September 29, 2024

“How do we reconcile with what has happened in order to chart a different course and move towards liberation?” During her CPP artist residency, Alethea Pace collaborated alongside her community to reclaim the history of the Enslaved African Burial Ground in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. Her work centers on deep listening, addresses the enduring impact of history, and urges the acknowledgment and redressal of historical harms for meaningful transformation. Reflecting on between wave and water, Pace says, “The hard thing about dance is the way you touch it for a moment. It's the beautiful thing about dance too. And I think it teaches me that we can be fully immersed in this experience, in this work and be fully present for it and to know that tomorrow it won’t be, there is a beautiful and painful thing at the same time.” Pace is a Bronx-based, interdisciplinary, movement-based artist committed to creating work in and with her community that is rooted in social justice. Her inquiry is grounded in an embodied practice that seeks answers within bodily knowledge, collective memory, and historical study. The Met’s Civic Practice Partnership (CPP), launched in 2017, catalyzes and implements creative projects that advance healthy communities by bringing the skills and interests of neighborhood stakeholders together with those of The Met and artists who are socially minded in their practice. Invited CPP artists work in their own neighborhoods across New York City and at The Met to develop and implement ambitious projects and forge meaningful collaborations. Learn more about Alethea Pace’s CPP residency: https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/Departments/education/civic-practice-project/civic-practice-partnership/alethea-pace The Civic Practice Project is made possible by The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum #TheMet #Art #TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt #Museum © 2025 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“We’re at a moment in time where there is a lot of effort to ignore the history of slavery. It’s really important for us to name and acknowledge and center that history as a way to understand how we can move forward.” Alethea Pace is a Bronx-based award-winning multidisciplinary choreographer and performer. During her residency, she is taking a process-centered approach and discovering what the work will be alongside her community. Her first activation was intended to be a picnic gathering featuring performance, storytelling, and historical sharings in Joseph Rodman Drake Park and Enslaved African Burial Ground. When weather forced her to change course, BronxArtSpace graciously offered their space to host the event. Following the gathering, Alethea returned to the Burial Ground to make an offering of her dance. The Met’s Civic Practice Partnership (CPP), launched in 2017, catalyzes and implements creative projects that advance healthy communities by bringing the skills and interests of neighborhood stakeholders together with those of The Met and artists who are socially minded in their practice. Invited CPP artists work in their own neighborhoods across New York City and at The Met to develop and implement ambitious projects and forge meaningful collaborations. Watch the video: https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/videos/2023/10/alethea-pace Learn more about The Met's Civic Practice Partnership: https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/departments/education/civic-practice-project/civic-practice-partnership Learn more about Alethea Pace’s CPP Residency: https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/departments/education/civic-practice-project/civic-practice-partnership/meet-the-artists#AletheaPace Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum #TheMet #Art #TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt #Museum © 2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art