As part of the Simmons Center’s 10th Anniversary series of activities, the Center invited long-time friend and Brown alumna Cherise Morris, class of 2016, for the premiere of her new piece, “the cosmic matter of Black lives.” In this ritual performance, anchored by writings from her forthcoming book, “the cosmic matter of Black lives,” Cherise Morris explored the ways ancestral wisdoms and a reconnection with Indigenous and diasporic nature-based healing practice can guide us forward into a future of ecological harmony and racial justice. The performance was followed by a conversation and audience Q&A moderated by Rachel Christopher, Assistant Professor of the Practice in Acting. 

Cherise Morris is an award-winning writer, interdisciplinary performance artist, ritualist, spirit worker and healer born and raised in rural Virginia and living in Detroit, MI. Merging writing, poetry, prayer, ritual and performance, Cherise’s work strives to connect us through a shared sense of humanity and affirm and uplift us in our journeys of individual healing and collective transformation. Her writing and multidisciplinary performance work has been supported by a host of regional and national organizations, including the Knight Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, Red Bull Arts, Allied Media Projects, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Poets & Writers, and PEN America. Her essays have twice been recognized as notable works of literary nonfiction in Best American Essays 2018 and Best American Essays 2019.