As the Friends of the Tanner House (FOTH) embarks on an arts-rich participatory planning and preservation visioning process to guide the rehabilitation and proposed re-use of the Henry Ossawa Tanner House, we’re excited to announce a new partnership with audio documentarian and podcast producer Danya AbdelHameid.

Danya AbdelHameid (she/they) is an audio producer from Virginia, by way of Sudan. She almost became a scientist and loves telling stories about the messy ways science intersects with culture and history, among other things. They strive to create work that does too much, is carefree, and produced for, with, and in community.

Over the next year, Danya will partner with FOTH to produce a narrative, documentary podcast about the Henry Ossawa Tanner House and the ongoing tradition of Black freedom dreaming in North Philadelphia. This project, funded by a Media Artist + Activist Residency from the Leeway Foundation, will further amplify the preservation efforts stewarded by FOTH and leverage collaborative podcasting as a tool for building power and solidarity. Because whether the preservation of a home or community histories via audio documentary – we recognize that in many ways, the work is the same. 

In Black communities, podcasts are important social spaces akin to the church or barber shop. They are “aural cocoons” created by sound artists, where Black folks express themselves, challenge harmful narratives, share information, & build power. We’ll take this even further by designing a collaborative podcasting process, inviting Black Philadelphians to participate in all stages of production: audio recording, narrative structuring, sound editing/design, and public release. This will include: a community-led editorial review board, oral history interviews, field recording workshops, the use of music from local artists and participant-produced field recordings to score the podcast, & a series of community listening sessions to share the podcast upon completion…