Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Sibyls Shrine Expand Artistic Horizons with New Partnership — Welcoming Joyell Arvella, JD, for Inaugural Nature-Driven Residency
PITTSBURGH – OCTOBER 21, 2024 – The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy today announced the deepening of its partnership with Sibyls Shrine, an art collective and residency program rooted in the radical care, rest, and support of Black artists who m/other in Pittsburgh – and beyond. This collaboration merges art, culture, and nature in powerful ways, promoting healing and connection across diverse communities.
Sibyls Shrine supports a demographic that, for centuries, has been faced with the intersecting oppressions of racism, sexism, and the rigors of m/otherhood and childcare, making the barriers to a successful career in the arts insurmountable. By partnering with organizations and institutions – like the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Contemporary Craft, and Artist Image Resource, Inc., among others – that provide space, resources, opportunities, and support, Sibyls Shrine has created a resource framework that directly addresses this intersectionality and many of the systemic and structural factors that continue to oppress Black artists who m/other.
Over the past nine months, this partnership has flourished into a series of transformative artist-led programs. In the summer of 2024, as a part of the Parks Conservancy's broader environmental education efforts, Sibyls Shrine Community Liaison Resident Pittsburgh-based artist Naomi Chambers led nature-based and environmental awareness art youth sessions for summer camp students in Hazelwood. Later in September 2024, Sibyls Shrine Network Resident Pittsburgh-based artist Ayana Sade hosted a one-of-a-kind Sacred Sound Session embedded in Park Conservancy's already existing Forest Bathing program that immersed participants in a meditative, nature-infused soundscape within a breath-taking environment.
"We are incredibly excited about how this partnership has evolved," said James Brown, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy's Director of Education and the Frick Environmental Center. "It's inspiring to see art, nature, and community intersect meaningfully. Sibyls Shrine's work enriches our programs, and we're eager to see how future collaborations will unfold. This partnership is truly something special."
The next exciting chapter in this partnership will launch this month, as Sibyls Shrine announces its next Visiting Artist Resident coming to Pittsburgh. Baltimore-based artist, writer, and birth worker Joyell Arvella, JD, will participate in a two-week Sibyls Shrine residency hosted at the Frick Environmental Center (FEC) from October 22 to October 31. During this time, Joyell will use the FEC as a space for creative reflection, engaging with both the indoor facilities and the surrounding natural landscape as she develops new works. As a nature lover, Joyell plans to explore and interact with the environment, draw inspiration for her writing, and lead a community workshop based on her interests.
On Sunday, October 27, Joyell will lead a public program at the FEC entitled, 'The Woven Stories: Embodying Presence and Heritage.' This workshop will allow participants to reconnect with themselves and nature through a series of reflective exercises and artistic expression. Registration is currently open for the Woven Stories: Embodying Presence and Heritage workshop at pittsburghparks.org/events.
"Our partnership with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is a testament to the transformative power of collaboration. Over the past year, our partnership has resulted in the creation of a nurturing space for Pittsburgh-based Black artists who m/other at the Frick Environmental Center. We now stand at the threshold of an exciting new chapter as we welcome a Baltimore-based artist to be in residence at a newly established residency partner site, the Frick Environmental Center." says Jessica Gaynelle Moss, Managing Director and Curator of Sibyls Shrine. "Together, we cultivate not just art, but a deeper connection to ourselves and our environment, weaving stories that resonate across communities."
The partnership between the Parks Conservancy and Sibyls Shrine champions art, wellness, and sustainability, creating new pathways for creativity and connection. It also underscores the vital role parks play as spaces for healing, inspiration, and community growth.
Registration is open for the Woven Stories: Embodying Presence and Heritage workshop. Visit pittsburghparks.org/events to learn more and register.
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About Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy:
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was founded in December 1996 by a group of citizens concerned with the deteriorating conditions of Pittsburgh’s historic city parks. A non-profit organization, the Parks Conservancy works closely with the City of Pittsburgh under an official public-private partnership agreement to restore and improve the city’s park system to its full potential. To date, the Parks Conservancy has raised more than $145 million and completed 23 major park improvement projects. The Parks Conservancy works with thousands of volunteers, hosts hundreds of events, and provides programming for more than 7,500 children annually.
About Sibyls Shrine:
Founded in 2019 by Alisha B Wormsley and developed with Jessica Gaynelle Moss, in partnership with Shiftworks Community + Public Arts, Sibyls Shrine is dedicated to uplifting Black artists who m/other by providing opportunities for radical care, rest, and support. Artists in the Sibyls Shrine network are provided with opportunities to rest, unrestricted financial support, career development, skill-sharing, access to arts and cultural institutions, free classes and workshops, exhibition and speaking opportunities, support for self care, childcare and other daily needs. Through a comprehensive resource framework that includes financial support, career development, skill-sharing, and access to arts and cultural institutions, Sibyls Shrine directly addresses this intersectionality and many of the systemic and structural factors that continue to oppress Black artists who m/other.
About Joyell Arvella, JD:
Joyell Arvella has been in birth work for 20 years and is on track to become a Certified Professional Midwife. She supports communities as a medicine weaver and writer who embodies birth work as an ancestral art practice. After sitting with griots and midwives on 5 continents, Joyell created the first birth worker residency in Senegal. When she is not supporting wombs, you can find her soaking in a bathtub somewhere in the world and writing.