Legacy Unboxed: Jawole Willa Jo Zollar on the Archive in the Body

Choreographers Liz Lerman, Joanna Haigood, Eiko Otake, Merián Soto, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar have come together to reimagine how artists share their life’s work. During a May 2025 residency at Jacob's Pillow, these five pioneering women gathered to dance, dream, laugh, cry, plan, and question everything we believe about an artist's legacy. They are each working to make their artistic knowledge, methods, and philosophies available and accessible to future generations in their own unique way. Here, Jawole shares her thoughts about the importance of story, the archive that lives in her body, and how jazz and writing about jazz has shaped the way she recognizes and acknowledges influences in her work. Legacy Unboxed™ is supported by funding from the Mellon Foundation. Additional support has been provided by Jacob’s Pillow as a lead partner and fiscal sponsor. Video by Andrea Patiño Contreras of Rabbit Raccoon.