Headlands Center for the Arts

Artist Statement

Urban Midwest Storytelling is how I define my body of work that reflects the juxtaposition of beauty and hopelessness that is felt in living in a Midwestern Rust Belt city. Through this nuanced and personal style of storytelling, and by centering Black stories to tell exemplified universal truths, my goal is to offer insights about life to help others navigate their own. My process finds emotional truths by leaning into introspection, and by connecting and engaging with community members through the act of storytelling, movement workshops, and experiences. I see myself as highly collaborative, shepherding my work to fruition often with an interdisciplinary group of mostly Black artists. I co-create experiences with them, sharing stories of people who look like me and providing a platform for Black people to speak and for their stories to be heard without interruptions.

While at Headlands

During my time at Headlands I will be in the initial development phase of a project currently titled Black by Nature. I recently completed a 24-month stint working as part of an organization serving Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Throughout my time I noticed, aside from music-centered programs specifically for Black people, it was rare to see Black people engaging with the environment. My curiosity has led me to begin interviewing Black people who have deep relationships with nature, and  to try to understand the challenges and opportunities we have as a people related to environmental issues. As part of my creative process, I respond to the recorded interviews using movement improvisation and document the results, with the hope of physically capturing the emotional tones and truths of the interviewees. 

Selected Work

Dominic Moore-Dunson, “Alright?” 2021; performance in response to Martin Creed’s neon sculpture, “Work No. 3390 EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT” with score written and performed by Tommy Lehman.

Dominic Moore-Dunson, “inCOPnegro: Works in Progress Showing” 2021; performance.

Dominic Moore-Dunson, “Are you woke?” an excerpt from Artie & The Black Card, 2018; performance.