ARTIST AS FIRST RESPONDER

Norwest Gallery of Art Presents "This Heavenly Body" by Seed Lynn, Curated by Ashara Ekundayo

An Immersive Exploration of Black Joy, Movement, and the Politics
of Space through Roller Skating

Norwest Gallery of Art proudly announces the opening of "This Heavenly Body," a multimedia exhibition by Chicago-based artist Seed Lynn, opening April 5, 2025, and on view through May 25, 2025. Organized by independent curator, cultural strategist, and archivist, Ashara Ekundayo, the exhibition meditates on space, movement, and the choreography of Black joy through roller skating and rink culture—an enduring and essential element of Black American life.

Through film, photography, and installation, "This Heavenly Body" explores the significance of roller rinks as cultural and communal havens in the U.S. Midwest. At its core, the exhibition serves as a political response to the increasing closures of these sacred spaces of Black leisure and social connection across the country. Additionally, Lynn’s creative use of long-exposure photography highlights the Black skaters in natural light providing an ethereal quality making the figures appear “heavenly.

Seed Lynn, whose work has spanned more than two decades as a cultural worker, imagist, and artist, approaches storytelling as a liberatory practice, using the lens as a tool for remembrance and resistance. His vast archive includes over 200 short-form films and a dozen documentary credits, with collaborations spanning The Gates Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, University of Chicago, and Chicago Public Schools to name a few.

Independent curator, cultural theologian, and former gallerist Ashara Ekundayo, brings her praxis in cultural memory and Black cultural labor to frame the exhibition’s themes and its second iteration in Detroit after its premier at Chicago’s BLANC Gallery in late Summer 2024. Ekundayo is also the founder of Artist As First Responder and has collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as Zanele Muholi, Alisha B. Wormsely, Lava Thomas, and Ayana V. Jackson and most recently pinned and co-curated the 18-month traveling exhibition “Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin” featuring the artwork of Detroit-based multi-hyphenate Sabrina Nelson.

"This Heavenly Body" will be on display from April 5 – May 25, 2025, at Norwest Gallery of Art in Detroit. For more information on exhibition events, ticketing, and updates, visit www.norwestgallery.com or follow us on social media at @NorwestGallery.