“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” Performance by Patrisse Cullors | The Bunker Artspace

Watch the full video of Patrisse Cullors’ “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” performance at Beth Rudin DeWoody’s The Bunker Artspace during Art Basel Miami Beach 2024.
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” is more than a hymn; it’s a call, a journey, a question. In this performance, Patrisse Cullors takes that question and extends it through time and tradition, asking, “Where is home for Black people?” America offers both promise and hardship, and many Black Americans yearn for deeper roots, turning to West Africa, to Yoruba, to Ifa. This performance piece is a meditation on that journey home, honoring both the resilience of the Black American church and the enduring spiritual traditions of our ancestors.
As the singers braid Cullors' hair with mud cloth, weaving onto the earth itself, they create a ritual that’s both ancient and new. The cowrie shells, arranged in the sacred Odu, connect Cullors to her heritage, while the melody of the hymn connects Cullors to the here and now. This performance is a way of embodying home-a home in spiritual legacy, in sacred memory, in a faith that sustains across generations.
Video courtesy of Kyle DeWoody
About Patrisse Cullors
Patrisse Cullors is a New York Times bestselling author, educator, artist, and abolitionist from Los Angeles, CA. Her work has been featured at The Broad, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Frieze LA, Hammer Museum, Fowler Museum at UCLA, and a host of theaters, galleries, and museums across the globe.
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