My Black Joy is Black Activism is a call to action. This project serves as a catalyst for those who recognize that the pursuit of Black joy is itself a radical form of activism. In a world where systemic oppression seeks to suppress the spirit of Black people, joy becomes defiance, and creativity becomes power.
Black joy is a celebration of life, resilience, and cultural beauty. It is found in everyday moments and expressions in laughter, in memory, in style, in protest. It is a refusal to be defined by trauma alone, and an insistence on thriving in spite of it. Through painting, textile, photography, and mixed media, the artists in this exhibition assert joy as a political and emotional force.
This exhibition explores how Black joy, resilience, and creativity intersect to become tools of liberation, healing, and empowerment. Each work in My Black Joy is Black Activism speaks to the multifaceted experiences of Black life and they challenge the viewer to consider joy not as escape, but as a path through life. By centering joy, we reimagine radical activism.
As part of the exhibition, there will be an interactive activity that community members can contribute to in a collaborative collage representing joy. This evolving piece will grow throughout the duration of the exhibition, offering a space for shared reflection, connection, and celebration of collective experience.
The exhibit will be on display at the TWU Blagg-Huey Library from May 28 – July 28, 2025.
About the Curator
Taylor Hilley-Carroll is a Houston native Denton residing curator, artist, and scholar currently pursuing an M.A. in Art History and Visual Culture at Texas Woman’s University (TWU), where she also graduated with her Bachelor of General Studies,with concentrations in Visual Arts and Business. Her work focuses on the intersections of multicultural gender studies, visual culture, and social impact. She is a 2025 Experiential Scholars Program participant through which she curated My Black Joy is Black Activism: Black Creations and Happiness as a Medium of Activism, an exhibition that explores Black joy as a liberatory and transformative practice.
She curated Abby’s Story – A Fictional but Very Real Narrative during her internship with the A.W. Perry Homestead Museum, highlighting black history and addressing its erasure. And co-curated Category is Movement, which explored themes of stagnation and resilience in post-pandemic. Her research on Black women’s representation in contemporary art includes the paper "Reclaiming Erotica: Contemporary Black Women Artists’ Depiction of Black Women’s Sexuality in Society," presented at the SUNY Waltz 2024 Symposium and TWU’s 2024 Creative Arts and Sciences Symposium.