Artist Talk: Xenobia Bailey

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in partnership with the Association for Public Art, is delighted to host artist Xenobia Bailey as its 200th Anniversary signature talk for the theme Soul of America: Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts. Ms. Bailey, a fiber-artist, crocheter, designer, researcher, and cultural activist, describes her creative practice and talk as such:

“I seek the continuum of the aesthetic of ‘Funk’ and material culture across African American communities – from contemporary homemakers, caregivers, and domestic workers to early Free settlement towns and colonized communities of Radical Black Elites of the 1700 and 1800s. This exploration can fuel social and economic redevelopment in the 21st Century. In this talk, I will share how the collection of HSP changed the course of my Black Studies as I knew it, by presenting a little known Black Model City in Philadelphia. This model is an inspiring, self-sustained, early American example of how African American cultural designs and objects can service a global market, to benefit people’s health and well-being.”

• This event is being offered in a hybrid format. Both onsite and virtual tickets are available. All ticket reservations will include a Zoom link, but only onsite tickets will be honored at the door.
• Onsite tickets include admission to the talk, a reception afterwards, and the exhibit Public Art in Philadelphia: A : Legacy of Women, co-curated with the Association of Public Art.
• We wish to provide complimentary tickets to current secondary, undergraduate, and graduate students. Please email us at [email protected] and tell us where you are enrolled as a student and in what program.

Xenobia Bailey is an artist who studied Ethnomusicology at the University of Washington, Custom Apparel Design from Seattle Community College, and holds a BA in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute. Since 1984, she has been developing and practicing a “Rejuvenating Funktional Design Aesthetic” for an African American material culture within a global market, for public, private, and commercial arts.

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) commemorates its 200th birthday in 2024!  Since our founding, we have collected and preserved an astonishing array of documents that bring the people of the past into conversation with us today. We enter our third century eager to invite you to find yourself in history. To connect with the past and make meaningful discoveries about who you are and who we are together. Join us in this endeavor to explore our shared American history. Visit us at hsp.org/200.

The Association for Public Art (aPA) plays a vital role in commissioning and preserving public art in Philadelphia, while promoting the part that art plays in the creation and enhancement of public spaces. Founded in 1872, 50 years younger than the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, aPA has helped to significantly shape Philadelphia’s urban environment through design and planning efforts. The organization continues to care for and maintain a large portion of the city’s historic sculptures, while producing new ambitious and engaging public art projects for everyone.