2026 State of the Art Prize, Massachusetts
2026 State of the Art Prize, Massachusetts
Danielle Wood
Danielle Wood
Danielle Wood is an artist, Black studies scholar and engineer. Danielle’s practice draws from Black Feminist Theory to create liberatory art and engineering prototypes demonstrating how to advance justice with space technology. Danielle produces collaborative theatre performances drawing from the tradition of the choreopoem that highlight innovations by Black women.
Performing Arts, Socially-Engaged Performance
2026
About Danielle Wood
Cambridge, MA
Danielle Wood is an artist and scholar of African and African Diaspora Studies. She is also an aerospace engineer and Associate Professor of Media Arts & Sciences at the MIT Media Lab. Danielle’s practice draws from Black Feminist Theory to create liberatory art and engineering prototypes demonstrating how to advance justice with space technology. Danielle produces collaborative performances drawing from the theatrical tradition of the choreopoem: spoken word pieces accentuated with dance, visual art and lighting. The choreopoems are rooted in research about innovations by Black women. Danielle produces and performs in collaboration with choreographers and designers, including Kayla Farrish, Jennifer Newman, Rena Butler and Kenyon Adams. Danielle has staged choreopoems at MIT with support from the Center for Art, Science and Technology and the JustTech Fellowship of the Social Science Research Council. Danielle regularly gives public presentations blending engineering and art with hosts including Park Avenue Armory (“Land of Broken Dreams”), National Museum of African American History and Culture (“Claiming Space Symposium”), University of Santa Barbara (“UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures”), Boston Museum of Science (Black History Month Event), DOCNYC, Boston Film Festival, LagosPhoto, U.S. Department of State, NASA and the United Nations.
Danielle Wood is an artist and scholar of African and African Diaspora Studies. She is also an aerospace engineer and Associate Professor of Media Arts & Sciences at the MIT Media Lab. Danielle’s practice draws from Black Feminist Theory to create liberatory art and engineering prototypes demonstrating how to advance justice with space technology. Danielle produces collaborative performances drawing from the theatrical tradition of the choreopoem: spoken word pieces accentuated with dance, visual art and lighting. The choreopoems are rooted in research about innovations by Black women. Danielle produces and performs in collaboration with choreographers and designers, including Kayla Farrish, Jennifer Newman, Rena Butler and Kenyon Adams. Danielle has staged choreopoems at MIT with support from the Center for Art, Science and Technology and the JustTech Fellowship of the Social Science Research Council. Danielle regularly gives public presentations blending engineering and art with hosts including Park Avenue Armory (“Land of Broken Dreams”), National Museum of African American History and Culture (“Claiming Space Symposium”), University of Santa Barbara (“UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures”), Boston Museum of Science (Black History Month Event), DOCNYC, Boston Film Festival, LagosPhoto, U.S. Department of State, NASA and the United Nations.