CITY OF BONES
a narrative collection of work that includes mixtape, performance, and installation — City of Bones is based on the plot and metaphysical setting of August Wilson’s play Gem of the Ocean. Through archival audio and place-based sound, this project explores a rich history of Black music and cultural production through the confluence of the Pittsburgh region.
MIXTAPE
Gem of the Confluence is an album-length mixtape comprised entirely of archival audio, play dialogue, and the sounds of Pittsburgh artists including Mary Lou Williams, Ahmad Jamal, Romare Bearden, and many more.
Across 15 tracks, the mixtape moves through sample and collage, beginning with an introduction to August Wilson’s creative practice and relationship to the blues (Vessel Side), to a trek across decades of Black music, as told through the region’s most iconic and transformative musicians, sonically paralleling the themes presented through Williams’ history of jazz and Wilson’s century cycle of plays (Passage Side).
PERFORMANCE & LISTENING SESSIONS
Mixtapes are played through live listening experiences with a background presentation of visual art, references, and historical context.
Gem of the Confluence was first presented at the August Wilson Archive at the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library, and is well-suited for classrooms, museums, conferences, theatre productions, and community-based settings.
Selected performances and listening sessions:
Gatekeepers of Truth: Artists and Archivists in Paul Robeson’s America at 250, Paul Robeson House & Museum, Philadelphia, 2026
August Wilson Society Biennial Colloquium, Pittsburgh, 2025
Contact here to inquire about hosting a performance or presentation
INSTALLATION
In 2025, the mixtape was posted as public art across various sites around Pittsburgh, where listeners accessed individual tracks via QR code. Each site was attached to a unique track related to its location.
The installation was modeled after the plot of Gem of the Ocean. The community elder Aunt Ester invites a troubled protagonist named Citizen Barlow to find his redemption through the City of Bones, but to gain passage, he must search for a number of objects scattered across the city.
City of Bones in front of The Writer’s Landscape exhibit at the August Wilson African-American Cultural Center, August 2025
Sample installation site QR code ARTIST & PROJECT BACKGROUND
Malik Washington is a writer, artist, and recipient of the August Wilson Archive Community Artist-Scholar Award at the University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections, which provided funding, research, and administrative support for this project.
Contact here for more information about performances, presentations, and resources.