Aisha Cousins - AfroBattles

Aisha Cousins

“AfroBattles” is a performance score designed to teach children to admire kinky hair. In it, participants battle to see whose afro is strongest or can hold the most objects. “AfroBattles” is part of "SAY IT LOUD!: Performance Art Scores for the Young, Gifted, and Fabulous," a set of do-it-yourself scores that can be done by anyone, but have been designed to meet the needs of black youth whose schools have lost visual art funding. The scores teach the medium of performance art, explore black history and/or pop culture, and reference a range of contemporary visual artists as a way of introducing youth to their work. I am a visual artist who creates performance art scores or "recipes for poetic moments." My work has been presented on the streets of historically black neighborhoods from BedStuy to Brixton, as well as in institutions such as Project Row Houses, the Brooklyn Museum, the Kitchen, and PS1. Because many organizations that serve black youth cannot afford my work, I have created these do-it-yourself scores to bridge the gap.