“Yes, And”
Gesel Mason
“Yes, And” is a performance project that recenters Black womanhood as the norm and operating force in the creative process. “Yes, And” asks: Who would you be and what would you do if, as a Black woman, you had nothing to worry about? What would you create and how might you be in community with others? Manifesting as virtual and live public engagement “chapters” that are unique and remixed to each location and their communities, “Yes, And” is a process, or rather a methodology, of undoing and of freedom, the freedom “to find” and to “be found” from this recalibrated place.
Gesel Mason is Artistic Director for Gesel Mason Performance Projects and Associate Professor of Dance at University of Texas at Austin. She was a member of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and Ralph Lemon/Cross Performance Projects. Mason utilizes dance, theater, humor, and storytelling to bring visibility to voices unheard, situations neglected, or perspectives considered taboo. Recently featured on NPR and Google Arts and Culture, and over 15 years in the making, Mason’s solo project, NO BOUNDARIES: Dancing the Visions of Contemporary Black Choreographers, is evolving into a digital humanities archive to illuminate the unique legacies and aesthetics of Black choreographers.