A Resting Place

by Tricia Hersey with The Nap Ministry

A Resting Place draws upon the history of what the land that Ponce City Market inhabits now once was — a natural spring for healing and a park for recreation and leisure. It draws upon the energy of who was allowed to access healing, recreation, and ultimately a space to rest during the segregated history of Atlanta during the time. Inspired by archival research, somatics and the liberating power of naps, a rest altar will be constructed on the former train platform that once brought hundreds weekly to the healing waters and lush parks. The altar will summon the power of rest as a form of resistance and soul care, as a group of Atlantans rest and nap while the entire space is bathed by an original score of sacred sounds and meditations created for collective healing. 

About the Artist

Tricia Hersey is a Chicago native living in Atlanta with over 20 years of experience collaborating with communities as a poet, performance artist, theater maker, and community organizer. She is the founder of The Nap Ministry, an organization that examines rest as a form of resistance by curating safe spaces for the community to rest via Collective Napping Experiences, immersive workshops and performance art installations. Tricia believes impromptu spectacles can bring awareness to social justice issues that paralyze our communities. Her research interests include black liberation theology, womanism, somatics, and cultural trauma. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Divinity from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Tricia’s work as a community organizer and artist has been seen with Chicago Public Schools, School of the Art Institute Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, United States Peace Corps and Google Chicago.

The Nap Ministry was founded in 2016 by Tricia Hersey and is an organization that examines the liberating power of naps. We engage with the power of performance art, site-specific installations, and community organizing to install sacred and safe spaces for the community to rest together. We facilitate immersive workshops and curate performance art that examines rest as a radical tool for community healing. We believe rest is a form of resistance and name sleep deprivation as a racial and social justice issue.  

FLUX: Ponce City Market
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