It’s been a busy summer learning, teaching, and performing at Petra Eff Studios. I attended the Pennsylvania Gourd Society’s Annual Gourd Festival in Lebanon, PA. My trip was made possible by the Pittsburgh Patch of the PA Gourd Society. I met so many gourders (including Gourdlandia’s Graham Ottoson), learned new processes, and started a few pieces that I hope to share soon.
Next, I presented by performance Washgourd at Glitter Box Theater (Homestead, PA) as part of the Delightfully Obscure Lecture Series (D.O.L.S.) curated by Olivia Devorah (Talmud Magic).
I wrapped up June with my workshop Sankofa Sounds at MuseumLab, which is part of Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Visitors learned how to make gourd shakers and decorate them with Adinkra ideograms.
July brings a very cool group performance at Carnegie Museum of Art’s Inside Out series. On July 25 from 12- 5 PM, I will join Carnegie International artist Daid Roy with Pittsburgh musicians trē abalos, BusCrates, and How Things Are to score Launching Peace. We will collectively improvise a soundscape for a rocket building & launching activity co-facilitated by AssemblePGH. All ages welcome!
In August, I’ll be immersed in craft education. I’ll return Blue Farm (Indiana, PA) for a short & sweet residency to apply my newly acquired gourd techniques and create a new suite of sculptures. After, I’m headed to Touchstone Center for Crafts to attend Lynette Yousson’s Sweetgrass Basketry course. Lynette is a fifth-generation weaver from South Carolina where Gullah-Geechee artisans have preserved the art of grass basketry. I’ve been fascinated by the links between U.S. Gullah-Geechee culture and West Africa (Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone). Grateful for funding from Touchstone and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council to explore this further!
https://divinestrings.co/product/traditional-kamele-ngoni/
September brings more learning! I’ll travel to Ithaca, NY to attend a Ngoni Building Workshop (African gourd-derived string instrument) at Gourdlandia. A dream come true!
Follow along on Instagram (@petra.eff.studio)~~~~~
Old News
If you’re in Philly next weekend, I have three Valentine’s activities for you. These are heartfelt offerings that come from being nurtured by my communities of care & creative practice. Visit with a friend, a sweetie, family, or take yourself on a date.
Are you feeling exhausted by the endless dance with power and procedure? Electric Boogie Too, my Electric Slide workshop, is a space for moving those feelings through your body with others. It’s silly and serious, just like me.
RSVP here: https://www.pafa.org/events/electric-boogie-too-workshop-021624
I believe the sound and movement ground us in disorienting space/times. This version of Kalimbrrd is a live, ambient performance in response to the gorgeous retrospective, Determined to Be: The Sculptures of John Rhoden. I am building a score to move us through his work sonically, using archival sounds and field recordings to connect with Rhoden’s life and travels.
RSVP here: https://www.pafa.org/events/kalimbrrd-sonic-tour-021724
Continue your weekend at “You Bring Me Joy!” at iMPeRFecT Gallery in Germantown, curated by Wit Lopez. My video 4 Tina: Clown Karaoke and my new print Tina Print 1/1 (Simply The Best)! are on view.
Sometimes your love is heavy-handed, but you mean well. My Email to a Future Curator/Exhibiting Artist/Organizer is a LONG email to a high school student about making a DIY exhibition.
The Liberation Tarot deck is here!
My close friend Cyrée Jarelle Johnson (Collective Cartomancy) and I collaborated on The Doula (formerly the Empress) for this beautiful deck. Contribute to our Kickstarter to bring this deck into your life.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ww3/liberationtarot/
I’ve got a substack! If you want to read more about my studio practice, which includes growing gourds all over Pittsburgh, sign up here.
https://petrafloyd.substack.com/
Artist Interview: Evangeline Mensah-Agyekum and Petra Floyd
On June 10, 2023 I had the pleasure of interviewing Evangeline about her solo exhibition I Still See You, Even in the Dark at 38a Gallery in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. I love being in conversation with other multidisciplinary artists about their process, inspiration, creative journey, and future ambitions.
Embedded: Understanding Air Quality with Art
March 24, 2022 – April 30, 2022
https://pittsensing.herokuapp.com/embedded
BEFORE THE DJ WAS SOUND, AND SHE PLAYED IT
March 11, 2023 – April 22, 2023
Opening reception: Saturday, March 11 6-9 pm
Closing reception: Saturday, April 22 2-4 pm
Advancing Black Arts provides record $1.61 million in grants
Petra Floyd ($15,000) for support in the continued development of their work titled “Before the DJ Was Sound, and She Played It.”
https://pittsburghfoundation.org/abap2022
https://pittsburghfoundation.org/petrafloyd
Creative Development Awards fund colorful slate of projects by Pittsburgh-based artists
https://www.heinz.org/strategic-areas/creativity/creative-development-award
Petra Floyd ($20,000) to support the development of “Audio.belisk,” a sonification of the sculpture “Five Factors” in Pittsburgh’s Mellon Park by artist Peter Calaboyias. The sculpture’s storied history includes an installation on the roof of the Carnegie Library parking garage in Squirrel Hill and a 20-year, post-restoration disappearance before it was found in a city warehouse in 2006. Mx. Floyd will transform the sculpture into an instrument and speaker using acoustic tools, enabling the public to “play” the sculpture.
Mavuno 2022 Exhibition: pip. pit. pith.
September 16th, 2022 – October 28th, 2022
https://sweetwaterartcenter.org/exhibitions/mavuno2022exhibition/
http://www.art.cmu.edu/news/school/ken-meyer-professional-studio-development-award/
Petra Floyd, who recently graduated with a Master’s of Fine Arts degree from the School of Art, worked on sounds in the Gallery room, inspired by “The Artist’s Garden at Vétheuil.”
-Heather Opdyke
https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2022/june/monet-phipps-show.html
Petra Floyd 