Part of How Healing Happens

ADMISSION:
Admission is free. RSVP beginning Monday, December 1, at 10 a.m.

DESCRIPTION:
Timed as a one-year remembrance of L.A.’s wildfires, this extraordinary panel will explore the transformative power of the arts as a vehicle for healing. Renowned abolitionist artist and author Patrisse Cullors and New York Times–bestselling author Prentis Hemphill, in a potent conversation moderated by New York–based curator/critic Rashida Bumbray, will discuss how art and embodiment address trauma, build community, foster personal and collective healing of wounds created by structural violence, and lead to a future rooted in transformative justice.

The conversation is part of How Healing Happens, a three-event series that highlights emergent perspectives on how artistic practices can nurture personal and collective well-being and provide space for reflection and connection. The events will be preceded by workshops for USC students, staff, and faculty.

Bios:

Rashida Bumbray is a curator and choreographer. In 2022, she curated Loophole of Retreat: Venice, a three-day global symposium focused on Black women’s intellectual and creative labor as part of Simone Leigh’s exhibition Sovereignty at the American Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale. As Director of Culture and Art at the Open Society Foundations from 2015 to 2022, Bumbray spearheaded the development of the foundations’ first global program dedicated to advancing diverse artistic practices and strengthening locally led cultural spaces globally.

Patrisse Cullors is an artist and abolitionist from Los Angeles who has long been drawn to the unseen and is inspired by the beauty of freedom found in different planes and dimensions. A graduate of the USC Roski School of Art and Design’s MFA program, Cullors draws from her background as a visual and performing artist to leverage the power of art and community organizing to catalyze social change. As a co-founder of Black Lives Matter and founder of The Center For Art and Abolition, she has popularized a new phrase for artists and cultural workers: abolitionist aesthetics.

Prentis Hemphill is the bestselling author of What It Takes to Heal, a groundbreaking exploration of healing, justice, and transformation. A therapist, somatics teacher, facilitator, political organizer, and writer, Hemphill is also the founder of the Embodiment Institute and a leading voice in embodied leadership and collective healing. For over a decade, Hemphill has worked with individuals and organizations through their most challenging moments of change—navigating leadership transitions, conflict, and the alignment of practice with values. Grounded in an embodied approach, their work ensures that our intentions aren’t just ideas, but are fully lived, felt, and practiced.

Related Events:
A Lineage of (F)Light: A Collaborative Performance by Patrisse Cullors and Rashida Bumbray
Monday, January 20, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.
Fisher Museum Courtyard
For more info, click HERE.

Somatic Grounding Workshop with Staci K. Haines
Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at 12 p.m.
Watt Hall 108
For more info, click HERE.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices. Organized by Sherin Guirguis (Professor of Practice, Art and Design). Co-sponsored by the USC Roski School of Art and Design.

Photo (Rashida Bumbray): Rayon RIchards
Photo (Patrisse Cullors): Jamal-Akul Marshall