Reflections on LOOPHOLE OF RETREAT : VENICE

Earlier this month, scores of Black women gathered on a small island near the centre of Venice, in the name of intellect, healing and creative labor via Simone Leigh’s Loophole of Retreat: Venice, which was the second loophole event. Organized by Rashida Bumbray, the retreat included three days of presentations , performances, dialogue, brought forth by Black women from all walks of life and creative backgrounds from scholars, to artists , to activists. “ Tina Campt & Saidiya Hartman curated the first Loophole. Simone knew this was an important intervention because Saidiya told her that people didn’t know that black women intellectuals exist. And of course Black Feminist Thought and black women intellectuals have been critical to Simone’s practice, so she wanted to make that labor more visible, “ commented curator Rashida Bumbray. The event’s title drew inspiration from the 1861 autobiography of Harriet Jacobs, a formerly enslaved woman who, for seven years after her escape, lived in a crawlspace she described as a “loophole of retreat.” She claimed this site as simultaneously an enclosure and a space for enacting practices of freedom—practices of thinking, planning, writing, and imagining new forms of freedom. In a similar way, this was the case for many of the attendees on this very small island that prior to this had surely never been a host to such majestic magnitudes of Blackness. Each day was spent in a deep saudade, a cycle of laughter and tears, as we all relished in the euphoria of each moment, while simultaneously mourning its eventual ending. Curator Rashida Bumbray led us through each day which began with opening remarks, which were done either by herself or by the mavens , authors and scholars Saidiya Hartman and Tina Campt. The daily programme was jam-packed with an abundance of conversations and visuals that left one in a loophole of thoughts, and was also curated in a way that aptly shifted with the moods of the audience. Curator Rashida Bumbray explained , “we wanted everyone to start and end the days together. We also knew we would need to have simultaneous programming given the number of invited participants. We wanted each person’s ask to be similar. To present or perform their own idea and authorship.” A few of the highlights included a performance by artist Ayana M. Evans , that required the audience’s participation, in which she invited guests to celebrate themselves in a parade that included dance and music and the passing of bright yellow feather boas that eventually concluded in ecstatic burst of laughter and tears; a presentation by Portuguese interdisciplinary artist Grada Kilombaa on the process behind creating her artwork, specifically her installation titled “The Boat” now installed in the royal courtyard of Somerset House in London, in commemoration of the millions of Africans enslaved by European empires ; a reading by author Christina Elizabeth Sharpe on rediscovery of her parents’ archive of photos ; a tear jerking performance by singer Cecily on self love ; performances by Black Quantum Futurism on the warped concept of time and a conceptual act Okwui Okpokwasili that captured her audience in a way no one had before. These are just to list a few. On her personal experience , Bumbray says “One of the main memories for me was the intergenerational aspect of Loophole. Christian Campbell said the children had their own Loophole of Retreat which was so true. My own daughter and children from 2 to 12 all played and cared for each other outside. It was beautiful to see how safe and happy they were. Also when Annette Lane announced that we are all now members of the United Order of Tents, and of course Lorraine O’Grady & Simone’s final talk. When Lorraine said that ‘we have reached critical mass and we are no longer afraid to be alone.’ Indeed, being present for each of these events was a celebration of Black people as a chorus , of Black womanhood as a chorus — a unit made of many different types of pieces . It was what Saidiya Hartman defined as “something that can only be defined as quantum” and what curator Rashida Bumbray described as “the experience of encountering one’s own lineage and future all at once.”