Gruff Webb
Performance Artist . Lecturer. Arts Educator. Researcher
Gruff Webb approaches magic as a radical lens for social change a way to examine how belief is constructed, perception is manipulated, and reality is performed.
He is a performance artist, lecturer, artist educator, and researcher whose practice uses the history of Black magicians in America as a framework for exploring illusion literacy, power, and cultural memory. Through performance, archival research, storytelling, and sleight of hand, Webb examines magic as both an art form and a technology of perception.
At the center of his practice is Sleightism, an evolving study of dexterity, attention, deception, and the mechanics of illusion. His lectures and workshops invite audiences to look more critically at what they see, what they believe, and who gets to shape reality.
Programs
SLEIGHTISM
2-Hour Hands-On Workshop
An immersive workshop in illusion literacy and creative critical thinking.
Through video, live demonstration, discussion, and hands-on exercises, students learn the principles of sleight of hand and object manipulation while examining how attention, perception, assumption, and deception shape what we believe we see.
Format: 2 hours · Hands-on · MultimediaBLACK MAGIC & THE RADICAL FRAMEWORK
1-Hour Lecture
A multimedia lecture exploring the history of Black magicians in America and their role in expanding magic as an artistic, cultural, and radical practice.
Drawing from archival research, historical footage, storytelling, and live demonstrations, Gruff examines Black magicians as performers, entrepreneurs, tricksters, cultural workers, and makers of wonder—and considers what their history reveals about power, perception, belief, and American culture.
Format: 1 hour · Lecture · Multimedia · Live Demonstrations
Documentation
Photos By @studiowoodlene
About
Gruff Webb’s practice sits at the intersection of performance, art, history, cultural studies, and education. His lectures and workshops are suited to departments and programs exploring the relationships between creativity, perception, culture, and critical inquiry.Relevant areas include:
Art & Design · Theatre & Performance · Black Studies · American Studies · History · Anthropology · Cultural Studies · Media & Film · HumanitiesSELECTED INSTITUTIONAL PRESENTATIONS:
Seattle Public Library
Seattle Art Museum
Cornish University
Alfred University
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
Black Nerd Festival
Seattle Hoodoo Society
American Hysteria Podcast
Webb’s programs can be presented as course-based lectures, hands-on workshops, visiting-artist programs, public talks, or interdisciplinary campus events.
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