our collective counsel
Sibyls Shrine began in 2019 as a visionary project led by artist Alisha B Wormsley. Developed with administrative support from the program's Administrative Director Jessica Gaynelle Moss, who has over 12 years experience with artists residency programs, and Community Artist Liaison Naomi Chambers, a Pittsburgh-native who has had an extensive visual arts career, Wormsley brought this dream to life.
In 2023, artist, birth worker and librarian Lauren Beachom, a member of Sibyls Shrine Network since cohort 1, joined the team as Program Advisor and Strategist. Wormsley, Moss, Chambers and Beachom are all Black artists who m/other with rigorous creative practices and Pittsburgh-roots. With additional support from our organizational partners, Shiftworks Community + Public Arts, our team is here to serve you.
Alisha B Wormsley
Founder + Creative Director
Alisha B Wormsley is an interdisciplinary artist and cultural producer. Her work is about collective memory and the synchronicity of time, specifically through the stories of women of color. Wormsley’s work has been honored and supported with a number of awards and grants to support projects: The People Are The Light, afronaut(a) film and performance series, Homewood Artist Residency (recipient of the mayor’s public art award), the Children of NAN video art series, There Are Black People in the Future body of work. These projects and works have exhibited widely, including at the Andy Warhol Museum, Octavia Butler conference at Spelman University, Carnegie Museum of Art, Johannesburg SA, HTMLES in Montreal, Project Row House, the Houston Art League, Rush Art gallery in NY, and the Charles Wright museum in Detroit.
In the last few years her work in public art installation has grown with her design of art in several parks, afronaut(a) film series in public spaces, and Streaming Space, a 24-foot tall pyramid with video and sound installed in Pittsburgh's downtown Market Square. Wormsley has an MFA in Film and Video from Bard College and was recently awarded the Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University.
Photo credit: Njaimeh Njie
Jessica Gaynelle Moss
Executive Director
Jessica Gaynelle Moss (b. 1987) is an artist, independent curator, custodian of Black art, and consultant to institutions and private clients. She has an extensive background in program management, production and fabrication, nonprofit leadership, grant writing, community engagement and education. Jessica is committed to developing innovative, ethical and responsible solutions that advance the lives and work of black queer trans indigenous people of color women m/other and elder artists.
As an arts worker and consultant, Jessica has experience with a diverse roster of institutions including The Joan Mitchell Center, The City of Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Heinz Endowment, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, The National Museum of African American History and Culture, The National Portrait Gallery, The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Art + Culture, The Center for Craft, Rebuild Foundation and DreamWorks Animation.
Jessica received a bachelors in Fine Art from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009; a masters in Arts Administration, Policy and Management from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015; and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2018.
Photo credit: Njaimeh Njie
Lauren Beachom
Lead Strategist + Advisor
Lauren Beachom is an ethical birthkeeper, non-profit President and literary enthusiast. A multi-disciplined artist with an embodied movement practice. She earned her undergraduate degree at Morgan State University, while her career has primarily focused on health and education, she has gravitated towards the BIPOC community. Her experiences have propelled her to reform body autonomy for all and ignited a passion for freedom.
Photo credit: Lauren Beachom
Thank you to our partners, supporters and funders.
The Office of Public Art at the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
The Office of Public Art provides additional support as the Sibyls Shrine collaborating organization. Working mothers make up the entirety of the project team.
Thank you to our Funders:
The Heinz Endowments
POISE Foundation
Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise (PACE)
The Ford Foundation
The Opportunity Fund
The Pittsburgh Foundation
The Office for Public Art
Neighborhood Allies
Arts, Equity, & Education Fund