The new platform brings research, storytelling, and public programming to Pittsburgh’s riverfronts.
Backed by a $250,000 Mellon Foundation grant, Visiting MFA Core Faculty member Shikeith has launched Project Blue Space, a new interdisciplinary platform examining the deep-rooted relationship between Black communities and water. Bringing together cultural research, storytelling, and public programming, Project Blue Space centers on Pittsburgh’s three rivers and their roles in Black history, from the Underground Railroad to labor, migration, and music.
“Water has played such a significant role in the lived experiences of Black people across the world,” Shikeith said. “Through Project Blue Space, we have the opportunity to help preserve these histories and expressions — serving as an essential link that protects and elevates Black histories tied to water, while making them widely accessible.”
The project will debut this April alongside the unveiling of Hold, Shikeith’s first public sculpture, commissioned by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in downtown Pittsburgh. A major public event, Feeling the Spirit in the Dark will be the project’s central public event — an open-air celebration along Pittsburgh’s waterfront. Inspired by historic blue-light basement parties — intimate, often hidden gatherings that fostered joy, resistance, and connection in Black communities — the event brings these traditions into a shared public space.
Learn more at projectbluespace.org.