First launched in July 2021, A Single Thread Weaves a Future is an exploration of time and sustainability drawing inspiration from accomplished and stylish Black women who revolutionized the Houston community and serve as a prototype for imagining a glorious Black future. This multimedia installation communicated via the mediums of photography, dance/movement, fashion, and literature the personas and future tense embodiments. Movement artists were styled in fashion that represents the work of their respective prototypes and future embodiment. Additionally, vintage fashion was utilized because it is sustainable in a very literal way and the planet’s future is dependent on all us living a lot more green.
On display, the photography was hung in repurposed vintage framing complete with displays of attire and accessories that complement. Vignettes of each prototype were choreographed inspired by their life and its significance to African American culture. A Single Thread Weaves a Future provided a succinct anthology of each prototype. This included works that give a deeper inquiry into their work, their favorite pieces of pleasure reading, and works that parallel their future embodiments.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Stacey Allen is a native Houstonian, who has been cultivating a career in dance upon earning her BA in Dance from Sam Houston State University. She also has a MA in Cross-Cultural Studies for University of Houston Clear Lake where her research focus includes dance anthropology. In addition to a plethora of freelance opportunities, she was most notably a company member for Urban Souls Dance Company. She began pursuing her own artistic visions and co-founded Pretty Cultured which is an artistic collaborative that uses art as a voice for dialogue and healing. In 2019, Stacey co-created the installation “Formed in My Grandmother’s Womb” as a part of Project Row Houses’ Round 50: Race, Health, and Motherhood.
Saida Carter launched ERA Vintage in 2018, bringing together her interest in fashion, vintage, style and art as well as her experience in literature and design to create a business that would celebrate freedom of expression and a sustainable retail experience of the future.
Featured artists and collectives include Amber Henderson-Stevens, Candice D’Meza, Carters Girls, Cassandra Jones, Foliage Faerie, Free Black Women’s Library, Healthy Women Houston, Holi Mamma, Iman Eli, Joethella Gipson, Josie Pickens, Kam Franklin, Loren Holmes, Nia’s Daughters Movement Collective, Sacred Line Home Services, Sacred Twerk, Secunda Joseph, and The Catastrophic Theatre.