Whistle Space is a burgeoning entity supporting the work of Black artists and their relations in the Berkshires* initiated by choreographer Will Rawls.
Whistle Space asks:
As we develop the concept of Whistle Space, we question how we might build into our foundations a deep consideration of how a space like this might effectively hold tensions regarding Blackness, indigeneity, this region, its history, our practices, and how we relate to our existing community members.
Whistle Space is supported by the Mellon Foundation and is fiscally sponsored by the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
Whistle Space is an emerging research and practice exercise that takes many forms. From 2022 to 2023, we held a series of intimate conversations with black scholars and practitioners about their desires from an artist residency. In 2024, we hosted our first public event, a town hall, which will asked locals from Western Mass to share their experiences with public complaint. In 2025, we will be launching a summer pedagogy series and a remote artist residency.
Whistle Space is a speculative space that occasionally lands at partner sites including our fiscal sponsor, MassMOCA which occupies the ancestral lands of Muhheaconneok or Mohican people (People of the Waters That Are Never Still) and the Wabanaki peoples, many of whom have experienced forcible displacement.
WS’s core collaborators are Will Rawls, Rebecca Fitton, and Kearra Amaya Gopee.
Rawls splits his time between Lenape and Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples’s land.
Fitton works and lives on occupied Chochenyo Ohlone and Ramaytush Ohlone lands.
Gopee lives on Lenape lands.
A three-day symposium at UCLA from April 28th to 30th focusing on various topics in Black Studies, hosted by Whistle Space.
Housed in the Dept. of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, Whistle Space is a platform for artistic and political research initiated by Associate Professor Will Rawls. Part artist/scholar residency and part somatic nourishment program, it is meant to center Black arts and their relations with a focus on the body as a nexus for expression, sustenance, and resistance.
This event is co-sponsored by the Prison Education Program, the Center for the Study of Women, and LGBTQ Studies.
All events are located at UCLA Kaufman Hall (120 Westwood Plaza) unless otherwise noted. Convenient parking for Kaufman Hall is located at UCLA Parking Structure 4. Once you enter Structure 4, turn to the left and park on the first level. Pay at the pay station (hourly or daily rates available) or via the ParkMobile app. Any of the stairs in this area will take you directly up to Wilson Plaza. To orient yourself, turn to face the large set of steps flanking the quad; Kaufman Hall is the building on the left side of the quad when facing the steps.
If the left side of Parking Structure 4 is full, there is more parking on the other side of the garage; the stairs/elevator here will also take you up to Wilson Plaza. You can also go to Parking Structure 3. The drive from Structure 4 to Structure 3 is about 5 minutes. Please allow 20 minutes to walk from Parking Structure 3 to Kaufman Hall. There are accessible walking routes available from both parking structures to Kaufman Hall. They do take longer than the above estimated times.
After RSVPing, you will receive a digital liability waiver via email, which you will need to sign before participating in the symposium. Paper copies of the waiver will also be available on-site.
In summer 2025, Whistle Space will launch its Summer Institute in Williamstown, MA from July 14th to July 19th, with travel dates being July 13th and 20th. Selected participants will engage with a renowned cohort of facilitators (including Dr. Saidiya Hartman, Dr. Ayasha Guerin, Torkwase Dyson and Sarah Workneh, among others) to examine the key themes of Whistle Space's agenda—Body, Food/Land, Technology and Organizing. All participants will be paid a fee to attend. All travel, lodging, food and childcare (as needed) will also be covered. Furthermore, all applicants will be considered for Whistle Space's Extended Residency program in Fall 2025.
The deadline for submitting an application is April 25th, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST.