Sparked by personal experience, rooted Black performance heritage and influenced by embodied practice, AXD first outlines a method, then theorizes on the futures and possibilities for the development of Black Art.

                We begin with a discussion around Black identity and posing the question: How Black identity can be centered when there are various Black identities? Once the Black experience is placed at the center, we then explore how doing so affects the way source material is accessed and understood. Finally, we bring in historical and cultural references that help us understand Black aesthetics as embodied practice. This encourages us to explore ways to connect with performance that have come before us and dwell within us in order to utilize self-discovery as a foundation for artistic choices.

                 AXD is born out of the critical need for performances written from an Afrocentric perspective to be analyzed, contextualized and developed within the same framework. Just as Black Performance Theory and Black Acting Methods are creating opportunities for diverse approaches to performance, an Afrocentric approach to artistic research and storytelling can do the same in the development and contextualization of those performances.