An embroidery piece done by Tanya for an exhibition honoring James Baldwin.

Tanya standing in front if Indigo, from her They Did Not Know We Were Seeds installation in Boston, MA

My work centers the bodily remembrance of joy. My art is less about what viewers take with them, and more about what they leave behind. Community is encouraged to leave their heaviness, tiredness, and more, to open space within themselves for joy.

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ABOUT

Video Credit: Vernée Wilkinson

Meet Tanya:

Tanya Nixon-Silberg (she/her) is a Black mother, educator, artist, and radical dreamer - and it is the beautifully intricate intersection of these identities that cultivates the experience that is her art.

The goal of her oeuvre is to make sure that Black and Brown children recognize that racism is systemic. Such holistic education requires empowering educators to confront systemic racism in the classroom, reminding them that engaging in this work collectively helps us to heal as a community.

Heralded as a "translator", Tanya's unique ability to bring concepts of racial justice to young children stretches her impact across generations. For more than 10 years, she has encouraged youth to both imagine and claim their place in a global community. She reminds them that they have agency and can take action for change.

The joy of art comes through both the creation and the expression, and Tanya's commitment to liberation shines through her command of both.

Create With Tanya

Your neighborhood is a living tapestry, not just a collection of houses. Communities are built on connection, and that connection can blossom through shared creativity.

Tanya specializes in collaborative art installations, working with local groups to transform neighborhoods into vibrant canvases. By fostering creativity and collaboration, she helps build beautiful, connected communities. Let's get creative and build something beautiful, together.

Tanya and Bonnie Duncan from Play For Change.

A collaborative experience between Tanya Nixon-Silberg and Bonnie Duncan of the Gottabees blends puppetry, live music, and art-making for families.

Play for Change is more than just fun! It's a space where we explore themes of joy, liberation, and sparking change within our young people. Through play and artistic expression, Play for Change equips them to become the changemakers we need in the world.

Tanya and her Puppet hold the book My Night in the Planetarium by Innosanto Nagara

As a participant in Puppet Showplace Theater’s Incubator program, Tanya produced and co-created a puppet adaptation of Innosanto Nagara’s "My Night in the Planetarium," with support from The Boston Foundation and The Jim Henson Foundation. Her liberation-focused work has been featured in numerous arts institutions across Greater Boston, including the Boston Public Library, Institute for Contemporary Art, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and the Peabody Essex Museum.

Little Uprising children holding signs in front of a large building.

Little Uprisings is an organization run with Octavia Nixon focused on centering racial justice and liberation with kids and their caregiving allies. Little Uprisings’ mission --be it in schools with teachers developing culturally relevant curricula, in a community center with children talking about gentrification or helping parents develop their own values about racial justice, --is actively anti-racist, joyful, and Black affirming and steadfastly focused on our collective liberation.

Photo Credit: Faith Ninivaggi, Tess Scheflan, Cristela Guerra, Sarah Nolen, Boston Public Library, Vernée Wilkinson

My work centers the bodily remembrance of joy. My art is less about what viewers take with them, and more about what they leave behind. Community is encouraged to leave their heaviness, tiredness, and more, to open space within themselves for joy.

Partnering With Community:

Meet Tanya:

“We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.”- Gwendolyn Brooks“We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.”- Gwendolyn Brooks

Create With Tanya