September 27 - December 8, 2024

BElonging is an interactive, audio-based installation by Jennifer Wen MA* (ACC 2006, 2013, 2015). The audio features a compilation of singular stories on the notion of “belonging,” recorded and collected from community members in Washington, DC, including those from Georgetown and Howard Universities, during the spring and summer. Through an invitational prompt set up by Ma — “tell us a time that someone’s action made you feel that you belonged” — and by following the principles of oral history, the artist and her team interviewed more than 50 participants from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and age, gender, and occupation groups. This resulted in a compelling array of personal narratives that speaks to the complexity and diversity of lived experiences.

A motion-sensored dome, comprised of 360 pieces of hand-blown glass and laser cut paper, creates an intimate embrace, where visitors can enter and listen to personal accounts of simple gestures of kindness or meaningful acts of connection in the heroic acts of community building. 

This installation is the third project in Ma's series of works involving oral history.

To learn more, click HERE

*A project participant who took part in a grant project funded by the ACC.