Castle of our Skins unveils Season 14, Imprinted

Castle of our Skins will launch its 14th season in October 2026 with Imprinted, a Boston-centered lineup of concerts, residencies and community programs running through June 2027. The season also introduces new curatorial leadership after the departure of longtime artistic director Ashleigh Gordon.

Why it matters: - Season 14 marks a leadership shift at Castle of our Skins as the Black arts organization moves from a single artistic director model to collaborative curatorial leadership. - The season also expands the organization’s reach across music, literature, interdisciplinary performance, education and community engagement in Boston and beyond. - The programming centers Black artistic inheritance, cultural memory and the ways traditions evolve through new generations.

What happened: - Castle of our Skins announced its 14th season, Imprinted, on Sept. 8, 2026. - The season runs from October 2026 through June 2027. - The organization named Francesca McNeeley as Music Curator and Lyndsay Allyn Cox as Interdisciplinary Curator & Artistic Producer. - Ashleigh Gordon, Castle of our Skins co-founder and longtime artistic director, has departed after more than a decade shaping the organization’s artistic vision.

The details: - Imprinted includes music, literature, interdisciplinary performance, community engagement and collective reflection. - The season explores “the marks we inherit, the marks we make, and the legacies we carry forward.” - The programming highlights African American spirituals, Harlem Renaissance experimentation, embroidered memorials and the Combahee River Collective. - Sacred Transcendence is set for Oct. 17 at 12th Baptist Church in Roxbury, Mass., and Oct. 18 at Quick Center in Fairfield, Conn. - The program, presented by Vivo Performing Arts in Roxbury, traces the journey of African American spirituals from church to concert hall. - Works by Florence Price, William Grant Still and Shawn Okpebholo are part of the repertoire. - FIRE!!: A Celebration of Radical Black Expression is scheduled for Nov. 6 at Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass. - The event draws on the 1926 literary magazine Fire!! and combines performance, conversation and an artist salon. - Radical Imprints, the BSU Intercollegiate Fellowship Concert, is scheduled for Feb. 13, 2027, at Longy School of Music. - The sixth annual Black Student Union Intercollegiate Fellowship will culminate in an interdisciplinary performance with Black artists from colleges and conservatories across Greater Boston. - WITNESS: Art, Remembrance, and Collective Care runs March 8-18, 2027, at Hibernian Hall in Boston. - The residency honors African American youth lost to state-sanctioned violence. - The program is inspired by Rosalyn D. Elder’s embroidered memorials from The Requiem Project. - DeShaun Gordon King’s Sound Ritual: Catalyst is set for April 9, 2027, at Longy School of Music and April 10, 2027, at Brattleboro Music Center in Brattleboro, Vt. - The immersive work blends therapeutic music, chamber music, jazz, improvisation, electronics and guided meditation. - COMBAHEE: Black Feminism. Radical Roots. Liberated Futures. is scheduled for April 25, 2027, at the Museum of African American History in Boston. - The program marks 50 years since the Combahee River Collective Statement. - The work honors the Boston-founded Black feminist, lesbian, socialist organization founded by Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith and Demita Frazier. - SPOT/LIGHT: BLACK COTTON CLUB & WE BLACK FOLK will take place June 12 and June 26, 2027, at More Than Words in Boston. - The Spot/Light series will showcase innovative local Black artists across genres. - Castle of our Skins will continue year-round edu-tainment workshops, youth programs and partnerships beyond its seasonal calendar. - In 2026-27, the organization will workshop new student-centered repertoire with Project STEP through its Student Repertoire Commissioning Project. - Castle of our Skins will continue year-long partnerships with the Quick Center for the Arts and ZUMIX. - Additional edu-tainment partners include the Museum of African American History, Conservatory Lab Charter School, Boston School of the Arts, Rose Conservatory, Boston Housing Authority, United South End Settlements and Boston Children’s Museum.

Between the lines: - The new curatorial model suggests Castle of our Skins is broadening its artistic leadership structure to support more varied programming. - Francesca McNeeley’s background as a performer, educator and collaborator positions the music side of the season around community-based practice. - Lyndsay Allyn Cox’s interdisciplinary practice points to a season built for cross-genre work rather than traditional concert programming alone. - Executive Director Dr. Ciyadh Wells framed the change as both a thank-you to Ashleigh Gordon and an opportunity to open the organization to new perspectives. - The season’s themes connect historical Black cultural movements to contemporary questions about memory, care, experimentation and liberation.

What's next: - Castle of our Skins will move into its 2026-27 season programming beginning in October. - The organization will develop new student-centered repertoire with Project STEP during the year. - The new curatorial team will shape future artistic collaborations with artists, partners, staff and community members. - Additional season activities are expected to continue through June 2027.

The bottom line: - Imprinted is both a season theme and a reset for Castle of our Skins, pairing heritage-focused programming with a new shared leadership model.