Artists Reach Out: Grace Osborne

Dear friends,

Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.

But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.

So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.

--Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody

Grace Osborne

Grace Osborne
(selfie courtesy of the artist)

Grace Osborne is a healing arts practitioner from Pasadena, California currently based in New York City. Her practice includes sound baths, soundwalks, and body work informed by Usui Reiki and the practice Romiromi as taught by the teachings of Hohepa Delamere.

www.verdantvibration.com
Instagram: @verdantvibration

Grace Osborne in performance
(photo: Malcolm-x Betts)

Do you have a current or planned project whose progress is affected by the pandemic?

This is truly a season of stop, cancel, and reflect, because a lot of my projects have been postponed. In February, I was going to do a workshop at Movement Research, and then 48 hours before the event, my grandfather passed away, and I just wasn’t able to do it. In March, I had plans to collaborate with the company Archestratus to facilitate a monthly Sound Bath healing salon with in-house brewed chai. In April, I was going to lead a workshop on DIY audio recording. For the month of May, I had plans to be in a writing residency at NYU’s satellite campus in Prague. Everything this season has been cancelled! I’m hoping that I can resume activities in the fall.

Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice.

I come from a family of musicians and artists, so I grew up listening to the Jazz my great uncles would compose, listening to my cousins sing, admiring the clothes my aunt made, watching my grandmother paint, and reading the poems my mother wrote. Making art and being creative in my family is just who we are. I never saw it as something for an audience—just for ourselves and each other.

I started to seriously study Flute when I was 9 and went on to major in Music Theory and History at Mills College. From that experience, I started to take classes and make music with people like Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith, and Roscoe Mitchell. I really pushed myself to participate in as much improvised and experimental music as I could.

I also worked as a stage hand. So, for years, I got to hear so many different types of music. It really blew my mind. When I graduated, I started to begin my own practice of improvisation. When I moved to New York to start my graduate studies, I took a break from my practice, but 2016 I started using sound bowls. I met [dancer, producer and curator] Marýa Wethers and everything changed. I felt inspired around her, and she saw something in me. She started to recommend me to other movement-based artists and, since then, I’ve become a part of this amazing community of dancers and movement artists.

In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning?

Especially now more than usual, I am practicing becoming a better listener. My practice is about listening and healing through vibration. Even though this is a creative arts practice, it’s not about creating a work. This practice is about creating environments and experiences that guide others to pause and look inward, rest, and heal. I’m working towards and envisioning doing more collaborative work especially with recorded sound. I’m also excited to start curating more Sound Walks!

How does your practice function within the world we have now?

I’m really excited right now, because I feel like most of us in quarantine are already participating in the activities that I consider to be a part of my practice! So many people are taking the time to intentionally rest, listen, walk and connect with others. After all this is over, I look forward to hearing about how people engaged these practices and what it meant for them during this time.

Briefly share one self-care tip that has special meaning to you now.

Just stop and listen. Tune into the experience life is offering you at any present moment.

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DISCLAIMER: In addition to my work on InfiniteBody, I serve as Senior Curatorial Director of Gibney. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, strategies or opinions of Gibney.

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