May 8 - 31 * opening event May 8 at 3pm * open during events and by appointment: email info@rhizomedc.org

This Body Contains is an exercise in play, response to misrepresentation, and expression of joy amidst ailment. Stemming from a practice in which images of family and identity had often been misconstrued as illustrations of Black bodies in somber narratives, this study attempts to express that there can be pleasure within the process of a Black body connecting itself to its history and physical surroundings. A Black body can enjoy itself within nature. A Black body is meant to be exactly where it is.

Alanna Reeves (she/her) is a Washington, DC-born artist, writer, and art administrator. She is a 2015 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a BFA in Illustration and Concentration in History of Art and Visual Culture. Her current studio practice has developed to focus on origins, identity discontinuity, and placemaking. While much of her work is biographical, it aims to include and uplift other voices and perspectives. These themes are reflected through a means of painting, printmaking, movement, narrative and, when fortunate, food. She has exhibited within the DC-area and beyond, has participated in residencies and fellowships with Monson Arts, DC Arts Center, Pyramid Atlantic, and Transformer. She is grateful to have works in the library collections of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, and Brown University.