Reception — I Know Why the Blackbird Sings & Don’t Sell Grandma’s House

In her titular autobiographical work, Maya Angelou asserts that “the caged bird sings of freedom.” But what song does the bird on free soil sing? I Know Why the Blackbird Sings revisits Ohio’s complicity in the practice of dispossession, kidnapping, and denial of due process through the locational efforts of Ohio’s free people.

This show is on view concurrently with Don’t Sell Grandma’s House from September 2–27, 2025. Don’t Sell Grandma’s House represents a collaborative approach to recreating sites violently fractured by redlining and dispossession. The process of immersive world-building begs the question, “Where do we gather when our land is gone?” while also thinking about the modified ways that families transmit their histories in intimate and sacred spaces.

Participating Artists: Tyiesha Radford Shorts, Valerie Boyer, Paisha Thomas, Keya Crenshaw, Matthew Pitts, Sharbreon Plummer, Marshall Shorts