Samples from a project about the rapid gentrification happening in Tulsa where I currently live and work. The history of the land and violence towards communities acts as context as the area is being built upon and commodified. These places reside in a neighborhood called Greenwood + Black Wall Street as well as having historical connections to native communities. This is part of the neighborhood where the 1921 Race Massacre occurred. This project combines landscapes/architectural photographs with studio images of materials found in the area. Some of the pieces are meant to be seen as triptychs or diptychs. Images from this series where published as a zine that is also titled Centennial.

Part of my position as a teacher includes working in this area. I was also a participant in the Tulsa Artist Fellowship and my studio was located in this part of Tulsa. I found as an educator in Tulsa that many students from town did not even know the history of what happened here, while the city’s development was largely celebrated. This was a way to further bring to light the implications of what was happening in our city, whether people knew it already or not.