Tracie Morris to perform "Colors through Darkness" at MSU Broad Museum of Art

March 17, 2026

The RCAH Center for Poetry and the Eli and Edythe Broad Museum of Art at Michigan State University are delighted to welcome the dynamic performance poet Tracie Morris to campus for “Colors through Darkness” on Friday, March 27, 2026 at 7:00 pm in the Broad’s central gallery (547 East Circle Drive, East Lansing).

“Colors through Darkness” is an original performance in response to the Broad’s Winter/Spring 2026 show, “Darkness,” by Jan Tichy—an exhibit which submerges the museum’s central gallery in total darkness. Morris will perform in that darkness, using recorded sound, moving image, and live performance to collaborate with Tichy’s exhibition.

In these interventions, Morris considers Black diaspora concepts of color, gender, darkness, language, mystery and land. Her literal and metaphorical framing of degrees of darkness and ranges of color incorporates traditional African, avant-garde art and feminist elements in conversation with Tichy’s installations.

Tracie Morris is one of the most distinguished poets of her generation, a pathbreaking performer whose experiments with sound and language have inspired generations of poets to expand the boundaries of their art. Her recent books include Human/Nature Poems (Litmus Press, 2023), Who Do With Words (Chax Press, 2019), and Handholding: 5 Kinds (Kore Press, 2016). She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as awards and grants from Creative Capital, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Asian Cultural Council. She is currently Professor of Poetry at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

“Colors through Darkness” is made possible thanks to the support of a Creating Inclusive Excellence Grant from Michigan State University, as well as support from the Creative Writing Program, and the Broad Museum.

Doors open at 6:45 p.m. A reception and book signing will follow. Parking is available for the general public in MSU lots 7 and 8, as well as the Grand River Ramp.

Please direct all media inquiries to Toby Altman, Director of the RCAH Center for Poetry: altmanto@msu.edu.