Faheem Majeed, "Boarded and Backbone," 2019. (Courtesy of the Artist and Tufts University Art Galleries)

As you may know from our previous article, Being UNITED with Faheem Majeed, the artist and builder transforms materials such as particle board, scrap metal & wood, and discarded signs, breathing new life into these often overlooked and devalued materials.

For his first Boston exhibition, "Who Takes the Weight," Majeed doesn't disappoint in continuing his transformative work by creating two large-scale, site-specific installations in the Grossman and Anderson galleries at SMFA at Tufts University. In these works, the artist engages with architectural, institutional, and community histories.

Faheem Majeed, "Planting and Maintaining a Perennial Garden: Indebted Mass," 2019. (Courtesy of the Artist and Tufts University Art Galleries)

The title of the show is a reference to the book “Who Took the Weight? Black Voices from Norfolk Prison,” a 1972 anthology of poems, essays and stories written by inmates enrolled in a drama and theater program run by Boston cultural icon Elma Lewis. The exhibition also takes inspiration from the institution-building legacies of Lewis and Chicago artist, educator, and poet Dr. Margaret Burroughs.

“In her essay for the book, she talks about who takes the weight,” says Majeed. “And I think she's talking more to the invisible ‘lifters,’ people who kind of pull things together.”

For more information:

Tufts University: Faheem Majeed: Who Takes the Weight?

The Boston Globe: Chicago artist builds upon the history of Boston’s black community

The ARTery: Artist Faheem Majeed Considers Community And The Role Of Institutions