Performance + Video Projection

Despite being pioneers and influencers in genres centered on string instruments such as the guitar and the harp, Black women are often excluded from the social narrative surrounding guitarists and instrumentalists. To increase access and representation, Jess Garland presented a series of performances that highlight the diversity and intersectionality of Black women, girls, and femmes through a unique project that includes history and opportunities for musicians to be confident in their identity and artistry. The performance also featured a film titled Behind the Strings: Amplifying Black Feminism in Guitar Culture, created in partnership with the Pegasus Media Project. 

DFW based musician and singer/songwriter, Jess Garland will debut her new laser harp in Luminescence. Jess is working with frequent collaborators new media artists, Eric Trich and James Talambas on this performance. The concert will feature a new 3D printed sculpture laser harp that Garland will use to shine a light on the lack of racial equity in the Arts District in Downtown Dallas. With an all Black cast of musicians, the concert lifts the voices of this underrepresented community while sharing Garland’s personal experiences in love and life through song and visual arts. Through the use of light and sound, Luminescence honors creativity as a source to express and celebrate Blackness while invoking change in the Arts District.

The performance will also feature multi-instrumentalist Brianne Sargent, cellist Najeeb Sabour, violist Steven Juarez, Grammy award winning Geno Young and vocalist Audra Scott.