dataset and the Future of Cultural Memory An AI + Art Panel Conversation Date TBD Urban Arts Space Grounded in The Black Madonna & Other Sacred Spaces, the conversation centers questions of authorship, cultural memory, and power. How do systems built on vast datasets engage with histories that are embodied, ancestral, and often unrecorded? What is created—and what is lost—when sacred and lived knowledge encounters algorithmic logic? Featuring artists from the exhibition alongside community technologists and academic voices, this dialogue invites a deeper inquiry into the future of creativity, not only what AI can generate, but what it cannot hold. Moderated by Dr. Terron Banner, Executive Director of Urban Arts Space. Participants: Marshall Shorts, Mark Cardwell, and Chaz Vilbar 50 W. Town St., Ste. 130Columbus, OH 43215Located in the historic Lazarus Building in downtown Columbus. Admission to our exhibitions and programs is free! View this map for parking garage options, with street parking on Rich, Front, and Wall Street, or go to our Accessibility page for bike or bus directions. Contact Us Urban Arts Space 50 W Town St, Suite 130 Columbus, OH 43215 Hours of operation Tuesday - Saturday: 11 AM – 6 PM Thursday: 11 AM – 8 PM E-Mail: uas@osu.edu Phone: (614) 292-8861 Hopkins Hall Gallery 128 North Oval Mall Columbus, OH 43210 Hours of operation Monday - Friday: 11 AM – 4 PM receive newsletters & email updates Subscribe