artist in residence: Arneshia Williams

Photo Credit: Stan Waldhauser

A brown woman with short, brownish, deeply curly hair. With her arms up, elbows facing out and hands on her temples.

Rosy Simas Danse (RSD) is excited to welcome back Arneshia Williams for her second three thirty one space residency May 1-7, 2023.

Arneshia Williams was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She is a weaver and mover who co-builds to create cultures of belonging from community to community. She views her artwork as snapshots into the social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of life. She is interested in dance, vocality, sound, and media, and is particularly invested in Black American and African Diasporic forms of expression. Her areas of practice and research are influenced by wellness, embodiment, and community.

Arneshia gives thanks to the persons and communities who have encouraged her to view her art as a valuable part of the arts ecosystem. She has been awarded residencies and scholarships to support her choreography and danced works by communal and nationally known artists. She is a member of the 2020 Momentum: New Dance Works cohort, supported by the Cowles Center, and her short film, morsel, was in the 2021 Black Lives Rising Film Festival. Her written research has been published in the Journal of Dance and the Journal of Dance, Movement, and Spirituality. Recent residencies and support include three thirty one space - Rosy Simas Danse, Red Eye Theater, Dea Studios, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Minnesota State Arts Board.

Arneshia offers body and sensory-based workshops to encourage spaces of connection and healing. In these intentionally created spaces, people offer and develop ways to connect, embody, and respect their personhood and the personhoods of other people. During the week-long residency at three thirty one space, generously offered by Rosy Simas Danse, Arneshia will work with collaborators to further develop a workshop that will be offered at the end of May 2023 for Black Women to take part in. During the residency, workshop development will be shared with an invited audience for feedback. Residency time will also be used to work on a forum taking place in June 2023 for Communities of Color.

Learn more about Arneisha’s work here!!