Nia Panes

Opening Reception: First Friday, December 5
Artist Talk and Discussion TBA

"History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history." — James Baldwin

Nia Panes is a public art installation by W. Michelle Harris that reimagines the tradition of memorial stained glass windows through a contemporary lens. The project honors three foundational, though still lesser-known, figures in early Rochester: Anna Murray Douglass, Hester Jeffrey, and Austin Steward. Situated in the park adjacent to Christ Church Rochester, Nia Panes celebrates the legacies of these individuals, whose contributions to abolition, suffrage, and community organizing continue to shape the city’s cultural fabric today.

Harris’s tryptic incorporates the silhouette of a lancet window, echoing the stained glass found nearby in Christ Church. Each figure is framed by sunray backgrounds in Pan-African colors of red and green, while a pattern of Rochester’s iconic flower logo (created 50 years ago and being celebrated throughout the City in 2026) fills their surroundings. The name panel at the base of each portrait resemble the wake of Lake Ontario, symbolizing the ripple effects of their legacies, and also nods at the artist’s past video work In Their Wake.

The installation features Anna Murray Douglass (1813-1882), abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor, whose work alongside her husband, Frederick Douglass, in the fight for freedom is memorialized in the left window. In the center, Hester Jeffrey (1842-1934), a key figure in the suffrage movement and advocate for women’s rights, is celebrated for her work with the Political Equality Club and the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs. The right window honors Austin Steward (1793-1869), abolitionist, businessman, and author, whose memoir Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman was a testament to resilience and self-determination.

Learn about Harris's 2023 installation Shugabanni.

About the Artist

W. Michelle Harris is a digital media artist who uses code as a medium for engaging discussions as a Black woman in American culture. Her work has been shown at such diverse venues as the ACM SIGGRAPH, World Maker Faire, and INST-INT, as well as regional venues like Visual Studies Workshop, Gallery 74, Baobab Cultural Center, Community Folk Art Center, Schwienfurth Memorial, and Squeaky Wheel. She has done live-mixed visuals for performances in collaboration with Juanita Suarez, fivebyfive, Dave Rivello, Reenah Golden, and (almost every Rochester Fringe) BIODANCE. She is an associate professor in the New Media Interactive Development program at Rochester Institute of Technology. Harris has a master's degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program of NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Public Art at RoCo

RoCo’s public art program enlivens the East Avenue neighborhood with temporary, site-specific public sculptures and special projects. Support provided by The New York State Council on the Arts, Farash Foundation, The County of Monroe, Richard Schwartz, Anne Havens, and Members of RoCo! This installation is presented in partnership with Christ Church and adjacent to the Cooney Family Garden.