Friends of the Tanner House Community Artist Partnership
The Friends of the Tanner House is an organization dedicated to preserving and revitalizing the historic Tanner family property at 2908 W. Diamond St. in Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. The Friends are a group of Black preservation advocates and cultural workers honoring the legacy not only the groundbreaking legacy of painter Henry O Tanner, but also his family. Since October 2023, I’ve served as the Community Artist Partner on this project curating a series of multigenerational, public art programming uplifting the family’s legacy and the home’s urgent stabilization efforts, while collectively envisioning the home’s future as a creative community space.
The People’s Dispensary, October 2023
The People’s Dispensary, inspired by the life of Dr. Halle Tanner Dillion-Johnson, was a day-long communal care event centering art + holistic healing, while honoring black femme health + care workers. Offerings include workshops exploring land stewardship for Black parents, Black birth-work traditions, becoming a doula, herbal medicine making, and yoga.
Plastic of the Sofa, October 2023
Plastic on the Sofa was an artist talk + collage workshop honoring and exploring the role of the Black home in contemporary art. This event was inspired by Henry O. Tanner, an acclaimed painter who became the first black artist to gain international recognition. Join artists and cultural workers, @bydorianadiaz ,@destinycrockett , and @vashtidubois as they discuss how Black domesticity influences their creative practices. Following the conversation, there will be a workshop where participants will create their own collages inspired by Henry O. Tanner’s The Banjo Lesson.
Ceramic Altar Building Workshop, December 2023
During December of 2023 we hosted a ceramic altar building workshop , inspired by the lives of Sarah and Benjamin Tucker Tanner, intertwining Black spiritual and religious practices with fights for liberation, while hand-building ceramic altars Participants built a collective altar and walked away with their own herbal head-washes.
