Black Girl Alchemy Mosaics
In 2018, under the visionary leadership of Executive Director and internationally acclaimed photographer Nydia Blas, and Board President and Ithaca College Professor Dr. Nia Nunn, Southside Community Center won a grant from the NoVo foundation to fund Black Girl Alchemy; a series of programs, projects, and events that create a culture of sisterhood and innovation, fostering Black Girl leadership and empowerment in Ithaca, NY. The initiative and the girls participating are Black Girl Alchemists: human beings creating and transforming through a seemingly magical process.
The Black Girl Alchemy Mosaic Mural is the hand made self portraiture of a group of Black Girl Alchemists, who have collaborated to design, create, and install a piece of public art on Southside’s exterior wall, facing the intersection of Plain St. and Cleveland Avenue. It consists of 3 sections, each 6’ high, with a total running distance of 27 feet.
“We know that giving young Black girls the power, space, and tools to create and shape their experiences, as well the physical spaces around them, will contribute to the culture of sisterhood, leadership, and liberation worldwide.”
Ithaca College students supported the project by volunteering to grout the mosaics. The City of Ithaca endorsed the project by paying for the heavy duty custom metal frames that hold the mosaic panels. At Southside’s 2019 Juneteenth Celebration, a perfectly timed installation led to an exciting surprise unveiling. And now the work is on display, for all to see, on the front of the Southside Community Center building, at 305 South Plain St. Ithaca, NY.
