Vessel. Voice. Visionary.

I am Dr. Felicia A. Henry-Conteh – sociologist, artivist, and founder. My research traces race in the carceral state, with specific emphasis on Black women, how disasters uncover vulnerability, and how arts-based activism makes that scholarship usable outside the academy. My scholarly and creative practice – exhibitions, spoken word, residencies, classroom and community teaching – refuses the line between knowing and doing. I teach at American University, while curating exhibitions through Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL), holding space for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous women at B(L)K/WMN, and restoring what it means to be for Black creatives in Baltimore through Ode.

Scholar-Artivism

Scholar-artivism is the discipline I practice. It names what happens when scholarship refuses to stay in the academy and joins the artists, organizers, and directly impacted people who have always been doing the work. Read what scholar-artivism is, why it matters, and how to start.

Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL)

BTWBTL is the movement I founded to deepen awareness of the legacy of racial inequity in America, particularly within carceral control, and inspire activism aimed at its dismantlement. We use spoken word and other artistic mediums to tell stories, reclaim narratives, and activate the power of those directly impacted to catalyze change. Our latest exhibition, What Freedom Costs, lives here.

B(L)K/WMN

B(L)K/WMN is a space dedicated to and for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other women of Color. We support women in pursuit of their dreams and cultivate the visibility, vision, and refusal that make Black women and other creatives of Color essential cultural workers.

Ode.

Ode. is a restorative arts home rising in Baltimore — a third space for Black artists, creatives, and neighbors to gather, work, and rest. I am the founder. We are gathering pledges now to plant the first seeds.