HUCA Commission: Proximity Continuum
“Proximity Continuum,” a short film directed by Malakhai Pearson and Joseph Zeal Henry, is the third iteration of the SUPA System project at ArtLab. Beginning with Joseph Zeal Henry’s commission by the Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA) in January 2024, the SUPA System sonic sculpture became the centerpiece of a dance performance choreographed by Grisha Coleman and performed at ArtLab in September 2024. The film “Proximity Continuum” features footage of Coleman’s dance rehearsals and performance at ArtLab alongside archival footage. Using choreography, spatial design, and music, this project fosters an ongoing creative conversation between Black diasporic communities in Boston, Britain, and beyond. The film premiered at ArtLab in December 2024 with a live score by DJ Marvin “ProSwervez” Francois.
Proximity Continuum Premiere Screening (December 2024):
Proximity Dance Performance (September 2024):
The SUPA System (launched May 2024):
Malakhai Pearson (2024 visiting artist) is a photographer and director based in Boston, Massachusetts. He owns and operates Thunder Road Projects, a creative production company founded in 2022. From 2022 to 2023, he was the artist in residence at Windy Films. His work spans cultural and commercial projects, earning him a Clio and Webby award for his work on “NIKE For Every Body.” In addition to his commercial work, Pearson contributes to Eater Boston and is a founding member of the creative collective ALLYOUCANEAT. Pearson is often collaborating with NYC-based film director/photographer Adam Jason Cohen; their short film, Leaned Back, is available on NOWNESS.com. Photo: Bryan “mavvro” Fernández.
Joseph Zeal Henry (2024 Loeb/ArtLab Fellow) is a designer, urbanist, and curator whose practice advocates for a more equitable built environment through policy and cultural production. Joseph has written for Dezeen, Casabella, and Architectural Review. In 2022, the British Council selected him to co-curate the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023 alongside Jayden Ali, Meneesha Kellay, and Sumitra Upham. Their pavilion, Dancing Before the Moon, explores the need for architecture to look beyond buildings and economic structures and toward everyday social practices, customs, and traditions to reflect how people use and occupy space. Joseph co-founded the social enterprise platform Sound Advice alongside Pooja Agrawal to explore new forms of spatial practice through music. Photo: Malakhai Pearson.
Grisha Coleman (2022 visiting artist) works in choreography, performance, experiential technology, and sound composition. Coleman earned an MFA in music composition and integrated media from the California Institute of the Arts and worked full-time as a dancer with the acclaimed dance company Urban Bush Women. She later created the music performance group Hot Mouth, which toured internationally and was nominated for the NYC Drama Desk Award for ‘Most Unique Theatrical Experience.’ She works in the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University as Professor of Movement, Computation, and Digital Media. Her work has been generously supported by The National Endowment for the Arts in Media grants, the Rockefeller Multi-Arts Project [MAP] Fund, Creative Capital, the Jerome Foundation, the Surdna Foundation Thriving Cultures Grant, the MacDowell Arts Colony, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Carnegie Mellon University’s STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Pioneer Works, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, and Stanford University’s Mohr Visiting Artist Fellowship and through a Radcliffe Fellowship (’21-22). Photo: Maurice Gunning.
Film Credits
Dancers: Aiden Marshall, Marissa Molinar, Jennifer Roberts
Curator: Joseph Zeal-Henry
Choreography: Grisha Coleman
Directors: Malakhai Pearson + Joseph Zeal-Henry
Art Direction: Lauren Harewood
Camera(s): Chaney Carlson-Bullock, Colin Pagnoni, & Malakhai Pearson
Gaffer: Colin Pagnoni
Still images: Malakhai Pearson
Editor: Malakhai Pearson
SUPA System: Joseph Zeal-Henry & Deborah Garcia, ArtLab at Harvard University
The SUPA System is a commission of the Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA) and was made possible with the support of the Johnson-Kulukundis Family President’s Fund for Arts at Harvard University. Each event associated with this project is part of ArtsThursdays, a university-wide initiative supported by the Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA).
