GODBODY: The Femme | Curated by Ty Davis

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Jana Riley

GODBODY: The Femme | Curated by Ty Davis

West Gallery | May 21st — July 11th | Opening Reception: May 21st from 5:30pm — 8:30pm

Curator Statement:

There’s a certain kind of power that only gets called dangerous when it lives in a Black woman’s body.

GODBODY: THE FEMME is a celebration but it isn’t a feel-good celebration or a string of affirmations. It’s fourteen artists sitting down together to wrestle with what it means to live in a body that’s been policed, preached over, sexualized without permission, and expected to hold everyone else up while being treated like it doesn’t matter.

These artists, Kela, Samira, Kanish, Kalah, Jada, Tiana, Nathalie, Kei, Denise, Antonette, Christine, Skigh, Desiree, and Barinwa all come from different worlds and different practices, but they all share one stubborn refusal: they won’t make themselves smaller to make other people comfortable.

I came into this project trying to listen more than I spoke. So with the help of Asiah Mae’s perspective as collaborator and advisor, the exhibition is stronger. The work that scares power the most is work that refuses to explain itself or shrink itself for approval. That’s what I asked from each of these artists.

At the center of the exhibition is COUNTED, a quiet but defiant installation. We’re simply asking people to sit down and write their name in a ledger. That’s it. In a time when laws are actively trying to erase certain bodies from public life, the simple act of being seen and recorded becomes radical. The book will fill up over the run of the show and become the piece itself.

GODBODY THE FEMME runs May 21 through July 11, 2026 at Public Works Art Center, West Gallery, Summerville, South Carolina.

Come through. Sit down. Write your name.

Artist Bio

Ty Davis is a Charleston-based abstract painter, curator, and founder of Tiguere Contemporary, an independent curatorial platform dedicated to elevating the work of emerging and underrepreseted artists. His curatorial practice centers on community engagement, cultural reflection, and the visibility of Black voices within contemporary art.

As both artist and curator, Davis approaches exhibitions as spaces for dialogue and healing, bridging art, identity, and lived experience. His projects aim to expand public understanding of the Black experience while creating opportunities for connection and empowerment through visual culture.

Instagram: @TiguereContempo

Website: TiguereContemporary.com