CUNTRY: Always the Horse, Never the Jockey

Cleo Reed

Due to the process-based nature of the Session program, this project will undergo constant modifications; the features of this page provide accruing information on the project’s developments.

Date:
March 15–April 26, 2025

It is a harrowing realization to notice and understand that the systems seen in the United States are intentionally designed to fail us. Each day, I’ve seen who chooses to ride right past the dysfunction in search of industry. I can’t help but admit that I feel more in relation to the horse itself than the jockey. CUNTRY. - Cleo Reed

CUNTRY: Always the Horse, Never The Jockey is a set of musical works, sculptures, and performances presented by Cleo Reed and Assembly, working to protest against the demand of labor and productivity in the US. The studio album, performance piece, and installation synthesizes field songs, traditional American music genres, and the Black cultural canon to explore systems, labor, and the body in order to provoke conversations and create distinct changes in the way these canons are embraced.

With original music and poetry at the core of this work, Assembly will study the Black American musical canon, Black clown theory, and protest music. Throughout the Session, Cleo will lead workshops with Assembly fellows on grant-writing, music-making, and guided research sessions transforming their musical ideas into actionable processes that can give their work a political home. Overall, this project is a hybrid of both political education and skill based creativity.

CUNTRY: Always the Horse, Never The Jockey is developed as part of Recess’s Session x Assembly partnership, which brings together Recess’s Session artists and its Assembly program for systems-impacted youth. Reed will spend two months as a teaching artist, building relationships with Assembly fellows to collaboratively build out the Session installation and related programming.

About the artist

Cleo Reed

Artist

Cleo Reed is a sound composer, performer, and multi-disciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, NY. In their creativity, they look closely at their lineage and use it as a primary reference in music-making, instrument building, and multi-disciplinary art projects. Recently, they developed software instruments for Jon Batiste’s “American Symphony” at Carnegie Hall. Their debut album project, “Root Cause" was released in 2023 and alongside the work they premiered a self-directed performance art piece titled “Black American Circus” at AFROPUNK Festival, Banlieues Bleues in Paris, France as well as Brooklyn Museum. They work toward a future that enables me to realize intentional creative endeavors and encourage joy within collaborative spaces. In their practice, they are currently drawn to notions of tradition, dissolving the binary, making noise, and breaking the barrier between artist and audience.