Daniel Alexander Jones Weeklong Residency Culminates in Completion of Community Altar (photos)

Someone assists someone else with hanging art on the walls

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

Two people position a ladder in a gallery space

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

2 people hang artwork on a wall of a gallery

Photo by Zohar Lavi-Hasson

A person hangs a postcard with questions on a line in a gallery

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

Students look through various artifacts on the floor

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

A box sits below a sign that reads "Write down a question you have anonymously""

Photo by Zohar Lavi-Hasson

A person looks at postcards with questions written on them

Photo by Zohar Lavi-Hasson

Artifacts hang on the walls, rest on the floor and set up in various positions in a gallery space

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

Photo by Zohar Lavi-Hasson

A person looks at postcards hanging from a line with questions written on them

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

A sign hangs on a wall that reads "Can People Change?"

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

3 people look at artwork hanging on a wall

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

A sign hangs on a wall that reads "What Makes Humans Dominate Other Humans?"

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

Photo by Zohar Lavi-Hasson

A man speaks gestures as he speaks in a gallery

Daniel Alexander Jones during the Final Sharing Session and Celebration event. Photo by Hope VanCleaf

Two people speak to an audience in a gallery space

Deborah Paredez and Daniel Alexander Jones during the Final Sharing Session and Celebration. Photo by Hope VanCleaf

Deborah Paredez during the Final Sharing Session and Celebration event. Photo by Hope VanCleaf

Someone addresses a crowd as 2 other people listen intently surrounded by artwork

Photo by Hope VanCleaf

Daniel Alexander Jones, a Belknap Short-Term Visiting Fellow in the Humanities Council, has collaborated over the past week with Princeton community members to construct an altar centered around the prompt “Ask Your Questions” and rooted in the cultivation of intentional space for inquiry, deep listening, and consideration of traditional practices of presence, particularly those rooted in Black Queer interiorities.

The residency culminated in a final sharing session featuring a dynamic duet between Jones and Dr. Deborah Paredez (Columbia Univ.) entitled “Question/Generation (X)” featuring both artists reading from their work and discussing not only their own questions, but questions born of the week’s invitations, followed by time for celebration.