RELAX. RELATE. RELEASE.

Stephanie J. Woods

Relax. Relate. Release., or RRR, is a community-engaged project that I began in 2018. I invite participants to take a seat and write a response to a question. The goal is to stimulate reflection and conversations in what I consider to be a meditative space for those who seek to maintain their dignity in the face of prejudice, aggression, and violence.

You may participate in this project by picking up a white envelope labeled "RRR" located in our giving library at our outdoor learning park at 3511 P Street, Richmond VA, 23223.

Inside your envelope, you will see a lavender notecard with a prompt. Would you please take a moment to write or draw a reflection in response to the prompt? Once completed, you are invited to place your response in the white box located in the giving library that says "RRR Responses."

If you can not make it to our outdoor learning park at 3511 P Street, but would still like to participate, please respond to the following form.

Thank you for choosing to be a part of Relax. Relate. Release!

Stephanie J. Woods’ the wait of it

the wait of it, speaks about the nine years spent growing and collecting my hair as well as the psychological weight of being Black in America, and the politicization of afro hair. Accompanying this work is the poem "Bleached" by Laura Neal and an original score by Johannes Barfield that includes the sound of fire and the sound of water. The audio was inspired by the 2020 Minneapolis uprising and the following Martin Luther King, Jr. quote: "We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know that we will win. But I've come to believe we're integrating into a burning house."

View more of Stephanie’s work at https://www.stephaniejwoods.com/