Tsedaye Makonnen and Cecily Bumbray: Leave the Door OpenThursday, February 27, 2025 - 6:00pmHoughton ChapelFree and open to the public
Taking the White Gloves Off: A Performance Art Series in Honor of Lorraine O'Grady ‘55
Curated by Dr. Nikki A. Greene, Associate Professor of Art
We invite you to the final, site-specific performance in honor of the life and legacy of Lorraine O’Grady ‘55 (1934-2024). Leave the Door Open features multidisciplinary artist, curator, researcher, and cultural producer Tsedaye Makonnen, and vocalist and songwriter Cecily Bumbray in the Houghton Chapel. A discussion and reception will follow the performance.
Tsedaye Makonnen is an interdisciplinary artist-curator and cultural producer. Tsedaye’s practice is driven by Black feminist theory, firsthand site-specific research, and ethical social practice techniques, which become solo and collaborative site sensitive performances, objects, installations, and films. Tsedaye’s personal history is as a mother, the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, a doula and a sanctuary builder. Her roster includes The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian, Venice Biennale, The Clark Art Institute, The Walters Art Museum, Toledo Museum of Art, Peabody Essex Museum, Williams College Museum of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, Library of Congress, The Kitchen, Franklin Furnace, MetLiveArts, Albuquerque Museum, Bard Graduate Center, Lunder Institute for American Art, NADA Miami, 1:54, and more. Her current exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art was recently reviewed by The Washington Post. She lives between DC and London with her family.
Cecily Bumbray is a vocalist, songwriter, and vocal teacher, known for her agile soprano and honest lyrics. The Washington, DC native has a rich, soothing sound rooted in mid-century Soul and Jazz. Often drawing comparisons to Minnie Riperton and Amel Larrieux, her music is imbued with a unique sensuality that informs not only her vocal approach, but also her self-reflecting lyrics. Cecily has been heralded for her poetic writing style. Grounded in an easy vulnerability, her lyrics speak of deep lessons around self-acceptance, freedom, community and love. Her latest album, Awakening Pt. II (released July 2024), was directly inspired by Black feminist writer bell hook’s text All About Love. Cecily has been featured at the Essence Festival of Culture, Capital Jazz Fest, The Atlanta Jazz Festival and DC Jazz Festival. She has performed multiple times at the legendary Blues Alley and Apollo Music Café, as well as The Kennedy Center, The Hamilton, Howard Theater, and at the VI Annual Mompox, Colombia Jazz Festival, having been invited by the US Embassy.
This performance is organized by the Davis Museum at Wellesley College with generous support from the Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative and the Frost Center for the Environment, the Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities, and the Office of the Provost. It is made possible in part through the support and partnership of the Colby College Museum of Art’s Lunder Institute for American Art and the Colby Arts Office.
Thursday, February 27, 2025 - 6:00pm
Houghton Chapel
Free and open to the public
Taking the White Gloves Off: A Performance Art Series in Honor of Lorraine O'Grady ‘55
Curated by Dr. Nikki A. Greene, Associate Professor of Art
We invite you to the final, site-specific performance in honor of the life and legacy of Lorraine O’Grady ‘55 (1934-2024). Leave the Door Open features multidisciplinary artist, curator, researcher, and cultural producer Tsedaye Makonnen, and vocalist and songwriter Cecily Bumbray in the Houghton Chapel. A discussion and reception will follow the performance.
Tsedaye Makonnen is an interdisciplinary artist-curator and cultural producer. Tsedaye’s practice is driven by Black feminist theory, firsthand site-specific research, and ethical social practice techniques, which become solo and collaborative site sensitive performances, objects, installations, and films. Tsedaye’s personal history is as a mother, the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, a doula and a sanctuary builder. Her roster includes The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian, Venice Biennale, The Clark Art Institute, The Walters Art Museum, Toledo Museum of Art, Peabody Essex Museum, Williams College Museum of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, Library of Congress, The Kitchen, Franklin Furnace, MetLiveArts, Albuquerque Museum, Bard Graduate Center, Lunder Institute for American Art, NADA Miami, 1:54, and more. Her current exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art was recently reviewed by The Washington Post. She lives between DC and London with her family.
Cecily Bumbray is a vocalist, songwriter, and vocal teacher, known for her agile soprano and honest lyrics. The Washington, DC native has a rich, soothing sound rooted in mid-century Soul and Jazz. Often drawing comparisons to Minnie Riperton and Amel Larrieux, her music is imbued with a unique sensuality that informs not only her vocal approach, but also her self-reflecting lyrics. Cecily has been heralded for her poetic writing style. Grounded in an easy vulnerability, her lyrics speak of deep lessons around self-acceptance, freedom, community and love. Her latest album, Awakening Pt. II (released July 2024), was directly inspired by Black feminist writer bell hook’s text All About Love. Cecily has been featured at the Essence Festival of Culture, Capital Jazz Fest, The Atlanta Jazz Festival and DC Jazz Festival. She has performed multiple times at the legendary Blues Alley and Apollo Music Café, as well as The Kennedy Center, The Hamilton, Howard Theater, and at the VI Annual Mompox, Colombia Jazz Festival, having been invited by the US Embassy.
This performance is organized by the Davis Museum at Wellesley College with generous support from the Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative and the Frost Center for the Environment, the Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities, and the Office of the Provost. It is made possible in part through the support and partnership of the Colby College Museum of Art’s Lunder Institute for American Art and the Colby Arts Office.