The Crown: A Reception By Students, For Students

The students of Afroamerican and African Studies course “Black Art, White Cube” are hosting a student-only reception for the internationally recognized artist Shani Peters’s exhibition The Crown: Contemporary Construction of Self in America in GalleryDAAS. Although the exhibition has already officially opened, we wanted to create a space that would facilitate greater communication and exploration of the topics raised by Peters's work between University of Michigan students from various backgrounds and experiences. The opening will feature student speakers, musical performances, and pizza.

Peters’s multi-part project The Crown explores issues of self-determination and the ways in which these determinations are enforced or complicated by one’s past, both personal and historical. She utilizes various crowns of African and Western origins to celebrate rising above oppression and to interrogate the related concepts of self-determination, identity, and autonomy in one’s life. The exhibition in GalleryDAAS features compelling photographs and the opportunity for students to participate in the Selfie Booth by wearing one of six handmade crowns.