Reparations ∈ ℝ is a durational performance and research platform that computes reparations from live genealogical data. Built from years of archival research into census records, probate records, and the long history of unpaid debt owed to descendants of enslaved people, the piece treats reparations not as a metaphor but as a calculation — one anchored in each participant’s own family record.
The work runs out of a private office at Dance Place alongside the New Releases showcase on May 8 and 9. Participants attend a one-on-one appointment, scheduled either before the showcase or during intermission for those attending New Releases that night. Individual genealogical data stays private to each participant and is used only to train the model — never shared publicly.
The piece is open to anyone seeking this kind of accountability research, and is presented free of charge. Tickets to the New Releases showcase are available separately through Dance Place.
Danyela Brown is a native Arlingtonian and DC resident since 2018, a social worker, and an artist working at the intersection of computational systems, archival research, and choreographic performance. She is a second-year MFA candidate in Sculpture at Bard College’s Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts.