Happy 40-Free: The Possibilitree Garden

A Live Offering by C. Joi Sanchez

Author

RBJ Gallery Staffer
May 26, 2025

This final activation of The Possibilitree Garden on May 31st at Bailey’s Cafe is not just an exhibition. It is a sacred offering, a rite of passage, and a celebration of interdependence. It is my 40-Free: a threshold into new dimensions of purpose, possibility, and love.

When my marriage ended, I thought the life I had built had come undone. But what followed was not a collapse—it was an initiation. bell hooks' All About Love and Osho's Love, Relationships & Aloneness became anchors in the turbulent waters of that transformation. hooks helped me understand that healing is never solitary; it is rooted in relationship, in accountability, in love-as-action. Osho taught me that love does not end, it expands beyond form. These teachings formed the spiritual soil of The Possibilitree Garden.

My art was the lifeline that pulled me through. And yet, for so long, I didn't speak about the role that art played in my survival. bell hooks’ Art on My Mind gave me the language. She affirmed what I had always felt in my bones: that art is not a luxury, but a liberation technology. It is a ritual practice, a generational gift, a divine inheritance.

My grandfather taught me photography and painting. My grandmother gave me story and wonder. My father instilled rhythm and heart; my mother, song and breath of fire. My brothers, uncles, and cousins protected and challenged me. My aunties, sister-friends, and mentors saw me fully, loved me well, and taught me how to trust my own becoming. I am here because of a vast community that fed me from the roots—soil rich with history, grief, laughter, prayer, and play.

BlackJOY Imagination Vacation: The Possibilitree Garden, now on display at Bailey’s vafe in BedStuy, BK until May 31st, 2025

The Possibilitree Garden is a love letter to that ecosystem. It is also a mirror of the cultural worlds that raised me. Communities like End of the Weak, Freestyle Mondays, The Lesson BK, Brooklyn Wildlife, Capicu Culture, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, WOW Cafe Theater, Subterra Sounds, SpeakEasily NYC, Sunday FunDay, Smalls Jazz, Word at 4F, The Rose Garden, and Aura Sessions have been creative sanctuaries. In these rooms, in these cyphers, I’ve sharpened my craft and expanded my sense of what’s possible. They are the places where I grew not only as an artist but as a cultural worker, a memory-keeper, and a communal healer.

This work also draws energy from my own project spaces like The Glimmer Garden Mic-Shop, a monthly grief-to-growth ritual and pop-up gallery. It is where I learned, time and again, that art is an altar—a place where Black joy, rage, and imagination meet.

A Band Called Possibility

This evening, I am accompanied by a group of masterful artists and dear collaborators. Together, we are A Band Called Possibility. We will perform selections from my upcoming album B.L.A.H. Vol. 5: The Comedown Clarity and excerpts from my book B.L.A.H. Vol. 4: In The Valley With The Shadow of Death. Both are available for pre-order at www.thegodis.art.

Sen Raines

Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Sen Raines is a multi-hyphenate artist and visionary who bridges jazz, gospel, and experimental soul. A graduate of Montclair State University with a B.A. in Jazz Performance, she has since served as a music director, bassist, and educator across NYC and beyond. Her deep groove and intuitive musicality have made her a sought-after collaborator in both sacred and secular spaces. Sen is committed to the ancestral role of musicians as storytellers and cultural protectors.
IG: @senbabyy

D. Fraze

A Broklyn-born drummer, composer, and educator, David's roots are deeply embedded in the Black Pentecostal church tradition. The son of gospel songwriter David Frazier Sr. and educator Leslie Walker Frazier, David grew up in a home of rigorous discipline and divine sound. He earned both BFA and MFA degrees in Jazz Performance from SUNY Purchase Conservatory, studying under greats like Kenny Washington and Hal Galper. A world-traveled musician, David has toured with Moses Sumney, SZA, Arto Lindsay, Billy Porter, and many more. His rhythmic language blends church, jazz, and diaspora sensibilities with surgical precision and soul.
IG: @d_fraizer

Adam Bauch

A New York native and founder of Jam Factory NYC and Musicool in China, Adam is a multi-instrumentalist, educator, and technician whose practice spans continents and genres. As a performer, Adam blends deep-pocket grooves with lush sonic landscapes to invoke emotion and movement. His pedagogy bridges technical rigor with improvisational exploration, allowing students of all ages to unlock their inner musicians. Whether on stage or in the classroom, Adam moves with a mission to inspire embodiment through rhythm.
IG: @adambauch_

Zaven

Zaven is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, vocalist, and the visionary behind A Jam Called Saturday, one of Brooklyn’s most inclusive and intergenerational jam sessions. His work centers the power of improvisation, genre fluidity, and cultural fusion. Through his leadership, AJamCalledSaturday has become a beloved hub for radical musical collaboration, skill-sharing, and joy-based resistance. As a music director and collaborator, Zaven brings warmth, virtuosity, and reverence to every space he enters.
IG: @zavgod

Open Jam: An Invitation to Collective Becoming

After our set, we invite you to stay, play, and build with us. The night will conclude with an open jam led by Zaven, where all are welcome to contribute. In Black diasporic culture, improvisation is not simply a technique—it is a survival strategy. A memory device. A site of transformation.

These spaces matter. They are where we remember that we are not alone. That we are creators of our own reality. That iron sharpens iron. That pressure can burst pipes or make diamonds. Tonight, we choose to make gems.

Welcome to The Possibilitree Garden. Welcome to Happy 40-Free.

In gratitude and in love,
C. Joi Sanchez
www.thegodis.art
www.patreon.com/radicalblackjoi