What if every stoop was a throne?

📶💭 In 2022, April Banks (@aprilbanks_art) presented 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 (𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦) at @thenicholsonproject as a functional public artwork serving as stage or seating, for performance or for rest. Educated as an architect, Banks’ practice considers how the construction of space and how we move through it affects how we feel. In 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦, she draws inspiration from the stoop, a common architectural feature in Southeast DC and throughout other parts of the city, to re-image tradition and write history into the urban landscape. From the side view 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 is a line drawing, a metaphor for weightlessness, and a resistance to enclosure. From the front and top views, the words and patterns cut into the structure are an archive of collective memory. Banks pairs these two concepts—weightlessness and inscribing a chosen narrative into one’s own architecture—to explore themes around erasure, eminent domain, historically unfair lending practices, and the legacies we inherit. Visit our “Project Archive” 🔗 in bio to learn more about 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 (𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦). 📸: The Nicholson Project