June 2023–October 2024
Black folks flying is the stuff of legend.
Stories of Africans flying from bondage emerged from the Middle Passage. Since then, they've been shared from the kitchen table to the rocking chair, to the choir stand, and countless places in between. They've traveled a long road, but their presence has never ceased.
Flight Plans follows these tales down a runway of time and space. It takes a reverse migration from the present and stretches back to the beginning of our story here. Along the way, it imagines moments of telling, sharing, remembering, and preparing for flight.
Flight is folklore. Magic. Rebellion. Escape. Survival. It's a burden being set down. A lightness emerging. A deep breath. An easement. Something created. A choice when no options are clear. A movement through fear, into what may be better, beyond.
"Somewhere on this path, is a reminder of how to soar." - Njaimeh Njie