(waves rushing) (gentle music) - [Canaan] Accept your failures, release your anger and forgive yourself, for your failures bring corrections and corrections bring blessings.

Another day, another blessing.

June 29th, 2017.

The other day I was thinking to myself all the things I left behind.

(lively music) I'm truly blessed, Staja, and very appreciative.

I know I've brought a lot of stress into our family, and for that, I'm sorry.

I don't know how I can ever repay all of you guys.

You can't get this time back.

I hope you're doing good though, and your artwork as well.

I know you're going big places.

Little Big Bro.

(lively music) I love you mane.

(lively music fading) (soft music) - [Nastassja] I'm Nastassja Swift.

I'm a multidisciplinary artist working across multiple mediums.

My background is in oil painting, that's what I grew up doing.

And then once I got to VCU, I started working a little more in textiles and fiber.

After graduating, I got to do quite a bit of traveling, which was great because it allowed me to experience the way different cultures use these materials that I was becoming familiar with.

Most recently, I've been accepted into a residency with the Contemporary Arts Network near my hometown in Virginia.

And I get to create a pretty big solo show at the end of the residency.

And I've decided to dedicate my show to my brother, Canaan, who is currently incarcerated.

(no audio) (gentle music) - Everybody that you draw is gonna be seven heads tall.

Remember I kept trying to teach you how to do that when you were younger?

Like Nastassja, uh-uh, seven heads, like, no one is six heads tall.

Like, (chuckling) et cetera.

- My mom has this portfolio.

It's just like that thing that is a part of my history 'cause that's how art was introduced to me.

(gentle music) - Nastassja, when she was younger, really started taking an interest in art.

Just watching her draw, you can see her being meticulous about the pen she was using, the pencil she was using.

- I think I've figured out what my solo is gonna be for this residency.

- Really?

- I've envisioned this room, the size of Canaan's cell, and then sitting in it and reading some of his letters.

There is nothing like reading those yellow letters.

You can see scratched out words, and you see the process of someone's thought, and it feels like he's here.

- [Stephanie] Be mindful to keep all these things to ourselves.

- But why?

- Well I keep it to be myself because it's my story.

I wasn't ready to put it out in a public library.

- But I think that when stories get put in public libraries, you realize that the story doesn't belong to just one person, it belongs to many people, just in different bodies.

- Someone will get something out of it, just like we will.

- I have dreams about my work before they are made.

In the dream, there's a rug that I had woven that drapes through this structure that is composed of portraits of Canaan and I.

So I looked through a ton of photos trying to find something that captures pretty much all of who Canaan is.

And I feel like I found that photo.

Shortly after that, I was in the studio stitching Canaan's face.

(gentle music) To put how I felt into words when finding out about Canaan's arrest, it was like this (sewing machine whirring) wave of a (sew machine whirring) really scared emotions.

(sew machine whirring) Most of the time when I'm making work, it's really just the best way I know how to articulate something that I'm feeling.

I'm not making this project to absolve my brother of any action.

I'm not making it to have people plead for him.

It's me making a visual snapshot of what our relationship looks like because it's one of the most important relationships in my life.

When I dreamt of it, I knew it had to be with a group of people that could empathize with what I was interested in doing and why.

And I am confident that it's happening in the right place and time.

(gentle music) July 15th, 2020, in my dream, there's a room full of people.

I'm dressed in loose linen pants and linen tank.

I step inside the structure.

I'm nervous, but also not.

I laugh, I cry, I pause, I finish.

(gentle music) - That's crazy.

- Right?

(chuckling) - Yeah.

That's so descriptive, like I could see it.

When Nastassja first told me about her project, I realized that she was going to serve not only her story but the story of so many people that struggle with having family members that are incarcerated.

- I keep seeing this industrial style, something that's like unkempt.

- I might have some ideas.

- [Nastassja] Yeah?

I feel like if anybody knows, it'll be Asa.

(Kira and Asa laughing) - The location of this show needed to match the work.

So we wanted to be true to that.

- Asa used to be on this courthouse initiative with the courthouse in downtown Hampton.

So that could be something to consider.

- This courthouse is still attached to a active jail.

- Hmm.

- Think about it.

A courthouse?

- Yeah, I did.

- With the topic of, oh man, that could be real crazy.

- I still get a little bit of anxiety going to courthouses, so- - Yeah.

It's just about trying to put the logistics together and just seeing what we can make happen.

- Imagination.

(all laughing) (Kira murmuring) - Anything is possible.

(gentle music) - [Phone Operator] This is a prepaid debit call from... - [Canaan] Canaan.

(phone beeping) - [Phone Operator] This call is from a corrections facility and is subject to monitoring and recording.

- [Nastassja] Hello?

- [Canaan] Hey what's up, bro?

- [Nastassja] How you doing?

- [Canaan] I'm good, man.

They gave us some fruit that I ain't seen in five, you know, this year makes five years.

I want you to guess what type of fruit it was and I'm gonna give you five tries.

- Okay.

- What's your first one?

- [Nastassja] An orange?

- [Canaan] Come on, they basically give us oranges on the regular- - I now know!

A strawberry?

- [Canaan] That was back in 2018, 2019.

We was getting that on the regular.

- [Nastassja] Is it like a common fruit or a fruit most people don't eat?

- [Canaan] It's a delicious fruit and it's small- - [Nastassja] A kiwi!

- [Canaan] Yes, there you go!

(Nastassja and Canaan giggling) Yeah, they gave us some kiwis but they ain't cut them, they left them whole.

We got the whole kiwi.

They ain't had no sugar in them.

- [Nastassja] What you mean they had no sugar in them?

It's fruit, they have natural sugar.

They just- - It was sweet but it was a little bitter taste- - [Nastassja] It might not have been all the way ripe then.

Like it might not have been all the way ready.

- [Canaan] You can be grateful for anything that you ain't been getting.

(chuckling) That's all I'm saying, you know.

That's all I'm saying.

(gentle music) - Did I show you his property box?

This is his driver's license.

I guess this is a belt that he had.

There's almost like a diary style thing in here.

But then he has a lot of the letters that we sent him.

I really wanted to make three smaller works that complemented the larger piece that speak to the nostalgia of our relationship.

One of the pieces is a 24 by 30 inch silk quilt, and on top of it sits the property box that was mailed from Virginia Beach City Jail.

I just like the idea of this really delicate fabric, almost as if I'm this quilt (chuckling) and the belongings are Canaan.

And in this quilt, it's like holding the TV that's showing my mom reading letters.

That's the plan for that piece.

To be making a quilt for Canaan makes me think of old southern women making quilts for their children or their grandchildren and the way communities make quilts together.

So the fact that I've had help with these, it's the contemporary version of Gee's Bend quilts.

(lively music) To see all these different hands putting together something that's embedded with love and family, the quilt makes sense.

(gentle music) If I had to do this all by myself, it would take me two or three years.

You could have all these big ideas, but if you don't have the resources or assistance or space, you can't make it happen.

You get to do all the impossible things when you bring in other people with other skillsets.

I had someone who knew how to sew.

(gentle music) I taught my sister how to bead.

(gentle music continue) And then my mom, she's my forever studio assistant.

(laughing) She does way more work than she wants to do.

(chuckling) I can just be like, "Mom, no!

Do it this way."

That's our relationship.

♪ I want ♪ - [Phone Operator] This is a prepaid debit call from... - [Canaan] Canaan.

(phone beeping) - [Nastassja] What's up, man?

- [Canaan] What's up, bro?

Who you with?

- I'm at the studio with mommy.

- [Canaan] Oh it's crazy, right?

I called to mom and she ain't pick up.

- You didn't have money on your phone, so I had to put it on, and then by then, I hit the wrong number.

I said, "Lord, he'll see that I put money on his phone."

- [Canaan] Why ain't she talking to me, Staja?

- Hang up.

(laughing) - Canaan, you're embarrassing your mother.

(Nastassja and Stephanie laughing) - I wanna see if I can call GT, I'll get my money back.

(Canaan laughing) - [Nastassja] I didn't get to tell you about any of this 'cause Canaan called and like demanded all of our attention.

- All of our attention.

(Nastassja laughing) Like always.

- [Nastassja] Basically, I need to add this fringe but it's not all gonna be beaded.

- I remember hiring Canaan a lawyer, and we were having that conversation.

20 years, 30 years of not seeing my son, I think I would die.

- It's gonna be too heavy and it'll take a year to do.

- I don't believe it.

- And we don't have a year.

I don't have that kind of time.

- I could see that my mom was not gonna be able to manage how she felt and I was like, all right, well, before I really get to cry, I gotta make sure she's okay.

Push the beads and then come back through the second bead but come through a couple of them.

Where it comes out at, you want to just knot it twice so then it's secure.

- [Stephanie] Yeah, we go to court together, we never missed a hearing.

'Cause we do have his back.

- [Nastassja] Just 'cause these beads are gonna get rolled up in this quilt, I need them to be strong so that way they- - Oh so we're not sewing beads on the day of?

- Yeah.

(Stephanie laughing) Or else I'm gonna call you, like, mom.

- Your call cannot be accepted.

(laughing) I won't be home.

- Girl.

(Stephanie laughing) All right.

- Okay, so how did you get- - I'm gonna show you.

- Okay.

(gentle music) - The outside of the courthouse looks really cool and then the inside is kinda basic.

- The courthouse have six or seven different courtrooms in it, law library, clerks' offices.

It was like a maze of a building.

- I was like, "Asa, I'm gonna be honest.

I'm not too impressed.

But then we got to this records room.

I was like, whoa.

It looks like something that I've never seen.

There's this really eerie sense, which is probably because it's confined in to this unfamiliar space.

Feeling that, something in my mind was like, okay, this could work.

(phone beep) - [Canaan] Hey, so, what you got going for today?

- [Nastassja] I got some stuff to work on.

- [Canaan] I've been trying to tell you, you gotta experience some things, you gotta go through some stuff- - [Nastassja] I don't just pull inspiration from things that happened to me.

I pull inspiration from things that I read, things that I hear people say, conversations that I have.

- That's not, you're missing my point.

- No, you missing my point.

We gather our inspiration in two different ways clearly.

- Don't cut me off because- - Don't cut me off 'cause I wasn't finished.

(Canaan and Nastassja laughing) Playing the audio for the first time in the studio, I just couldn't help but laugh and put my head in my hand.

I was just like, oh my God, I sound ridiculous.

(laughing) - So what are we doing with these phone calls?

How is this all gonna work into the show?

- [Nastassja] It'll be a part of this old corded phone, sitting on a nightstand.

I thought I was gonna have it playing aloud, but I don't know, there's something really special about seeing you guys laugh at our conversations.

Like being able to hear it.

So I don't know now.

(laughing) - You're ready to bring these conversations to the world?

- I feel like I'm making some of the strongest work of my life.

I'm also making some of the most difficult work.

But I could not not make this project.

(gentle music) Working on this with my brother, we've interacted with each other in a different way because he doesn't consider himself to be an artist.

It's been a new level of our relationship.

I'm grateful for his willingness to open up with me.

'Cause not everybody would be comfortable doing what we're doing.

If I'm being honest, I'm not always all the way comfortable doing what I'm doing.

In terms of a collaboration, it was cool to hear how excited he was.

Even the rug, he was trying to describe it to me and he was like, "You know what?

I'm just gonna draw it."

And to see the drawing, me and my mom were like, tsk, Canaan didn't draw this.

(giggling) But like he did and I was so impressed.

(gentle music) I like that idea of having his work in the show in that way so it's like he's not just a behind the scenes collaborator.

His hand is very much present in the work.

And that's important to me.

That's important to me.

(mobile ringing) (metal clang) (workmen murmuring) (mobile ring continuing) (metallic clangs) Oh!

Hey, what's up?

- Also trying to make a- - How you going?

- It's going good!

Me and him are helping the welder start to get this thing built out.

- [Welder] Yeah, we're going right back to where we- - So it's happening.

(Kira and workmen murmurings overlapping) It builds up really, really quickly with the way he broke it down.

So as you can see, it's almost halfway, halfway put together.

- [Kira] Yeah.

Yeah.

That's so cool, man.

- [Nastassja] But yeah.

- [Asa] Amazing.

♪ It is coming together ♪ (Nastassja giggling) (slurring music) I knew that I was gonna create this quilt but at the end of the day, something's gotta hold it.

When I found Ryland, being able to check that box off, I was like, cool.

I'm gonna give you what you need, you make it happen.

Let's follow the schedule.

That was a lifesaver.

Seeing the steel next to the brass record casing around the wall, it was almost like the walls were coming off and into the floor to build the work for me, if that makes sense.

(lively music) Seeing it like not on my table, not on a floor, not rolled up or in fragments, it was finally this full thing that was draping through the structure, so I wanted to live in that moment longer.

- Very, very beautiful work.

Thank you very much.

- [Nastassja] And I was blown away after seeing it up.

(lively music) (lively music fading) (gentle music) At the core of this project is family and love and support and that's something that almost everyone experiences.

My mom and my brother are super close, so hearing things that he has sent her, it just adds on another layer of like the difficulty of the situation.

- Look at that, look at Nastassja and Canaan.

(gentle music) That is so beautiful.

(gentle music continuing) When I saw the piece for the first time, I remember just holding back tears.

That is my son.

OMG.

(chuckling) It just seems so lifelike, it seems so real.

Oh my goodness.

- Are your eyes watery right now?

- Yes, they are.

(Stephanie and Nastassja laughing) - Are you crying?

- Girl, I'm like trying to hold it in.

She found a way to showcase his stance, his demeanor.

And just looking at it, the colors, the brown, that copper, it blends right in with, with this right here, this room.

Boy, how iconic to be in a courthouse.

(gentle music) - [Nastassja] Can we get a little closer to her?

But I like that you can understand that she's on the blanket.

(gentle music ending) - Happy Valentine's Day.

When I got this letter, I'm thinking, man, to be in the place that he's in and he still sends me a happy Valentine's Day card...

If I can't depend on anyone in this world, I'll always know I can depend on you.

(gentle music) (Stephanie sighing sobs) Only having two kids, it sucks to say I bring the most stress.

(gentle music) But even through the disappointment, you've loved me the same and showed me the same support.

You've always been there for me and stood by my side.

And for that, I want to thank you.

You're the greatest mother a son could have.

Happy Valentine's Day, your loving son, Canaan.

(paper rustling) (Stephanie sighing) - [Nastassja] Sorry if that was hard.

(kiss) We just got through finished recording my mom and I just finished bawling my eyes out.

Saturday's gonna be beautiful but it's gonna be hard.

- [Kira] It's the good work, babe.

- Whew!

Yeah.

(gentle music) I get very excited for openings 'cause I get to be gone-with-the-wind fabulous, (laughing) like swirl around and bask in all my glory.

(gentle music) The difference between all other openings and this one is that I was super nervous to have to do the letter reading.

(gentle music continuing) Thank you, guys, so much for coming and sharing this moment with me in the can.

My brother's name is Canaan and we are extremely close.

So communicating with him in this way feels a little strange.

Strange because it's different.

Strange because it's difficult.

Strange because it makes me sad.

But also, these letters hold a lot of value because they hold his handwriting, they hold his words and his thoughts and it's something he's touched.

(gentle music continuing) And then there's a transfer to something that I get to hold.

I remember addressing the crowd and giving the little intro and stepping on the blanket and sitting.

(gentle music continuing) And I blocked everything else out around me.

To my best friend from the start.

6/29/17, the other day I was thinking to myself all the things I left behind.

I'm truly blessed, Staja, and very appreciative.

I know I've brought a lot of stress onto our family, and I'm sorry for that.

I don't know how I could ever repay any of it.

You can't get time back.

I hope you're doing good though, and your artwork as well.

I know you're going big places.

Little Big Bro.

I love you mane.

What calmed me down was Canaan, sitting and facing him and looking at him.

I wasn't scared to do it anymore.

Living in death but blessed, I'm living.

No emotion, no pain, no spirit, no soul.

Just living.

Living in death but blessed, I'm living.

No fear, no tears, especially no signs of weakness.

Just living.

Living in death but blessed, I'm living.

No remorse, no love.

Every day is a struggle.

Just living.

Living in death but blessed, I'm living.

Another day, another blessing.

Just living.

Canaan G. Swift.

(dramatic music) It was giving Canaan this monumental space, but also knowing that it'll give space to other Canaans and other Canaan sisters and moms and daughters as well.

Hey, Nastassja.

I'm currently in the hole for fighting.

I don't like to fight, but if anyone puts their hands on me, I'ma go.

I have to.

- Opening night was crazy, man.

To have the mayor come and sit and listen to those stories, (dramatic music) that was special.

- No phone, no TV, no radio, no visits.

Shower every three days, which is pointless because you're handcuffed with shackles on you.

No commissary, no windows.

There's more but I'm not about to go down the list.

- The symbolic cell that she sat in became this vessel for telling such an important story.

- Merry early Christmas.

Other than me, I hope you all get what you want this holiday season.

Thank all of you for everything.

I don't know where I would be mentally if I didn't have y'all on my side.

And for that, I want to say I love you.

Each one of you.

You all have a place in my heart.

Keep me in your prayers and I'll continue to do the same.

(paper rustling) (Nastassja sobbing) (audience clapping) - I feel like Canaan was just saying, "Oh, thank you.

Thank you for still supporting me.

That love that will never, whew, never gonna die, never gonna end."

- [Asa] When you can find an artist that can make exceptionally quality work that speaks to potentially so many people, there's no limitation on where that can go.

Nastassja is gonna be one of those artists that we talk about for centuries to come.

(gentle music fading) (gentle music) - [Kira] Oh, Staj.

- [Asa] We've come to an end.

(Nastassja chuckling) Man, what a knockout show.

How you feeling?

- A number of things.

I'm like, proud, relieved.

That was some heavy stuff.

- Yeah.

- What's around you for you to be able to be your strongest?

It's them and it's the can and it's the building.

- [Kira] I got one more thing for you though.

There's something that came in the mail.

(gentle music) (paper tearing) - Hey, what's up, Staj?

I'm hearing from everyone how well your showcase went.

I want to thank you for involving me in your vision.

I don't think anyone can be more proud of you than me.

(gentle music) I mean, honestly, to be where I'm at in this situation, and you always find time to make me a part of your day and your work, that's real love.

I mean, damn, the entire show was about me, hahaha!

There's no limit to anything I wouldn't do for you.

Thank you for being here for me.

I want to see you make it big.

Love, Little Big Bro.

Peace.

(gentle music) I don't feel like our residency ending on paper is the end of anything.

It just means we get to work in different spaces now.

If this was a two-year residency, we could keep going another year.

I would totally be down for that.

(gentle music continuing) (lively music continuing) (lively music continuing) (lively music slowing) (lively music fading) (no audio)