Social Practice
This is where art meets joy, and where joy meets community. I'm passionate about using art as a tool for learning, reclaiming, and celebrating the vibrant tapestry of Black experience.
Here, you'll find projects that spark conversations, workshops that empower creativity, and installations that transform public spaces. Get ready to explore, get inspired, and join the movement to amplify Black joy through the power of art.
They Did Not Know We Were Seeds (2023)
"They Did Not Know We Were Seeds" by Tanya Nixon-Silberg: A 5x5x5 cylindrical planter housing ancestral Indigo plants and a hidden miniature puppet theater. Witness the joyous spectacle of a maneuverable Black puppet skipping through historical Black Boston.
Experience the resilience and power of Black joy as you become the puppeteer, guiding the puppet through the city's narrative, fostering joy and connection.
Explore diverse programming for all ages, including musical story hours celebrating Blackness and workshops on indigo dyeing's history and healing properties. This space is a hub for healing and celebration, reminding us that joy and care are integral to our collective legacy.
UnADULTerated Black Joy (2022-2023)
The Un-ADULTerated Black Joy Collective, comprised of three Black mama artists, celebrated bodily remembrances of childhood and joy for other Black mothers in Boston. The group exhibition, featuring works by Alison Croney Moses, Ekua Holmes, L’Merchie Frazier Tanya Nixon-Silberg, and Zahirah Nur Truth, was on display at The Piano Craft Gallery from May 5, 2023, to May 28, 2023.
Through art inspired by their own girlhood memories, their children's lives, and adult experiences, the collective invited viewers to embrace playfulness and prioritize joy. Accompanying the artworks were video recordings capturing community gatherings, highlighting the collective's commitment to fostering joy and connection.
Mother Tongue (2024)
We carry our mother's words through time and generations. For most women of color, our mother’s tongue is both uplifting, affirming and wise and simultaneously heavily burdened with colonialism.
In Mother Tongue, 14 BIPOC mothers listed two phrases - in English and in their mother’s tongue- what phrase they heard as a kid, their antidote to the phrase and reason in their own parenting. Taking notes from the reparenting movement and my own liberation as a mother, Mother Tongue is a hand embroidered tapestry of decolonized parenting. As a participant in this piece, you are invited to think of your own mother’s tongue and -whether you are a mother or not-, say out loud what phrases you would use today in the spirit of decolonization. This piece is an invitation for all of us to extend grace for mothers (aside from one day a year) noting that they did the best they can with the material and emotional resources available. Special thank you to all the mother's that contributed to this piece. May we continue on in love and liberation..
Indigo Black: A Ritual of Protection (2025)
Coming Soon through Tanya Nixon-Silberg’s Fellowship with Artists for Humanity
Indigo Black is an upcoming community-based art project and healing circle led by artist Tanya Nixon-Silberg through her fellowship with Artists for Humanity. Rooted in the spiritual, cultural, and historical legacy of indigo, this project invites Black women and femmes to come together in ritual, reflection, and creation. Through storytelling, textile dyeing, and collaborative making, participants will sew protective items—stones, herbs, notes, cloth—into a shared indigo-dyed fabric.
The process is a meditation on Black protection, ancestral wisdom, and collective care. Indigo Black offers a space to slow down, to listen to what needs holding, and to transform what needs releasing. As part of her ongoing practice of weaving art, healing, and community, Tanya holds this space as a soft landing for those who carry much—and deserve more.
Photo Credit: Tess Scheflan