“Help bring Living Histories to life at the Biennale of Sydney – Nikesha Breeze’s most ambitious work to date.”
Three monumental interactive sculptures will fill the vast halls of the White Bay Power Station, animating the narratives of African Americans who experienced enslavement as children.
Nikesha Breeze invited to participate in the Biennale of Sydney
Richard Levy Gallery is pleased to announce that Living Histories, Nikesha Breeze’s most ambitious project to date, will debut at the 25th edition of the Biennale of Sydney, March–June 2026. Unfolding within the monumental White Bay Power Station’s Turbine Hall, three enveloping interactive sculptures will fill a 270,000-square-foot industrial space; it is the largest installation presented at this Biennale. The work blends performance, storytelling, video, sound, and archival materials into an evocative multi-sensory experience. This immersive sculptural installation animates the narratives of African Americans who experienced enslavement as children.
Fundraising Campaign to Support Nikesha Breeze, Living Histories
A fundraising campaign has been created to raise the additional $125,000 needed to fully execute the artist’s vision. Campaign partners include the New Mexico Black Leadership Council, Richard Levy Gallery and generous donors like you to make Living History possible.
Be a part of Breeze’s global legacy by supporting Living Histories at the Biennale of Sydney. Donations of any size are deeply appreciated.
A limited edition of 100 archival pigment prints of Breeze’s iconic painting Isadora and Mary Noe Freeman from the artist’s Archival Portraiture series will be available to the first one hundred donations of $300–$6,999 ($950 value). This limited edition measures 20 x 16 inches. The Archival Portraiture series transforms early unique photographic records into life-sized paintings that honor Black ancestors whose stories were overlooked in their time.
A special edition bronze mask is being released in an edition of 18 and measures 7.685 x 4.75 x 3.385 inches. The mask is cast from an artist proof created in Ghana and produced at Stratton Studios. The original 108 Death Masks: A Communal Prayer for Peace and Justice were formed in clay over a 108-day vigil during which the artist created a mask each day. The installation was later cast in West African bronze in Ghana, commissioned by and installed permanently at the Equal Justice Initiative’s Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery, Alabama. 108 Death Masks: A Communal Prayer for Peace and Justice honors the six million lives lost in enslavement in the United States.
As a pre-release offering, ten masks have been reserved for the first ten donations of $7,000 or more. Once the edition is released the price will be $12,500.
Donate now and claim your reward.
Be a part of Breeze’s global legacy by supporting Living Histories at the Biennale of Sydney. Donations of any size are deeply appreciated. Donate here.
Nikesha Breeze is an African American/Assyrian interdisciplinary artist working from an AfroCentric, AfroFuturistic viewpoint. Their practice spans painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and film, creating layered works that engage ancestral memory and archival resurrection. 108 Death Masks: A Communal Prayer for Peace and Justice was originally exhibited at ARTPRIZE in 2018 and received the 3D Grand Prize and the Contemporary Black Arts Awards. Breeze’s work has garnered widespread attention in various media such as the The New York Times, PBS Colores,Hyperallergic, and Artsy.net. In 2026, Yale University commissioned Breeze to create a new permanent monument acknowledging the university’s historical roles and associations with slavery and the slave trade. The artist’s curatorial projects include Blackness is…The Refusal to be Reduced at Tacoma Art Museum (on view May 2024–March 2027) and an upcoming exhibition at the Albuquerque Museum. The artist has exhibited at Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts in Brooklyn, Portland Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, and others. Breeze currently lives and works in Taos, New Mexico.
Since 1973, the Biennale of Sydney has established itself as one of the world’s most significant contemporary art events, presenting groundbreaking work by over 2,400 artists from more than 130 countries. The biennale continues to serve as a vital platform for innovative artistic expression, fostering meaningful dialogue between Australian and international artists while enriching the cultural landscape of the nation. The 25th Biennale of Sydney is curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, president and director of Sharjah Art Foundation and director of Sharjah Biennial since 2002.
The New Mexico Black Leadership Council, the official fiscal sponsor of Living History, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening Black communities through cultural, educational, and economic initiatives across New Mexico. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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