The Museum of Modern Art in New York is currently exhibiting an installation called “Black Power Naps” by multimedia artists Navild Acosta and Fannie Sosa. The work is part of an anti-performance series and features circular beds covered in tie-dyed comforters and rugs printed with the words “rest in power.” Visitors are invited to lie down and nap in the gallery while listening to a meditative soundtrack. The project was inspired by research that found that Black Americans are five times more likely to get too little sleep than white Americans.
While the installation is open to all visitors, Acosta and Sosa designed it with Black visitors in mind, and a sign at the entrance reads, “If you see a Black person resting, don’t call the police!” However, the project has faced backlash, with a visitor accusing Ghanaian artist Heather Agyepong of being “aggressive,” resulting in MoMA security asking her to leave. In Madrid, a group of white men destroyed sculptures and pillows, and conservative commentators accused Acosta and Sosa of racism.
“Black Power Naps” arrives at a time when society is re-evaluating its relationship with work, and artists are exploring the idea of rest as a revolutionary act. This shift is particularly significant as, historically, only the most privileged had the opportunity to opt out of the perpetual grind. The luxury and wellness industries have previously emphasized the importance of sleep as a way to improve productivity. Still, the pandemic disrupted both sleep and work, leading to a renewed appreciation of rest and a growing suspicion of the idea of productivity.
Artists like Jennifer Packer and Alina Perez depict subjects lounging and dozing, while the founder of The Nap Ministry, Tricia Hersey, promotes sleep as a tool for Black liberation. Puerto Rican choreographer Nibia Pastrana Santiago’s manifesto, “The Lazy Dancer,” is a call to inaction, declaring, “I have no duty to dance.”
Although artists have depicted humans at rest for centuries, the current trend has updated this tradition to emphasize the political significance of self-care and vulnerability. Immobility has a history of political resistance, such as sit-ins and bed-ins pioneered by Yoko Ono and John Lennon in the 1960s. Sleeping in public is both vulnerable and a claim to inherent dignity. To sleep, rather than to do, is to prioritize rest as a means of sustaining activism.
In conclusion, the “Black Power Naps” installation challenges visitors to prioritize rest and consider its political significance. The work comes when society is re-evaluating its relationship with work, and artists are exploring new ways to incorporate rest into their practices.
