Bias and Belonging, Colgate
Public Art —
Bias and Belonging is an Immersive Installation by Suchi Reddy Weaving Community Stories of Identity, Inclusion, and Space at Colgate University’s Clifford Gallery.
The large scale installation is the result of a yearlong stint as the university’s artist-in-residence, which involved research, collaboration, and reflection with the community on campus
Throughout her residency, Reddy conducted a series of intimate conversations with students, faculty, staff, and local community members across multiple disciplines—including philosophy, psychology, sociology, women’s studies, computer science, art, and neuroscience. These discussions examined how individuals experience inclusion and exclusion in physical and digital spaces, particularly in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and technological mediation.
The resulting work is an immersive installation centered around a woven textile created using Colgate’s state-of-the-art TC2 digital loom. The fabric itself is a complex, layered representation of the community’s collective stories, with its patterns and markings symbolizing families, histories, and personal experiences of belonging and bias.
Suspended within the gallery, the textile is surrounded by icons, texts, and abstracted spatial forms—each derived from the narratives shared during Reddy’s conversations with the community. Hand-sewn details add a human touch, reinforcing the interplay between individual expression and collective identity.
Rooted in Reddy’s larger artistic and architectural philosophy, Bias and Belonging expands on her social practice, which prioritizes human experience in design. The installation continues her exploration of how architecture, technology, and materiality can reflect and shape the deeply personal and shared experiences of belonging and bias.
The exhibition is presented by Colgate University’s Art Department and the Christian A. Johnson Foundation, whose Artist-in-Residence program has brought distinguished artists to the Colgate community since 1986.
With Bias and Belonging, I sought to understand how we experience prejudice and acceptance in the environments around us. This piece is both an investigation and a celebration of the emotional, psychological, and cultural dimensions of belonging. The markings within the textile are drawn from the memories, stories, and reflections shared with me—they represent the ways we map ourselves in space, how we feel seen or unseen, included or excluded.
