Artist and activist Patrisse Cullors is leaning into her art these days, gaining sustenance and perspective from it.
Cullors regards her art not just as a vocation, but also as a means of salvation. Following accusations of financial mismanagement at Black Lives Matter, which she resigned from in 2021, Cullors suffered from deep depression and anxiety, trauma, freezing, and fear. She felt her mental health was in danger and that her life was at risk. However, her art practice became her refuge, and she credits it with saving her life multiple times.
Cullors' recent show at the Broad, titled "Don’t Disappear Us/Keep us Leaping/Low Riders and Bonnets that Heal," focused on healing and reflected on the impact of right-wing media on Black people and Black leaders through targeted misinformation and disinformation campaigns. The performance centered on seemingly mundane objects such as a bonnet, a partially built lowrider, and a trampoline. It included a live singer and a recording of Cullors chanting in her daily Ifa religious practice.
Cullors' current gallery show in Chinatown, titled "Freedom Portals," is a collaboration with fellow LA-based artist noé Olivas. It highlights the Ifa tradition through 12 tapestries, which are illustrations of "Odù," or oral literary books containing poetic teachings. Eventually, Cullors aims to create 256 tapestries, representing all Odù poetic tutorials. The objects are meant to honor tradition and be viewed in response to the contemporary moment and its attendant exhaustion, emphasizing community building and self-care.
For Cullors, self-care is crucial, especially through her art. As a Black woman, she feels it is essential to fight for herself, given that many people do not fight for Black women.