The Black Feminist Study Group is a four-part program shaped by the poetics and practice of Afro-Brazilian artist Rosana Paulino, recipient of the Vera List Center’s 2025–2027 Jane Lombard Prize for Art and Social Justice. Assembled within Paulino’s prize exhibition ¿História Natural? (October 9–November 1, 2026), the study group is anchored by seminal texts that touch on interconnected struggles for liberation and resistance throughout the African diaspora.

The study group commences on Friday, October 9, launching the VLC Forum 2026 and the opening of Paulino’s exhibition. With an introduction by Re’al Christian, VLC Assistant Director of Editorial Initiatives, writer and editor Jessica Lynne leads the first session with a text by Beatriz Nascimento.

The study group assembles weekly from October 9 to 31. Rooted in the practice of collective listening and call and response, each study group session features an invited writer reading from a text of their choice from the reading list by another author, followed by a group discussion. As a joint dialogue, the study group is designed to open encounters and invite collaboration, bringing the disparate into proximity. 

Study Group Sessions
Additional details and readers to be announced

Session 1 | Friday, October 9, 4 pm
Jessica Lynne reading Beatriz Nascimento

Session 2 | Saturday, October 17, 2 pm

Session 3 | Saturday, October 24, 2 pm

Session 4 | Saturday, October 31, 2 pm