Statement

My practice as a multi-disciplinary artist encompasses activism histories, community building, media subversion, and the creation of accessible imaginative experiences. Most recently, I am considering overlaps between patterns of collective activism and cycles of the sun; the relationship between destruction and beauty; and the needs for both protest and investments in personal wellness. These explorations are a study in self determination, tension, and balance. Through this work I continue to engage viewers and participants of my work in the politics of our shared society while paying increasing attention to our individual approaches to managing its weight.

Informed by historical research, my prints, collages, installations, and videos consistently welcome viewers to involve themselves with the work. My studio practice overlaps with my public, project-based, and collaborative work, in which I push to create environments and experiences that offer respite from painful realities—opportunities for collective momentum, learning, and joy.

BIO

Shani Peters (b. 1981 Lansing, MI) is a multi-disciplinary artist based in New Orleans, LA. She holds a B.A. from Michigan State University and an M.F.A. from the City College of New York. Peters has presented work in the U.S. and abroad at the New Museum, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem; Seoul Art Space Geumcheon in South Korea; the National Gallery of Zimbabwe; and the Bauhaus Dessau. Selected residencies include those hosted by the Mississippi Museum of Art (MS), Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, The Laundromat Project (NY), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (NY), and Project Row Houses (TX). Her work has been supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Creative Capital, the Rauschenberg Foundation, Rema Hort Mann Foundation, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Peters has served as a faculty member of The City College of New York, Pratt Institute, and Parsons School of Design.

In 2016 Peters Co-Founded The Black School (TBS) with her partner Joseph Cuillier. TBS is an experimental art school using art and activism to transform social realities through Black love, healing, and self-determination. The art project turned organization is currently building a community arts center, The Black Schoolhouse, in Cuillier’s hometown of New Orleans, LA.