Thank you to all who GATHERED with us for a night of conversation & celebration!
GATHER, The Laundromat Project’s annual celebration took place on November 14th at MoMA PS1!
This year, GATHER featured a conversation with our 2023 Create Change Artists-in-Residence Shanna Sabio, Aisha Shillingford, Genel Ambrose, Faith Robinson, Pedro Juan Cruz Cruz, Solaris Capehart, and Kira Joy Williams.
Following the conversation was a special musical performance by singer-songwriter Alice Smith.
Get Organized: Culture. Power. Movement.
Special Performance by Alice Smith
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, Alice Smith, is known and celebrated for her soulful four-octave vocal range and formidable stage presence. She began her music journey in the earliest days of the New York AFROPUNK scene. Her critically acclaimed 2006 debut album For Lovers, Dreamers and Me earned Smith a Grammy nomination with its lead single Dream. Since then, her artful blend of soulful vocals and mid-tempo grooves has garnered a passionate following that has packed venues like New York City’s Apollo Theatre, Bowery Ballroom and Irving Plaza. Her following subsequent album, She, took Smith a step further into her own power and highlights soul-stirring combinations of fiercely honed pop drenched in notes of soul.
Her latest collection of songs, Mystery features intuitively crafted originals that pair a “trip-hop-like grit” with the exquisite sultriness of Smith’s state-altering voice. She will put a spell on you: molded from her eclectic and seemingly contradictory influences Smith has created timeless compositions that have transcended and redefined the boundaries found in popular music.
Alice Smith’s artistry is intoxicating as it is mesmerizing, always feeding audiences music they can truly feel. She is a muse to and has collaborated with visual artists such as Khalil Joseph who showcased Smith’s performance of “I Put a Spell on You” in his film “Black Mary”. Another revered conceptual artist, Glenn Kaino, highlighted Smith’s potent writing and vocal stylings in his immersive art exhibit A Forest for the Trees. Installation artist and filmmaker, Sir Isaac Julien, featured Smith’s songwriting and performance of Once Again in his eponymously named film. Most recently, Smith was featured in Netflix’s highly anticipated all-black western 2021 film The Harder They Fall. In the film, as the saloon singer, she performed the song Wednesday’s Child, which was also included in this 53rd NAACP Image Award winning movie soundtrack.