Turbo Tarot
with Kenya (Robinson)
Date: October 3, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Course Fee: FREE
Course Location: Duke Center for Documentary Studies, 1317 W Pettigrew Street, Durham, NC 27705
Using the first-edition TURBO TAROT, Kenya (Robinson) explores the integrated systems of a passenger vehicle through the symbolic framework of the tarot. Blending automotive maintenance with philosophy, participants examine engines, fluids, tools, and suspension as interconnected systems that reveal broader ideas about labor, care, transformation, and resilience. No automotive knowledge or tarot experience required. Participants will take home a free tarot deck.
Throughout the day, participants will engage with automotive systems through the symbolic framework of the first edition draft of the Turbo Tarot, where the four suits correspond to the integrated systems of a passenger vehicle:
- Fire / Wands — Engine, Ignition & Electrical Systems
- Water / Cups — Fluids & Hydraulic Systems
- Air / Swords — Tools & Fasteners
- Earth / Pentacles — Brakes & Suspension
Disclaimer: TURBO TAROT uses generative AI as one component of an iterative visualization and production process. Kenya developed the project's conceptual framework, automotive-to-tarot correspondences, visual system, imagery, and individual card concepts, using AI tools as one component of the artistic process.
Kenya (Robinson) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice examines the intersections of race, gender, economics, and imagination through performance, sculpture, writing, and social engagement. Her research-based projects—such as CHEEKY LaSHAE, TOONSKIN, and $OUDIO—investigate how systems of privilege and cultural narratives shape perception and participation in the public sphere. (Robinson)’s work often utilizes humor, linguistic play, and collective ritual as strategies for reconfiguring power and belonging. By merging scholarly inquiry with community-based methodologies, she positions art as a dynamic framework for both critique and transformation. Exhibited at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Orlando Museum of Art, her work contributes to ongoing conversations surrounding Black feminist thought, material culture, and the politics of representation. Through these intersecting approaches, (Robinson) advances an expansive vision of art as a social and conceptual tool for reimagining equity, participation, and creative agency.