2026 State of the Art Prize, Texas
2026 State of the Art Prize, Texas
Gesel Mason
Gesel Mason
Gesel R. Mason is a choreographer, performer, and Professor of Dance at the University of Texas at Austin. As Artistic Director of Gesel Mason Performance Projects, she uses dance to interrogate cultural identities, challenge societal norms, and foster compassionate human connection.
Dance, Multimedia Performance, Performing Arts, Socially-Engaged Performance
2026
About Gesel Mason
Austin, TX
Gesel R. Mason is a choreographer, performer, and Professor of Dance at the University of Texas at Austin. As Artistic Director of Gesel Mason Performance Projects, she uses dance to interrogate cultural identities, challenge societal norms, and foster compassionate human connection. Her work blends physical storytelling, humor, and Afro-diasporic sensibilities, examining how society manufactures otherness and inviting audiences to imagine new possibilities. For over two decades, Mason curated and performed NO BOUNDARIES: Dancing the Visions of Contemporary Black Choreographers , honoring ten visionary artists. Now a pioneering digital archive co-directed with Rebecca Salzer (University of Alabama), the NEH-supported project advances more equitable, accessible, and care-centered approaches to preserving legacies of underrepresented artists. Mason’s current project, Yes, And , asks: Who would you be, and what would you do, if as a Black woman you had nothing to worry about? Developed with communities across the U.S. and the Caribbean with support from New England Foundation for the Arts, the work explores collective resilience and radical imagination. A Rauschenberg Artist-in-Residence and Dance/USA Artist Fellow, Mason is a former member of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and Ralph Lemon/Cross Performance Projects. Her choreography has been presented by Fusebox Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Bates Dance Festival, and cultural centers across the country.
Gesel R. Mason is a choreographer, performer, and Professor of Dance at the University of Texas at Austin. As Artistic Director of Gesel Mason Performance Projects, she uses dance to interrogate cultural identities, challenge societal norms, and foster compassionate human connection. Her work blends physical storytelling, humor, and Afro-diasporic sensibilities, examining how society manufactures otherness and inviting audiences to imagine new possibilities. For over two decades, Mason curated and performed NO BOUNDARIES: Dancing the Visions of Contemporary Black Choreographers , honoring ten visionary artists. Now a pioneering digital archive co-directed with Rebecca Salzer (University of Alabama), the NEH-supported project advances more equitable, accessible, and care-centered approaches to preserving legacies of underrepresented artists. Mason’s current project, Yes, And , asks: Who would you be, and what would you do, if as a Black woman you had nothing to worry about? Developed with communities across the U.S. and the Caribbean with support from New England Foundation for the Arts, the work explores collective resilience and radical imagination. A Rauschenberg Artist-in-Residence and Dance/USA Artist Fellow, Mason is a former member of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and Ralph Lemon/Cross Performance Projects. Her choreography has been presented by Fusebox Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Bates Dance Festival, and cultural centers across the country.