Stay ConnectedWelcome to The Institute of Black Imagination hosted by artist, writer, and designer Dario Calmese. Each week we bring you conversations from The Pool of Black Genius: a collection of iconoclasts at the leading edge of cultural thought and innovation. We are here to inspire, engage, and to help you unleash your own imagination.
Thank you for tuning in! Please don’t forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimagination).
Copyright: © dario
About The Guest
Today we're honored to introduce our guest, Professor Lesley Lokko. A distinguished Ghanaian-Scottish architect, educator, and bestselling novelist, Dr. Lokko most recently served as the Curator of the 18th Venice Biennale of Architecture, becoming the first Black-identified person to hold the position. She’s also the founder and Director of the African Futures Institute (AFI) a pioneering postgraduate school of architecture in Accra, Ghana.
Dr. Lokko is also a best-selling novelist with 12 titles under her belt. Her novels have been translated into sixteen languages dealing with themes of love, loyalty, class, race, and cultural identity, transforming the “beach-read” genre into an extension of her architectural, world-building practice. For her contributions to the fields of Architecture and education, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2023 and 2024 won the Gold Medal Award, by the Royal Institute of British Architects, one of the highest honors in the world of architecture.
And in many ways, that’s where today's conversation with Prof. Leslie Lokko begins. The reality of appearing to be at the top, juxtaposed against the sweat and elbow grease required in institution-building and well… being a human being. Prof. Lokko joyfully and deftly takes us on a journey of triumph, career pivots, culture shock, womanhood, and becoming.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com. Now, And now, the indefatigable Professor Lesley Lokko.
Key Links
Darren Walker - president of the Ford Foundation
African Futures Institute - a new model for architectural education centered on three areas: teaching, research and public events.
La Biennale di Venezia - Venice Biennale - an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation.
Officer of the Order of the British Empire ( OBE )- This is awarded for having a major local role in any activity, including people whose work has made them known nationally in their chosen area.
Mellon Foundation -Mellon makes grants to support communities through the power of the arts and humanities.
Key Readings
Biennale Architettura 2023: The Laboratory of the Future - Lesley Lokko
Saffron Skies - Lesley Lokko
The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Expression & Reflection - Jennifer Rittner (Editor) Lesley-Ann Noel (Editor) Kelly Walters (Editor) Anne H Berry (Editor) Kareem Collie (Editor) Penina Acayo Laker (Editor)
What to listen to
One World - Guy Warren
Ghana - Becca
Canopy - Kuami Eugene
Into The Future - Stonebwoy
No Competition - Okyeame Kwame
Previous IBI Episodes to check out
E61. Justin Garrett Moore: Imagining Black Space.
E90. Space Agency. with Brigette Romanek
E95. Designing In Place. with Nifemi Marcus-Bello
E60. Kevin Bethune: Dreams, Design and Life.
Who to follow
IG: Lesley Lokko (@lesleylokko)
X: Lesley Lokko (@LokkoLesley) / X
This conversation was recorded on March 26, 2024.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Lead Designer: Elliott McKnight
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Archivist & Research: Cyle Warner
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Welcome to the Institute of Black Imagination podcast, beaming in conversations from the galaxy of Black genius. I'm your host, Dario, and today, we have the pleasure of chatting with Nifemi Marcus-Bello, a visionary design director and founder of Nmbello Studio. Renowned for his community-centric and ethnographically-conscious design ethos, Nifemi’s practice exemplifies how obstacles are merely opportunities in disguise.
In this conversation, we explore the journey of a designer deeply rooted in his Nigerian upbringing. Nifemi shares how he overcame societal pressures that attempted to sway him from his creative path, how reimagining local materials and processes expanded his own design language, and we even get into blood memory and ancestral wisdom. Yeah, it’s one of those episodes.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com. Now, beaming in from across the Atlantic, design director and industrial designer, Nifemi Marcus-Bello.
Key Links
nmbello Studio - is a design studio currently based in Lagos, Nigeria. Our design ethos is rooted in empathy.
Ethnographic Museum of Trocadero - first anthropological museum in Paris
Kwali - acts as a portable shop, weaving through Lagos traffic
Kerry James Marshall- American artist
Salone del Mobile Milano -The global benchmark event for the furnishing and design sector.
Anna Karnick - Design Miami Curator 2023
Tavares Strachan - a Bahamian-born conceptual artist
Tahir Carl Karmali - Artist
Samuel Ross - Fashion designer
What to Read
Dieter Rams: Ten Principles for Good Design - Cees W. de Jong (Editor)
Dieter Rams: The Complete Works - Klaus Klemp
What to listen to
Tested, Approved & Trusted - Burna Boy
Drogba (Joanna) - Afro B
Kontrol - Maleek Berry
All Over - Tiwa Savage
Ginger - Burna Boy
Previous IBI Episodes to check out
E38. Toni L. Griffin: The Just City.
E48. Sara Zewde: Parks and Liberation.
E55. Sekou Cooke: Creation of Hip-Hop Architecture.
E61. Justin Garrett Moore: Imagining Black Space.
Who to follow
IG: Nifemi Marcus-Bello (@nmbello1)
X: nmbello Studio (@nmbello_Studio) / X
This conversation was recorded on April 30, 2024.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Lead Designer: Elliott McKnight
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Archivist & Research: Cyle Warner
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Welcome to the Institute of Black Imagination, beaming in conversations from the galaxy of black genius. Today, we're thrilled to present Shani Peters and Joseph Cuillier III, the co-founders of The Black School—an innovative art institution dedicated to teaching radical Black politics through experimental approaches to art and design education.
Both artists and organizers in their own right, Founded by Joseph Cuillier and Shani Peters, they're mixing art with talks about Black politics and community projects. Inspired by past community-run schools, like those from the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, they're making a difference today.
The Black School has three parts: the School itself, the Festival where students show off their work, and the Studio, where students learn about design and get job training. It's all about helping students understand their neighborhoods, make art that matters, and get ready for the future.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com. Join us as we explore how organizations like The Black School are changing the game in education and beyond. Now, let's warmly welcome Shani Peters and Joseph Cuillier, the Co-Founders of The Black School, to our conversation.
Key Links
Joseph A. Cuillier Career Center - We are a school dedicated to providing an education that empowers our students to succeed in the workforce and beyond.
bell hooks - American author
Alma Thomas - American artist and teacher
Rosenwald/Booker T. Washington Schools- Booker T. Washington of the Tuskegee Institute and Julius Rosenwald, philanthropist and president of Sears Roebuck, built state-of-the art schools for African American children across the South.
Augusta Savage -American sculptor
Harlem Community Art School - The Center was a place for the Harlem community to receive education in the arts for free or little charge.
Oakland Community School - was a Black Panther-run liberation school that operated in Oakland from 1973 to 1982.
Emory Douglas - The former Minister of Culture and Revolutionary Artist for the Black Panther Party
Black Love Festival- presented by The Black School, is an art and music festival promoting a cultural movement for Black love.
Project Row Houses - a community platform that enriches lives through art with an emphasis on cultural identity and its impact on the urban landscape.
Booker T. Washington - American educator and author
What to Read
Salvation: Black People and Love - bell hooks
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations - Toni Morrison
Character Building: Education that Educates - Booker T. Washington
What to listen to
DNA. - Kendrick Lamar
Seize The Time- Elaine Brown
This Is America - Childish Gambino
F.U.B.U. - Solange Knowles
We The People - A Tribe Called Quest
Previous IBI Episodes to check out
E2. Dr. Mabel O. Wilson, Architect and Scholar
E26. A Revolutionary Life with Black Panther Chairman, Elaine Brown
E86. Sketching a Revolution with Emory Douglas
E53a. Frank Wilderson III: On Afropessimism I
E53a. Frank Wilderson III: On Afropessimism II
Who to follow
IG: Joseph Cuillier (@josephcuillier)
IG: Shani Peters (@shanipeters)
Linktree: The Black School
This conversation was recorded on March 21, 2024.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Lead Designer: Elliott McKnight
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Archivist & Research: Cyle Warner
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Welcome to the Institute of Black Imagination podcast, beaming in conversations from the galaxy of Black genius. I am your host, Dario. Today, we're excited to introduce Olalekan Jeyifous, an innovative artist and architect whose world-building practice reimaginations the relationship between community, urbanity, nature, and time; It’s very much giving Main Character Energy, and citizens of the Black Atlantic take centerstage.
In today's conversation, Olalekan and I discuss how architecture alone is rarely sufficient in solving problems in the urban landscape, we reimagine what the continent of Africa COULD have looked like if colonial powers were expelled post-independence, and Lek challenges conventional notions of beauty and success in architecture and why storefront churches and bodegas deserve a shoutout.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com. And now, take a breath, as we take a ride with artist and architect Olalekan Jeyifous.
Key Links
Lebbeus Woods - American architect and artist
Silver Lion - an annual award presented for best directing achievements in a feature film at official competition section of the Venice Film Festival since 1998.
Saul Williams - American singer-songwriter and musician
The Apocryphal Gospel of Oakland- A discussion between artist, Olalekan Jeyifous and UC Berkeley assistant professor of Geography, Dr. Brandi T. Summers on the generative power of collaboration and the potential for speculative architecture as a means to develop comprehensive constructions of urban Utopias/Dystopias that engage with a variety of social, political, and environmental realities.
Black Reconstruction Collective -American architecture collective
Black Quantum Futurism - A literary and artistic collective
Amanda Williams - Visual Artist
Justin Garrett Moore- a transdisciplinary designer and urbanist.
Torkwase Dyson - Interdisciplinary artist
Norma Merrick Sklarek - American architect
Grace Wales Bonner - London-based designer
Venice Biennale - an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy
What to Read
Now You See Me: An Introduction to 100 Years of Black Design - Charlene Prempeh
Mickalene Thomas: All about Love - Mickalene Thomas
Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry - Camille T. Dungy (Editor)
What to listen to
A Possibility (Back Home) - Wanda Robinson
Wake Me When I'm Free- Babatunde Olatunji
Viva Nigeria - Fela Kuti
All Over - Tiwa Savage
Sittin On Top Of The World - Burna Boy
Previous IBI Episodes to check out
E38. Toni L. Griffin: The Just City.
E48. Sara Zewde: Parks and Liberation.
E55. Sekou Cooke: Creation of Hip-Hop Architecture.
E61. Justin Garrett Moore: Imagining Black Space.
Who to follow
W: V5
IG: kidcadaver - Olalekan Jeyifous
LinkedIn: Olalekan Jeyifous - Designer, Artist, Illustrator - Vigilism
X: Olalekan Jeyifous (@OJeyifous) / X
This conversation was recorded on March 20, 2024.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Lead Designer: Elliott McKnight
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Archivist & Research: Cyle Warner
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Hey explorers, it's Dario. Welcome to the IBI podcast, beaming in conversations from the galaxy of Black genius. Today, we browse the mind of Dr. Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama. Dr. Hayden is the first woman and the first African American to hold this position at the National Library. As an actual librarian, Dr. Hayden is known for advocating for the privacy of library users and for her initiatives to promote broad access to public libraries and their resources.
Our dialogue today, much like the Library of Congress itself, is a treasure trove of literary jewels. We discuss how the Library of Congress is not your mother’s library, containing priceless artifacts like the Bayard Rustin papers, and a handwritten letter from Nina Simone to Hazel Scott. We talk American literacy rates, how parents can engage reluctant readers, and we even get personal, as Dr. Hayden and i discuss the health challenges black women face in the workplace, especially in positions of power.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com. So grab your library card and a snack… It’s time to check into the people’s university, with Dr. Carla Hayden.
Key Links
Library Of Congress - the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Nina Simone - American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist.
Hazel Scott - Jazz pianist and singer
Enoch Pratt Free Library- the free public library system of Baltimore, Maryland.
American Library Association - largest membership association in the world for the library industry.
August Wilson - American playwright
André Leon Talley - American fashion journalist
Citizen DJ - Make music using the free-to-use audio and video materials from the Library of Congress
Jessye Norman - American opera singer
What to Read
Seven Guitars - August Wilson
A Library - Nikki Giovanni
Library of Congress "Books That Shaped America"
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants- Robin Wall Kimmerer
Behind the Scenes: Or Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House - Elizabeth Keckley
A History of Reading - Alberto Manguel
Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum - Antonia Hylton
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents - Isabel Wilkerson
What to listen to
Wild Is The Wind - Nina Simone
Round Midnight - Hazel Scott
Amazing Grace - Jessye Norman
Process - Samora Pinderhughes
Previous IBI Episodes to check out
E2. Dr. Mabel O. Wilson, Architect and Scholar.
E7. André Leon Talley, Fashion Icon (part one).
E7. André Leon Talley, Fashion Icon (part two).
E56. Rita Dove: The Pleasure of Text.
E79. Liberation Through Libraries. with (Reginald) Dwayne Betts
Who to follow
IG: Library of Congress (@librarycongress)
TW: Carla Hayden (@LibnOfCongress) · X
This conversation was recorded on January 30, 2024.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Lead Designer: Elliott McKnight
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Welcome to the Institute of Black Imagination, where we beam in conversations with iconoclasts from the galaxy of Black genius. I am your host, Dario. Today, we're thrilled to welcome Jawara, a cutting-edge visionary in all things hair, fashion, and beauty. His work graces the pages of British Vogue, American Vogue Italian Vogue, OK, all the Vogues.., i-D Magazine, T Magazine, and W Magazine… all the lettered magazines. Not to mention the runways of Burberry, Gucci, Chanel. You understand what I’m saying.
In today’s conversation, Jawara discusses the historical challenges within the industry around the styling and care of black women's hair, how the rituals of haircare can allow us a bit of reprieve from an ever-increasing pace of life, some practical styling tips, and how hair indeed can bring you closer to God.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com. And now, a beautifully candid conversation with the maestro, Jawara.
Key Links
Sister Carol- Jamaican musical artist
Kingston, Jamaica- Capital city and chief port of Jamaica
Dancehall - genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s
Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)- Public college in New York City with focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry.
Tyler Mitchell - American photographer, best known for his cover photo of Beyoncé for the cover of Vogue.
Micaiah Carter - American photographer/director
What to Read
Crowns: My Hair, My Soul, My Freedom: Photographs - Sandro Miller
Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America - Ayana Byrd
On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker - A'Lelia Bundles
You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain- Phoebe Robinson
What to listen to
Dread Natty Congo - Sister Carol
I Am Not My Hair - India.Arie
Black Cinderilla (Album) - Sister Carol
Don't Touch My Hair - Solange feat. Sampha
Kontrol - Maleek Berry
Who to follow
LinkedIn: Jawara Wauchope
This conversation was recorded on December 19, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Welcome to the IBI podcast, beaming in conversations from the galaxy of Black genius. Today, we explore the mind of Brigette Romanek, one of LA’s foremost Interior designers. As the founder of Romanek Design Studio, some of her notable clients include Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Demi Moore, and even the queen herself, Beyonce. (a fact we can neither confirm nor deny). Known for her “Livable Luxe” Gucci meets Gap aesthetic, Brigette's illustrious career affirms the power and value of the black feminine gaze, and that space is indeed the place.
Our conversation today is full of gems, like simple, affordable tips on sprucing up your space, and discovering your design aesthetic, to more existential questions about what it looks like to refuse the expectations of others, and how to know when it’s time to move on.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com. And here we go… space agency, with Brigette Romanek.
Key Links
Paulette McWilliams- American Jazz Singer
Mark Romanek- American filmmaker and photographer
Harvey Nichols - British luxury department store chain
Romanek Design Studio- Interior designer in Los Angeles, California
Carpenters Workshop Gallery - a contemporary art gallery, focused on redefining the boundaries between art, sculpture, and design.
The Future Perfect - a leading platform for collectible contemporary design that curates' unique pieces from global designers.
What to Read
Livable Luxe - Brigette Romanek
Iconic Home: Interiors, Advice, and Stories from 50 Amazing Black Designers - Black Interior Designers Inc, June Reese
The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes - Justina Blakeney
Wild Interiors: Beautiful Plants in Beautiful Spaces- Hilton Carter
What to listen to
Mellow Madness - Quincy Jones, Paulette McWilliams
Live Recording in Amsterdam (Album) - Paulette McWilliams & The Beets Brothers
Work It - Missy Elliott
It's Your Thing - The Isley Brothers
Respect - Aretha Franklin
Who to follow
W: https://romanekdesignstudio.com/
IG: Brigette Romanek (@brigetteromanek)
FB: Brigette Romanek
This conversation was recorded on February 01, 2024.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Welcome to Semester 6 of the IBI podcast, your Tribe of Mentors, from the Pool of Black Genius. Speaking of Black genius, today’s guest needs no introduction, but we will go ahead and introduce him anyway. Y’all it’s Kirk Franklin. Yes, THAT Kirk Franklin. 19 Grammy Award-winning Kirk Franklin. Contemporary Gospel innovator Kirk Franklin. .. The gifted singing, songwriting, piano-playing, producing, and yes, a rapping, Mr. Kirk Franklin! In case there was any confusion.
We talk about personal pain and trauma. We dismantle the Black church and the traditions that keep us fractured and apart, we wrestle with the notion that life is composed of both moments of happiness and sorrow, but with the unwavering presence of God, regardless of the circumstances, anything is possible.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com. And now, without further ado, the musical luminary, Kirk Franklin.
Key Links
Thomas A. Dorsey- Widely regarded as the father of gospel music
Good Words with Kirk Franklin- Kirk Franklin Podcast welcomes people, from all walks of life, seeking inspiration and empowerment.
The Dead Sea Scrolls - ancient, mostly Hebrew, manuscripts (of leather, papyrus, and copper) first found in 1947 on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea.
Southern Baptists Apologize For Slavery Stance - NPR, August 28, 2009
2 Corinthians 12:6-10 (NIV) - Biblical Scripture reference
Dr. Charles Stanley - American Southern Baptist pastor and writer
Father's Day: A Kirk Franklin Story - YouTube · Kirk Franklin Sep 15, 2023
What to Read
The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life's Storms - Kirk Franklin
The Evolution of African-American Worship: From the Thomas Dorsey to Kirk Franklin Era - Dr. Antonia Arnold-McFarland
Church Boy - Kirk Franklin
What to listen to
Precious Lord, Take My Hand - Thomas Dorsey
Now Behold The Lamb Live - Kirk Franklin & The Family
Bless Me - Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin
Could've Been Me - Kirk Franklin ft J.Moss & Tye Tribbett
Joy - Kirk Franklin, Donald Malloy
Who to follow
W: https://www.kirkfranklin.com/
IG: Kirk Franklin (@kirkfranklin)
X: Kirk Franklin (@kirkfranklin)
TikTok: Kirk Franklin (@thekirkfranklin) Official
This conversation was recorded on January 09, 2024.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Well friends, we made it. 2023 had its share of joys and challenges, individually and collectively, but we are here. Together. In community. This special podcast edition is our final episode of the year, and you’re in for a treat! Not only will you hear from me, but you will also hear from 6 IBI team members, in their own words, as they introduce a snippet from their favorite episode of 2023.
We begin with a conversation from Choreographer and Director Camille A. Brown.
Followed by Former Minister of Culture, Black Panther Party Emory Douglas
Up next will be Chorographer & Producer George Faison
Then a chat with Director and writer Milisuthando Bongela
Next, we hear from Producer, writer, and actress Lena Waithe
Followed by Photographer and artist Andre D. Wagner
And conclude with Dancer, Choreographer, and Artistic Director Robert Battle.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com.
Featured Episode Links
E59. Camille A. Brown: For Colored Girls
E86. Sketching A Revolution with Emory Douglas
E82. Dancing Through the Archive with the Legendary George Faison
E66. Inside Apartheid's Wish with Milisuthando Bongela
E85. Mastering Your Story - Lena Waithe
E84. Life on the Streets with Andre D Wagner
E62. Robert Battle: The Power of Community
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today’s conversation is with the legendary photographer, Chester Higgins. I’ve admired Chester’s work for years… he’s a master of his craft, and a technician to the Nth degree. But it’s one thing to appreciate the work of an artist, it’s another to delve into their worldview: the work we see simply being an artifact of a greater pursuit. Well, that’s what today’s holds. What appears to be captured images, is actually Chester’s attempts at in all actuality, capturing God.
In today’s episode, Chester reflects on the near-death childhood experience at the age of 9 that opened his eyes to a parallel reality, introducing him to the spirit that shapes existence. He shares his insights on the interconnectedness of life, the continuous cycle of energy, and the pursuit of capturing the elusive spirit in his photographs.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com.
Key Links
Haile Selassie I- Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974
Tuskegee University- a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama.
P. H. Polk - American photographer known for his portraits of African Americans.
Andrew Young - American politician, civil rights leader, and served in the U.S. House of Representatives
What to Read
Sacred Nile - Betsy Kissam, Chester Higgins Jr.
Feeling the Spirit - Chester Higgins Jr.
Elder Grace: The Nobility of Aging - Maya Angelou, Chester Higgins
THROUGH THESE EYES: The Photographs of P. H. Polk - Chester Higgins Jr., Deborah Muirhead, Amalia Amaki, Meredith Soles
What to listen to
Water No Get Enemy - Fela Kuti
Grazing In The Grass - Hugh Masekela
Mighty God (Remix) - Soweto Gospel Choir
African Drums - African Tribal Orchestra
Who to follow
W: https://www.chesterhiggins.com/
IG: Chester Higgins (@chesterhiggins12)
This conversation was recorded on October 12, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today, we embark on a profound journey with the iconic Emory Douglas. As the former Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party, Emory's art ignited a revolution. Today, we ask you to reorient your ears… this is history. There’s an old African proverb that states when a person transitions, a library burns to the ground. Well, today’s conversation with Emory Douglass is a living archive revealing itself. It’s what we here at the Institute call Archival Intelligence. Take notes. Research the names. Refer back. Today’s conversation is a retelling of artmaking in revolutionary times, and what it means to create new identities within a community.
Join us in this safe space as Emory candidly shares tales of rebellion, societal exchanges, and the intricate web of connections in his formative years. This episode is not just an interview; it's a voyage through the corridors of time, shedding light on the profound interplay of art, activism, and the Black experience. And to hear another side of this story, be sure to check out episode 26 with Elaine Browne, the only woman to serve as Chair of the Black Panther party.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. Visit our YouTube channel, 'The Institute of Black Imagination,' and explore more content on blackimagination.com.
And now, join us as Emory Douglas navigates through the intersections of art, activism, and the enduring quest for justice.
Key Links
The Black Panther Party- African American revolutionary party
Bobby Seale - African American political activist and co-founder and national chairman of the Black Panther Party.
Huey P. Newton- African American revolutionary and political activist and co-founder of ‘The Black Panther Party
Zapatista National Liberation Army - A group of mostly indigenous activists from the southern Mexican state of Chiapas
The Black Arts Movement (1965-1975) - Black nationalism movement that focused on music, literature, drama, and the visual arts made up of Black artists and intellectuals.
Eldridge Cleaver- member of The Black Panther Party, he served as the first Minister of Information.
Dr. Betty Shabazz - an American educator and civil rights activist, wife of Malcolm X
Charles W. White - African American painter, printmaker, and teacher
What to Read
Zapantera Negra: An Artistic Encounter Between Black Panthers and Zapatistas- Emory Douglas
Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas - George Alexander
Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton - Bobby Seale
What to listen to
IBI Episode 26 w/ Sis. Elaine Brown
Say it Loud - I’m Black and I’m Proud - James Brown
Am I Black Enough for You- Billy Paul
Ghetto Child - The Spinners
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scott-Heron
Who to follow
W: MoMA.org
TW: Emory Douglas Art (@emorydouglasart)
This conversation was recorded on October 17, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today, we're honored to sit down with the incredible Lena Waithe, a trailblazing writer, producer, and actress who's reshaped film and TV.
In this enlightening chat, Lena shares her roots, tracing back to her grandmother's brave journey from Arkansas to Chicago. We explore the concept of identity, her take on 'ladylike,' and how she's embraced her individuality.
Lena reflects on how societal expectations shape identity and the importance of curiosity and meaningful conversations. We also delve into her creative process and the genesis of 'Queen & Slim,' a film challenging conventions and examining Black identity.
Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. Visit our YouTube channel, 'The Institute of Black Imagination,' and explore more content on blackimagination.com.
Stay tuned as Lena Waithe shares insights on self-transformation, overcoming naysayers, and the power of community in her journey from Chicago to Hollywood. Don't miss this captivating conversation on the Institute of Black Imagination.
Key Links
Queen & Slim- 2019 American romantic road crime drama film
Ready Player One- 2018 American science fiction action film
The CHI - An American drama television series created by Lena Waithe
Michael G. Fry - Chicago born, Emmy nominated television writer, actor and producer
Mara Brock Akil- American screenwriter and television producer
Gina Prince-Bythewood - American film director and screenwriter
Ava DuVernay - American filmmaker
Yvette Lee Bowser - American television written
What to Read
Black Directors in Hollywood- Melvin Donalson
Why We Make Movies: Black Filmmakers Talk About the Magic of Cinema - George Alexander
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years - Sarah L. Delaney & A. Elizabeth Delaney
What to listen to
Homecoming - Kanye West
The Light- Common
No Problem - Chance the Rapper (feat. Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz)
Through the Fire - Chaka Khan
Who to follow
W: Hillman Grad
IMDB: Lena Waithe
This conversation was recorded on September 5, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Our guest today is none other than the visionary photographer, Andre D. Wagner. With a lens that tells stories in a way that words cannot, Andre has made a significant mark in the world of photography. He has been commissioned by The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire, W Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Vogue, well, YouTube the picture. In addition to his editorial work, he was the creative force behind the promotional imagery for the film "Queen & Slim" in 2019.
His first monograph, Here for the Ride, was published by Creative Future in 2017 and he is currently editing a 10-year body of work titled New City, Old Blues. In 2022, he was awarded the Gordon Parks fellowship, and His photographs have appeared in several solo exhibitions and group shows in Los Angeles, New York, and North Carolina.
Be sure to share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us on Instagram at @blackimagination. If you want to stay updated on all our latest news and exclusive content, click on this newsletter link. If you love what we do and like to support the show, click this support link.
Key Links
The Gordon Parks Foundation- permanently preserves the work of Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks - one of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century, was a humanitarian with a deep commitment to social justice.
Andre D. Wagner: New City, Old Blues - Exhibition runs through November 17, 2023
The Strivers Row- A multi-cultural marketing agency specializing in content development, talent relations, and event production.
Queen & Slim - Stylish, provocative, and powerful, Queen & Slim tells a gripping fugitive story steeped in timely, thoughtful subtext.
What to Read
Voices in the Mirror: An Autobiography (Harlem Moon Classics) - Gordon Parks
A Choice of Weapons - Gordon Parks
The Camera - Ansel Adams
The Negative - Ansel Adams
The Print - Ansel Adams
What to listen to
Livin' For The City - Stevie Wonder
Empire State of Mind- Jay-Z, Alicia Keys
Autumn In New York - Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald
Who to follow
W: https://www.andredwagner.com/
IG: Andre D. Wagner (@photodre)
TW: Andre D. Wagner (@photoDre) / X
This conversation was recorded on October 19, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today, we have a truly remarkable guest. Joining us today is the brilliant Dr. Joy Buolamwini, a computer scientist, digital activist and self-described “Poet of Code” whose journey began at that Temple of Technology, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT for short. She's the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, a place where art and activism intersect to illuminate the social implications of AI. She also has a book dropping on Halloween called, wait for it, Unmasking AI. How fitting is that for Halloween?
But her story isn't just about her prestigious academic credentials; it's about the extraordinary transformation her creative journey has taken. In today’s conversation, she reveals how her quest to create a digital filter, one that could change the reflection of herself in a mirror, led to a profound exploration of technology's hidden biases.
Be sure to share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us on Instagram at @blackimagination. If you want to stay updated on all our latest news and exclusive content, click on this newsletter link. If you love what we do and would like to support the show, click this support link.
Key Links
Kimberlé W. Crenshaw- American activist, intersectionality
Niles Luther - Cellist & Composer
Robert Williams- man arrested through skewed AI detection
Coded Bias- a film on Netflix
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
What to Read
Unmasking AI- Dr. Joy Buolamwini
Breaking the Code: Thriving as Black Individuals in the Era of Artificial Intelligence - Rayshaun "Chu" Smith
Black in White Space: The Enduring Impact of Color in Everyday Life - Elijah Anderson
What to listen to
Somebody’s Watching Me - Rockwell
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Computer Love - Zapp & Roger
Who to follow
Website:Algorithmic Justice League
TW: Dr. Joy Buolamwini (@jovialjoy) / X
Linked In: Dr. Joy Buolamwini
This conversation was recorded on September 19, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today, we have a very special interview with the legendary choreographer and producer, George Faison. In this conversation, George takes us on a journey through his remarkable life, from his early days in Washington, D.C., to his experiences dancing with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and mostly, and his iconic role as the choreographer of the "The Wiz" on Broadway. For which he won a Tony. Becoming the first Black person to do so.
George shares stories of his encounters with great artists like Maya Angelou and Stevie Wonder and the incredible impact they had on his life. But perhaps the most captivating part of this interview is George's vivid description of creating the Emerald City sequence in "The Wiz." He also shares the role books play in his creative process. For George, it all begins with the archive.
Be sure to share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us on Instagram at @blackimagination. If you want to stay updated on all our latest news and exclusive content, click on this newsletter link. If you love what we do and want to support the show, click this support link.
Things Mentioned
Maya Angelou - an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist.
The Wiz - The musical version of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"
Dick Gregory - an American comedian, actor, writer, activist and social critic.
Gazelle - George Faison ballet - Dedicated to the Free Spirit in All of Us.
1967 Detroit riot - The 1967 Detroit Riots were among the most violent and destructive riots in U.S. history.
Alvin Ailey - American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist.
American Light Opera Company - semi-professional theatre company performing light operas and musicals in Washington, D.C. from 1960 to 1968.
Suite Otis - Otis Redding's sassy, sizzling music sets the stage for George Faison's playful battle of the sexes.
What to Read
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes - Maya Angelou
Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
The Incredible Lightness of Being - Camie J. Davis
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration - Isabel Wilkerson
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
What to listen to
Take My Hand, Precious Lord – Mahalia Jackson
Someday We'll All Be Free – Donny Hathaway
Where Is The Love– Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
Stand By Me - Otis Redding
The Wiz - Original Movie Soundtrack - (1978) Various Artists
Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
Who to follow
Website:https://www.faisonfirehouse.org/
IG: George Faison (@therealgeorgefaison)
TW: George Faison (@GeorgeFaison) / X
This conversation was recorded on August 15, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
In today's episode, we're joined by Tarriona ”Tank” Ball and Norman Spence of the Grammy-nominated Tank & The Bangas, a band hailing from the vibrant, swampy, and swinging coastal town of New Orleans. They've been wowing audiences since 2011 with their eclectic fusion of funk, soul, hip-hop, and spoken word. Today, we explore their dynamic journey from open mic nights to Grammy nominations; diving into the inspiration behind their genre-blurring music.
To date, they’ve released three studio albums, Thinktank (2013), Green Balloon (2019), and Red Balloon (2022). With two Grammy nominations under their belt, they are just getting started. Also, a note, the audio quality of this episode gets a little bonkers as Norman’s headphones begin to fail and Tank’s phone dies. But it’s all a part of the journey to becoming, so we left it in.
Be sure to share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us on Instagram at @blackimagination. If you want to stay updated on all our latest news and exclusive content, click on this newsletter link. If you love what we do and want to support the show, click this support link.
Current members.
Tarriona "Tank" Ball – lead vocals (2011–present)
Norman Spence II – bass, keyboards, guitar (2011–present)
Joshua Johnson – drums, musical director (2011–present)
Albert Allenback – alto saxophone, flute (2014–present)
Band History:
Members of Tank and the Bangas met at a New Orleans open mic show called Liberation Lounge and formed the group in 2011.
The band won the 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Contest and in November 2019, they were nominated in the Best New Artist category for the 2020 Grammy Awards. They have released three studio albums, Thinktank (2013), Green Balloon (2019), and Red Balloon (2022).
Throughout their career, the group has performed on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Austin City Limits” and “The Today Show.” Tank and The Bangas have toured non-stop, selling out venues both stateside and abroad including festival appearances at Coachella, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo and the Newport Jazz Festival.
Key Links:
Tank And The Bangas: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Tarriona “Tank” Ball | geauxgirlmagazine
Tank and the Bangas Unveil 'Black Folk (Remix)' Featuring Kota the Friend, Rapsody & More
What To Listen To:
Cafe Du Monde by Tank and The Bangas (feat. Jamison Ross, Trombone Shorty, Rachel Robinson
Mo’ Better Blues by Branford Marsalis Quartet (feat. Terence Blanchard)
Who to Follow:
TARRIONA TANK BALL (@thinktank20) • Instagram photos and videos
Norman Spence (@namronyoccm) • Instagram photos and videos
Joshua Johnson (@1drum) • Instagram photos and videos
Albert (@albthebuilder) • Instagram photos and videos
This conversation was recorded on June 05, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today we have a truly inspiring conversation that delves into the power of self-discovery, resilience, and the transformational journey of one extraordinary individual, photographer, entrepreneur, and social activist, Misan Harriman, a name that has become synonymous with the art of storytelling through the lens. The first brother to shoot a cover for British Vogue in its 104-year history. Misan's incredible journey from self-doubt to becoming a global voice of the moment is a testament to the indomitable human spirit. His iconic protest images became a voice for the voiceless, igniting a conversation that asks, "Why is ending racism still a debate?"
Hailing from Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State in Nigeria, Misan was raised in England, yet didn’t formally begin his photographic career until the age of 40. Gifted a camera by his wife, who recognized his passion for the image, Misan taught himself the ins and outs of image-making. A burgeoning portraitist, it was his protest images during the 2020 global reckonings for Black Lives that caught the attention of British Vogue editor-in-chief, Edward Enningful, and the rest, as they say… is history.
Be sure to share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us on Instagram at @blackimagination. If you want to stay updated on all our latest news and exclusive content, click on this newsletter link. If you love what we do and want to support the show, click this support link.
Things mentioned
Gordon Parks- American photographer and activist
Eve Arnold- American photojournalist
Sally Mann- American photographer
David LaChapelle- American photographer and director
George Floyd- American man who was killed through police brutality
Mohamed Amin- Kenya photojournalist
Web3 - is a possible future version of the internet based on public blockchains, a record-keeping system best known for facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.
Tezos Foundation- financial literacy with blockchain and crypto art
Sykes-Picot agreement- secret convention made during World War I between Great Britain and France, with the assent of imperial Russia, for the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire.
Balfour agreement- It was made in a letter from Arthur James Balfour, the British foreign secretary, to Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild (of Tring), a leader of the Anglo-Jewish community.
What to Read
A Choice of Weapons - Gordon Parks
The Art of Protest: A Visual History of Dissent and Resistance - Jo Rippon
Black on Black: On Our Resilience and Brilliance in America - Daniel Black
What to listen to
Legend (album) – Bob Marley
A Change is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke
Man in the Mirror – Michael Jackson
We Insist (album)- Max Roach
Who to follow
Website:https://www.misanharriman.com/
IG: Misan Harriman (@misanharriman)
TW: Misan Harriman (@misanharriman)
This conversation was recorded on July 05, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Sound Engineer: Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today we are diving into the captivating life story of Attorney, Artist & Activist (Reginald) Dwayne Betts, a man whose path took unexpected turns, leading him to discover the boundless potential within himself.
As we journey through Dwayne's life, we'll explore the profound impact of literature on his transformation, his encounters with influential poets like Sonia Sanchez, and the survival strategies that poetry offered him during his incarceration.
Be sure to share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us on Instagram at @blackimagination. If you want to stay updated on all our latest news and exclusive content, click on this newsletter link. If you love what we do and want to support the show, click this support link.
Things mentioned
Freedom Reads- Organization founded by Dwayne Betts that aims to place millions of books into prisons
Kiese LeMond- ambassador of Freedom Reads
Traci Thomas- podcast host of the Stacks
Sherley Anne Williams - American Poet
Lucille Cliffton- American poet
Eldridge cleaver- author and activist
What to Read
Makes me Wanna Holler - Nathan McCall
The Black Poets- Dudley Randall
Homegirls and Hand Grenades- Sonia Sanchez
The Art of War- Sun Tzu
Crazy as Hell, (the best book on black history you'll ever read)- Dwayne Betts coming soon
What to listen to
We the People - A Tribe Called Quest
Living For The City - Stevie Wonder
The Message - Grandmaster Flash
Who to follow
Website: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/
IG: Reginald Betts (@dwaynebetts)
TW: Dwayne Betts (@dwaynebetts)
This conversation was recorded on July 13, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Our guest today, Dr. Danielle Wood, is a shining example of how passion and perseverance can lead you to the stars. She defied the odds, shattered expectations, and carved her own path to become a leader in the world of space exploration and technology.
So, join us as we embark on this cosmic voyage with Dr. Danielle Wood and discover how she unveiled the universe, one challenge at a time.
Be sure to share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us on Instagram at @blackimagination. If you want to stay updated on all our latest news and exclusive content, click on this newsletter link. If you love what we do and want to support the show, click this support link. And without further ado, Dr. Danielle Wood.
Things Mentioned
India south pole Moon landing- After a failed attempt to land on the moon in 2019, India now joins the United States, the Soviet Union and China as only the fourth country to achieve this milestone.
Chandra Xray observatory telescope - NASA's sophisticated telescope is specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe
Systems architecture- A system's architecture reflects how it is thought about in terms of its structure, functions, and relationships.
TNW Conference - is a website and annual series of conferences focused on new technology and start-up companies in Europe.
Phillis Wheatley- American poet and author, the first black woman to publish a book (as an American woman, but the book was published in the UK).
Henrietta Cordelia Ray- American poet and teacher.
Katherine Johnson- American mathematician and NASA worker
Dogon Tribe- an ethnic group indigenous to the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa, south of the Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, and in Burkina Faso.
Octavia Butler- American science fiction writer
Audre Lorde- black feminist philosopher and intersectional thought
What to Read
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America - by Ibram X. Kendi
Minor Notes Volume 1- byJoshau Bennett and Jesse McCarthy
Overstory- by Richard Powers
What to listen to
Saturn - Stevie Wonder
There’s a Star for Everyone - Aretha Franklin
The Space Program - A Tribe Called Quest
Who to follow
Follow Dr. Danielle Wood on IG @space_enabled and by visiting her website.
This conversation was recorded on August 31, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Production Asst: Noa Lesche
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Welcome back to another exciting episode of The Institute of Black Imagination. Today we're taking a little detour, podcast inception if you will! We're sharing with you another podcast that featured yours truly as a guest.
Get ready to embark on a journey with The Future of Storytelling and my good friend host Charlie Melcher, where we explore my personal journey and delve into the heart of the Institute of Black Imagination.
We have so many wonderful gems coming this Fall, and we’re not just talking about our Semester 5 lineup… but our upcoming physical space at the Oculus in NYC. That’s right. We’re not just a podcast.
If you’d like to know more about the upcoming Oculus space, or just want the inside scoop on what we’ve got cooking over here, be sure to click on this newsletter link.
And if you love what we’re up to, click this support link.
Things that we mention
Pyer Moss Fall 2021 Couture Show
Vanity Fair Cover w/ Viola Davis - Dario 1st black photographer to shoot the cover
The Institute of Black Imagination - Interactive website
Geoffrey Holder - Trinidadian American actor, dancer, musician, and artist
André Leon Talley - an American fashion journalist, stylist, creative director, and editor-at-large of Vogue magazine.
Originally Aired on February 24, 2022, on Future of Storytelling
FoST Audio Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.
With special thanks to Charles Melcher, Madison Brown, Eitan Wolf, and the entire FoST Team
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: K.T. Thompson
Visual Art Direction and Designs: River Wildmen, Cyle Warner
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today’s Summer School episode from the IBI Archive is part 1 of episode 13 with Harlem socialite and style icon, Lana Turner. Born at the Women’s Hospital on West and 110th St. and still residing in the neighborhood 70 years later, Ms. Turner is quintessential Harlem, a landmark unto herself. A mathematician of dressing, Ms. Turner does not just put clothes on but uses her body as a medium in which she expresses her appreciation and preservation of life, style, and beauty, or as she likes to refer to it: “Painting the body canvas.”
A doyenne of mid-20th century fashion, and muse of New York Times Street style photographer Bill Cunningham, Lana Turner and I were introduced almost a decade ago at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem when I was looking for a few hats for a fashion story while in grad school. Upon meeting and chatting with her, I realized quite quickly that it was SHE who needed to be photographed, in her wardrobe, and in her hats… of which there are upwards of, wait for it… 500. Actually, I believe the exact number is 638.
Here are some highlights:
On the discovery of self: “You know a single woman, single mother, taking care of all of that. But when he got old enough to fly away from the nest, it allowed me to expand my sense of self. Prior to his leaving, however, that sense of self was always in play.” (19:46)
“That sense of self was one thing that allowed for, for example, deciding to change say the furniture in my room, and I woke up one morning and I said, No everything should not only be functional, it should also be beautiful.”(20:09)
On her love for archiving: “I think the archiving element is in my DNA, it seems to have always been there without you know, want for formalizing that as an educational piece in my life, and it's always been there.” (4:28)
On the theatricality of the black church: “But of course, with the black church we are looking at, or at least I'm looking at it as the as a critical foundation for our deliverance from the slavery, both external and internal. I look at church as a way to release the notion of what it means as a collective, to breathe and to pray. I look at the black church in particular for all the things that go on in it that have more theatricality attached.-But I love the collective energies that black people bring to anything. And when it comes to church, oh my goodness. (39:29)
On the art of living: I don’t know what the formula is I don't know if I could articulate it all. So let's see, I can start, I can try. There's things that I love. So I love and I don't need other people to do it. I just like being myself. (27:04)
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend.
Visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Connect with us on Instagram at @blackimagination
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Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
Today’s Summer School episode from the IBI Archive is episode 25 with fencer and three-time Olympian, Daryl Homer. Hailing from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Daryl, along with his mother and sister relocated to the Gun Hill section of the Bronx when he was five. His interest in fencing began at an early age, after encountering the word “Fencing” in a pictorial dictionary that his mother gave him. Inspired, he begged his mother to begin lessons, but it wasn’t until a chance encounter with an advertisement featuring two black fencers did Daryl’s Mother finally cave into her son’s growing obsession.
And so, at the ripe old age of eleven, Daryl was enrolled at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, an organization founded by its namesake, Peter Westbrook, who took home the bronze in fencing in the 1984 Olympics, quickly seeing his potential, Daryl was placed on the Olympic track just one year later, and his path to the games began.
By the age of 17, he’d already medaled in the Cadet World fencing championships, later, taking home gold in 7 Pan American championships, also competing in the 2012 Olympics in London, the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and most recently the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. At the Rio Games, Daryl took home the silver medal in men’s individual saber fencing, surpassing his mentor Mr. Westbrook, and thereby making him the highest-medaled Olympic fencer in American history.
In today’s episode, we discuss Daryl’s early beginnings in the Bronx, what it takes to have a champion mindset, how to recover from failure, and the power of imagination and visualization to overcome obstacles. This is such a powerful episode, as we chart the sheer will and tenacity needed to accomplish big dreams. I learned so much, and I’m sure you will too. Be sure to subscribe wherever you receive your podcasts, and leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts, we love to hear your thoughts and be sure to follow us over on Instagram at Blackimagination. And now I invite you to pull out your notepads, Daryl’s about to drop some wisdom.
Follow Daryl on Instagram: @daryldhomer
Visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Connect with us on Instagram at @blackimagination
‘Black Thought’ Trotter on his origin story: “I think often in the case of heroes or of a character, a protagonist who sort of rises to greatness there is some trauma Yeah. And you know my life is was no different.”
Today’s Summer School episode from the IBI Archive is episode 12 with a man who needs no introduction, but I’m going to introduce him anyway: Tariq Luqmaan Trotter, better known as Black Thought, lead MC and co-founder of the hip-hop band, The Roots. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Tariq faced some early hardships– losing both of his parents to homicide before the age of 16, but he found his path in the arts, attending Philadelphia’s High School for creative and performing arts, also known as ‘the fame school of Philly’, notable alumni include Boys to Men, Erika Alexander, Leslie Odom Jr., Joey de Francesco, Jasmine Sullivan, and many more. While immersed in this brilliant world of musicianship, Black Thought encountered yet another now-famous alum and co-founder of The Roots, Questlove.
Emerging from the Philly soul scene in the late eighties and early 90s, The Roots created a space for themselves that didn’t exist during that era: A live, hip hop band. Known for their jazzy and eclectic approach to the genre, their debut album Organix was released and sold independently and were quickly signed to DGC/Geffen. Today, they serve as the house band for the Tonight show, while still touring extensively, and producing projects both collectively and individually, including an upcoming Broadway musical, “Black NO More”, penned by today’s guest, Mr. Trotter.
Here are some highlights…
On His Origin Story: “That's, that's sort of my, my origin story is I am, you know, I grew up in Philadelphia, I lost my father at a very, very young age before I was two years old, and, you know, to murder to homicide in the streets of Philly and I lost my mother to the same at 15 or 16. So, yeah, I feel like that is my origin”
On Trauma being a motivating factor in his life: “It's the ways in which we allow that internalization to, you know, compel us, and sometimes you're compelled to, you know, to quit, or in that pause to, you know, to give up, or sometimes it becomes a huge motivating factor for you. And, in my experience, that's, that's, you know, the purpose that it has served is as a, as a motivator”
On The Notorious Roots Jam Sessions: “I remember John Legend, you know, he was a student at the University of Penn, he would come and, you know, try and get into our jam sessions and would often be turned away, for whatever reason, like, you know, go figure. I wasn't at the door had I been at the door, that would never have been the case, but I know people who remember turning him away, and I feel like that was a motivating factor for him and you know, that that's part of what propelled him to greatness”
Links we mention in the episode:
Tariq's Instagram: @blackthought
Link to "Black No More" info: deadline.com
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend.
Visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Connect with us on Instagram at @blackimagination
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Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
In today’s Summer School episode from the IBI Archive is episode 4 with psychologist, Dr. Courtney Cogburn. Hailing from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Doctor Cogburn’s research focuses on how racism contributes to health disparities amongst Black Americans and in particular how over time, blatant and subtle racism in media stresses and literally wears down Black bodies—a phenomenon also known as “weathering”—something we have all witnessed to during the current outbreak of Covid-19 in the United States, and its devastating effects on communities of color.
An associate professor at Columbia’s School of Social Work, Dr. Cogburn’s racial immersion VR experience, 1000-Cut Journey, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. Developed in collaboration with the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University, It allows for the viewer to experience life as a Black man, from adolescence through adulthood, and has been featured on TEDx, CBS, and Forbes.
In this conversation we discuss when she first began to notice the correlation between race and academic achievement (5:00), the effects of "breathing racism" (13:00), how watching videos of police brutality is bad for our health (18:46), how reason rarely works as well empathy (22:00), a step-by-step explanation of her racial VR experience (28:04), how her lack of experience with virtual reality didn't keep her from pursuing her goals (34:22), her biggest failure as a researcher (41:40), how her own son changed the way she works (43:18), why higher education has health benefits for every demographic, except for those of African decent (46:48), and the ways in which VR is being used to help Black people begin to heal from a lifetime of racial stress (59:26). Given where we are as a country and a people, I found this conversation to be right on time.
Links we mention in the episode:
Courtney's Twitter Account: @courtneycogburn
Her Racial VR Experience: 1,000-Cut Journey
Hyphen Labs: Neurospeculative Afrofeminism
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend.
Visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Connect with us on Instagram at @blackimagination
Today’s Summer School episode from the IBI Archive is episode 39 with Timnit Gebru an artificial intelligence researcher. Timnit advocates for fair and just use of the technology we use everyday. A former employee of Google, Timnit consistently calls in and calls out a Big Tech industry that leverages power, capital, and bias in favor of, well, themselves and their wallets. From language to surveillance- Timnit knows the potential harms of artificial intelligence know no bounds.
In a time when we’re at war, today’s episode calls into question for whom we are fighting? Whose wars are worthy of discussion and what harms are so deeply ingrained within our consciousness that we ignore our own civilian casualties. As the world witnesses the 16th month of a war in Ethiopia, Timnint’s journey reminds us of the refugee, the warrior, and the heroes we often dismiss and determine unworthy of home.
This conversation was recorded on Jan 27, 2022
Learn More about this topic
Who to follow?
Other Things we mention
Fairness doctrine washington post article
Visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Connect with us on Instagram at @blackimagination
Host Dario Calmese
Today’s Summer School episode from the IBI Archive is episode 2 with architect, designer, and scholar, Dr. Mabel O. Wilson. Doing double duty as a Professor of Architecture and as Associate Director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies, both at Columbia University, Dr. Wilson is not your traditional designer of buildings. Her trans-disciplinary practice extends well beyond the built environment into the worlds of curation, performance, art, and cultural history.
We discuss how Mabel’s problems fitting in as a young architect led to designing her own path to success (5:40), her advice for young architectural students (9:00), what Beyonce stole from her (21:30), the ways in which design and structures have been used to create the concepts of both blackness and whiteness (26:26), the radical change needed for an equitable America (32:27), the invisibility of Black women (35:00) and how mass incarceration not only tied a generation of Black men to a failing capitalist state, but left a generation of Black women without partners (49:40).
Links we mention in the episode:
Mabel's Instagram: @studio_and
Her new book: Race and Modern Architecture: A Critical History from the Enlightenment to the Present
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend.
Visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Connect with us on Instagram at @blackimagination
Today’s Summer School episode from the IBI Archive is episode 3 with writer Casey Gerald. Born in Oak Cliff Texas, Casey’s life reads like a textbook definition of The American Dream. Oh you know, Small town boy from a troubled home makes good and lands in the Ivy Leagues—Yale to be exact. Casey later goes off to Harvard Business school and co-founds the nonprofit MBAs Across America, for which he is listed as one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People. All of this and more can be found in his memoir, There Will be No Miracles Here, which was listed by both NPR and The New York Times as one of the best books of 2018. His Ted Talk, “The Gospel of Doubt” has over 2.1 million views. Did I mention he was also a Rhodes Semifinalist?
Recorded via Zoom while under lockdown, we speak about when Casey realized the "American Dream" was a scam (16:35), how he rediscovered his inner child (19:30), the malleability of time (26:10), the first boy he ever loved (40:15), the gift of being gay (47:25), what prisons and the coronavirus have in common (50:30), the joy of blackness (56:07), why it's always a good idea to leave New York City (59:30), and the path to finding internal joy (1:02:43) We cover so many amazing topics, and Casey shows us a side of himself he rarely ever does. This episode takes on a more conversational tone, and a few F-bombs are dropped, be warned, lol.
Links we mention in the episode:
Casey's Instagram and Twitter: @caseygerald
Casey's book: There Will Be No Miracles Here
Abraham Hicks: https://www.abraham-hicks.com
Marianne Williamson'sA Return to Love
Bell Hook's All About Love: New Visions
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend.
Visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Connect with us on Instagram at @blackimagination
Today’s Summer School episode from the IBI Archive is episode 23 with Heather McGhee. Heather designs and promotes solutions to inequality in America. Do you know Heather? You might know Heather. Maybe you saw her on NBC’s Meet the Press, or MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Or perhaps you saw her sparring with Republican Senator John Kennedy during the confirmation hearings of supreme court Justice Neil Gorsuch, or it just may have been that time when, while on C-Span, an older white gentleman called in to acknowledge his own racism and prejudice, and wanted Heather’s advice on how to change, how to be a better American Citizen, and Heather’s response went… viral.
Born on the south side of Chicago, and raised in the suburbs of Evanston IL, Heather McGhee has made a career out of fighting for a more equal America. She holds a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and for the last two decades, helped build the nonpartisan “think and do” tank, Demos, later serving as president for four years. She’s argued before the Supreme Court to protect voting rights. She’s helped Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz design anti-bias training for its 250,000 employees. She’s lead research campaigns behind successful wage increases for low-wage workers on federal contracts as well as at Walmart and McDonalds.
And that’s like, 5% of her resume. But of course, Heather is so much more than her work. She’s also a wife and mother of a beautiful two-year-old, who makes a small cameo in this episode.
Her new book being released this week, and also partially written while carrying the aforementioned toddler, is called The Sum of Us. It unravels the mystery of how. How the wealthiest country on earth suffers some of its worst health disparities, and has a collapsing infrastructure, all while its citizens are crippled by insurmountable levels of debt. One word: Racism. And you know who actually suffers most? White people.
In this episode we discuss Heather’s journey into the hallowed halls of our country’s government, How motherhood has changed her view of the world, what parents can do to ensure their children receive good educations, even while under lockdown, and how we ALL lose in the zero-sum game of racism.
Heather's website: https://heathermcghee.com
Get your copy of "The Sum of Us" here.
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend.
Visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Connect with us on Instagram at @blackimagination
And now a word from our Founder & Host Dario Calmese. Thank you for your support and being a part of our community. We are taking a break, but we will not leave you wanting. Class is still in session. This Summer School Semester we will be sharing some of our favorite previous episodes. In case you missed it, or want to revisit and catch more pearls of wisdom with us.
We are looking forward to seeing you in person this fall at our physical location at the Oculus at World Trade Center in New York. But you don't have to wait until then to connect with us. All of our links are listed below.
The world we live in has been designed and we must design our way out of it.
Stay Curious and Keep Dreaming!
Connect with us
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Stay Informed sign up for our Newsletter
Be Social IG: @blackimagination LinkedIn: The Institute of Black Imagination.
For any question or potential interview requests, write to: info@blackimagination.org
Today’s episode is an odyssey through Mili’s own journey through ancestral ties, personal identity, and relationships. She walks us through the process of engaging our ancestors in our everyday lives. We explore the necessity for connection and healing between Africans and African Americans. And we delve into the lessons one learns by simply sitting with questions that may never be answered. Tell us what you think about today’s episode. Don’t be shy, share your favorite moment with us on Twitter and Instagram at @blackimagination. Remember, you can view this episode and others on our YouTube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. If you’re interested in getting lost in what else we have going on, visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com where this and other content live.
Things Mentioned
Transkei - Officially the Republic of Transkei, was an unrecognized State in the Southeastern Region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994
Apartheid in South Africa - a system of institutionalized racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s.
Bantu - a general term for over 400 different ethnic groups in Africa, from Cameroon to South Africa
Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground - It was the first municipal burial ground of the city of Richmond, VA. It was historically known as the "Burial Ground for Negroes".
Milisuthando - Sundance Film Festival 2023
What to Read
South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid by Nancy L. Clark, William H. Worger
The Bantu, Past and Present; an Ethnographical and Historical Study of the Native Races of South Africa by Sm Molema
The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa's Racial Reckoning by Eve Fairbanks
What to listen to
Grandma’s Hands by Bill Withers
Sounds From The Ancestors by Kenny Garrett
It’s Wrong (Apartheid) by Stevie Wonder
African Secret Society by Hugh Masekela
Who to follow
Follow Milisuthando Bongela on IG @msmillib and by visiting her website.
Learn more about her film at Milisuthando Bongela.
This conversation was recorded on March 16th, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today’s episode is an odyssey through Mili’s own journey through ancestral ties, personal identity, and relationships. She walks us through the process of engaging our ancestors in our everyday lives. We explore the necessity for connection and healing between Africans and African Americans. And we delve into the lessons one learns by simply sitting with questions that may never be answered. Tell us what you think about today’s episode. Don’t be shy, share your favorite moment with us on Twitter and Instagram at @blackimagination. Remember, you can view this episode and others on our YouTube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. If you’re interested in getting lost in what else we have going on, visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com where this and other content live.
Things Mentioned
Transkei - Officially the Republic of Transkei, was an unrecognized State in the Southeastern Region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994
Apartheid in South Africa - a system of institutionalized racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s.
Bantu - a general term for over 400 different ethnic groups in Africa, from Cameroon to South Africa
Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground - It was the first municipal burial ground of the city of Richmond, VA. It was historically known as the "Burial Ground for Negroes".
Milisuthando - Sundance Film Festival 2023
What to Read
South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid by Nancy L. Clark, William H. Worger
The Bantu, Past and Present; an Ethnographical and Historical Study of the Native Races of South Africa by Sm Molema
The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa's Racial Reckoning by Eve Fairbanks
What to listen to
Grandma’s Hands by Bill Withers
Sounds From The Ancestors by Kenny Garrett
It’s Wrong (Apartheid) by Stevie Wonder
African Secret Society by Hugh Masekela
Who to follow
Follow Milisuthando Bongela on IG @msmillib and by visiting her website.
Learn more about her film at Milisuthando Bongela.
This conversation was recorded on March 16th, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
In today’s episode, Rayvon gives us a peek into the locker room, revealing how athletic teams use biometric data to craft game day strategy. He also shares the drawbacks of using technology and Artificial Intelligence not only on the playing field but also in the courtroom. He shines a light on the importance of creating pathways for black and brown individuals to gain access to research funding, and why our future depends on it. Let us know what your favorite moment was in today’s episode on Twitter and Instagram at @blackimagination. To view this full episode and others, head over to our YouTube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. For this and more content visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com.
Things Mentioned
Granville T. Woods - American inventor
Lewis H. Latimer - American inventor, Draftsman
Shelby J. Davidson - American lawyer and inventor.
Nike Alphaflys - sneakers banned from Tokyo Olympics
What to Read
Game Changer: The Technoscientific Revolution in Sports by Rayvon Fouché
Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation by Rayvon Fouché
Plant, Performance and the Endocannabinoid System: 21st Century Sports Medicine by Doug Brown, Don McLaughlin
Sports Science and Technology in the Real World by Janet Slingerland
What to listen to
I’m The One - DJ Khaied ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne
We Win (Space Jam: A New Legacy) - Kirk Franklin and Lil Baby
Who to follow
Connect with Rayvon Fouché on LinkedIn.
Learn more about Rayvon Fouché by visiting his website Rayvon Fouché or through his work at the NSF - National Science Foundation.
This conversation was recorded on March 30th, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
In today’s episode, Alia gives us a rundown on the role of the gallery and gallery representation. She shares what young artists should be considering when starting their careers, and helpful guidance on how to price their work. She weighs in on the impacts and pitfalls of social media for artists, the direction of NFT’s and what the art world needs to do to become more egalitarian. We’re trying something new with today’s episode, so we want you to weigh in. Let us know what you think on Twitter and Instagram at @blackimagination. To view this episode and others head over to our YouTube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. For this and more content visit us on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com.
Things mentioned
Jeffrey Deitch - American art dealer and curator
Vernissage - a private viewing of paintings before public exhibition.
Shibboleth - a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people
What to Read
Clay Pop by Alia Dahl
The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art by Donald Thompson
Talking Prices: Symbolic Meanings of Prices on the Market for Contemporary Art by Olav Velthius
Blk Art: The Audacious Legacy of Black Artists and Models in Western Art by Zaria Ware
The Black Market: A Guide to art collecting by Charles Moore
What to listen to
Who to follow
Follow Alia Dahl on IG @aliajessenia and @jeffreydeitchgallery
Learn more about her at Alia Dahl
This conversation was recorded on March 24th, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today's episode is an exploration of the stars, so get your notebooks out. Dossé-Via walks us through the African origins of modern astrology, how star-gazing is actually compatible if not embedded within Christianity, Islam, and other religious practices, and what compatibility REALLY means. Not to mention breaking down all those astrological houses and alignments and, well, you get the picture. Grab your paper and sharpen your pencils, today’s episode will be out of this world.(who writes this stuff?) We want to hear from you, share your favorite moment with us on Twitter and Instagram at @blackimagination. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel The Institute of Black Imagination and soar through the galaxy of IBI Digital at blackimagination.com where this and other content resides.
Things mentioned
ScorpioMystique - Where Scorpios Come to Soar
Magic & Melanin - African Travel Experience
The Houses in Astrology and Their Meaning
Epistemology - the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope.
Trace Your African Roots - African Ancestry
What to Read
Signs Skymates: The Ultimate Guide to Astrological Compatibility by Dossé-Via Trenou
You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance by Chani Nicholas
What to listen to
Dream with Dossé-Viaby Dossé-Via
Signs by Beyonce
Written in the Stars from AIDA on Broadway sung by Heather Headley & Adam Pascal
Aquarius/Let the Sunshine Inby The 5th Dimension
Who to follow
Follow Dossé-Via on IG @dossevia and @scorpiomystique
Learn more about her at Dossé-Via
This conversation was recorded on January 19th, 2023.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
In today's episode, Robert explores what it means to lead with legacy in mind. We talk through the lessons learned from fully immersing oneself in their craft and the importance of building a community. Today’s episode is sure to leave you inspired so be sure to share your most motivational moments with us over on Twitter and Instagram at @blackimagination. You can also view this episode and catch up on others by visiting and subscribing to our YouTube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. You can find this and more content on IBI Digital at blackimagination.com.
Things Mentioned
Robert Moses - “The Master Builder”
Miami (Liberty City) Riot, 1980
What to Read
My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle's Journey to Alvin Ailey by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Author) Robert Battle (Foreword)
Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture by Thomas F Defrantz
Black Bodies, White Gazes: The Continuing Significance of Race in America by George Yancy
I Am Dance: Words and Images of the Black Dancer by Hal Banfield
What to listen to
Saving All My Love - Whitney Houston
Living For The City - Stevie Wonder
Revelations - Album by Alvin Ailey
Who to follow
Follow Robert Battle on IG @alvinailey
Learn more about Robert at Robert Battle
This conversation was recorded on October 7th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
In today’s episode, Justin educates us on the questions we should be asking about our neighborhoods. He shares how to find your voice while highlighting the important role black and brown people can play in the world of philanthropy. Today’s episode will be full of gems so make sure to share your favorite moment with us over on Twitter and Instagram at @blackimagination. You can also view this episode and catch up on others by visiting and subscribing to our youtube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. You can find this and more content on IBI Digital at, blackimagination.com. And without further ado, the exceptional, Justin Garrett Moore.
Things mentioned
Meridian-Kessler - neighborhood
Cleo W. Blackburn- Educator
Hilyard Robinson - Architect
Elizabeth Alexander - American poet and the president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
What to Read
Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire by Michael Hardt & Antonio Negri
The Trayvon Generation by Elizabeth Alexander
Urban Planning and the African-American Community: In the Shadows by June Manning Thomas, Marsha Ritzdorf
What to listen to
Who to follow
Follow Justin Garrett Moore on IG @j.g.moore
Learn more about him at Justin Garrett Moore
This conversation was recorded on August 6th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination
Show notes
In today’s episode, Kevin shares with us his life-long pursuit of creative curiosity. He reminds us that what may seem like a career pivot from the outside, is really an internal expansion; as each new acquired skill makes you uniquely qualified for the problems you aim to solve. It encourages us to tap into the path of experimentation and how pursuing “stretch assignments” can test the limits of our creativity, provide evidence that you're on your path, ultimately getting us closer to where we want to be.
Things mentioned
Jason Mayden - Designer
Dr. D’wayne Edwards - Designer
What to Read
Reimagining Design: Unlocking Strategic Innovation - Kevin Bethune
The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life) - John Maeda
What to Listen To
If I Could Build My Whole World Around You – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
I'm in a Different World – The Four Tops
Who to follow
Follow Kevin Bethune on IG @kevinbethune
Learn more about him at Kevin Bethune
This conversation was recorded on October 20th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today’s episode is with award-winning choreographer + director Camille A. Brown.
Do you know Camille? You know Camille. You may recognize her work, on Broadway in Once On This Island or on television choreographing Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! Camille’s work is an ode to reclamation and staying connected to ancestral ties with her deep passion to empower Black bodies by allowing them to tell their own stories. Camille is literally history in the making. In 2021 she became the first Black artist to direct a mainstage production at the Metropolitan Opera, doing double-duty as co-director and choreographer. She repeated this dual act in the latest adaptation of Ntozke Shange’s “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf,” making her the first Black woman to Direct and Choreograph a Broadway show in 67 years.
In today’s episode, Camille reminds us just how vital resilience and listening to your own voice can be. She shares lessons from rejection and struggle and encourages us to be ourselves regardless of the stakes.
Things mentioned
Darius Barnes - Dancer + Choreographer
Fire Shut Up in My Bones - Camille A. Brown performed at the Met Opera
DeVore Dance Center, founded by Choreographer + Dancer Carolyn DeVore
Ronald K. Brown/ EVIDENCE, A Dance Company
Roger Jeffrey - School of Dance - George Mason University
What to Read
Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora by Joanna Dee Das
Modern Dance, Negro Dance: Race in Motion by Susan Manning
Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance by Jennifer Dunning
What to listen to
Mo’ Better Blues - Branford Marsalis Quartet (feat. Terence Blanchard)
Remember The Time - Michael Jackson
Dancing In The Street - Martha and The Vandellas
Who to follow
Follow Camille A. Brown on IG @camilleabrown
Learn more about her upcoming events at Camille A. Brown
This conversation was recorded on August 20th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today’s episode is with sneaker designer and tech entrepreneur Jason Mayden. Jason is the founder of Super Heroic, a footwear brand empowering children to be their own heroes. He’s also the CEO of Trilicon Valley– a modern design collective made up of entrepreneurs, designers, athletes, and all-around creatives. You may recognize him from his time spent at Nike in their digital sports division serving as the senior global design director as well as the director of innovation. During his tenure, he designed iconic footwear for athletes and cultural icons such as Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and living legend Michael Jordan.
In today's episode, Jason shares how unquenchable desire and focus set the foundation for pursuing his various ambitions. He reminds us about the power of transmuting our own painful experiences, using them as fuel to manifest our dreams and desires. We also discuss why holding your inner child close is important to the overall well-being of your big adult self.
Things mentioned
DC Comics Dr. Lucius Fox
Jason’s SUPER HEROIC collection
What to listen to
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme, Pt I (Acknowledgment)
Who to follow
Follow Jason Mayden on IG @jasonmayden
Learn more about Trilicon Valley on IG @trilliconvalley
This conversation was recorded on August 4th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch this and other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
This special edition of the podcast is our final episode of 2022.
Today we are revisiting our conversations with thirteen of our guests from this year as they illustrate what happens when you lead with love. Our guests not only talk about romantic love but also highlight what it means to be madly in love with your work, what it can teach us about ourselves, and how important it is to fall head over heels for the process. We will close today’s episode with the kind of love they imagine for the future.
We begin with dedications from Grammy-award-winning singer + songwriter Estelle, Chef + Activist Zoe Adjonyoh, Preacher + Scholar Eboni Marshall Turman, Choreographer and Dancer Bill T. Jones, and finally, Culinary Entrepreneur Jon Gray of Ghetto Gastro. They remind us of their “why” as we open the floodgates to allow love to flow freely through the conversation.
Episodes to listen to
Dedication:
E41. Estelle: Becoming the Love of Your Life.
E42. Zoe Adjonyoh: Exploring Identity Through Cuisine.
E44. Rev.Eboni Marshall Turman: Redefining God's Body
E49. Bill T. Jones: The Artist is Present.
E52. Ghetto Gastro (Jon Gray): 15 Seconds to Decide.
Love:
E37. Bisa Butler: The Realization of Memory
E49. Bill T. Jones: The Artist is Present.
E40. Jericho Brown: Shaping Reality with Words.
E47.David Zilber: A Fermenter's Guide to the Universe.
E56. Rita Dove: The Pleasure of Text.
Imagine for the future:
E36. Dario Calmese: Designing Consciousness with IBI Founder.
E41. Estelle: Becoming the Love of Your Life.
E50. June Ambrose: The Style Architect.
E46. Stephen Satterfield: The Origins of Food.
E39. Timnit Gebru: Asylum From A.I.
What to read
All about Love: New Visions by bell hooks
Playlist for the Apocalypse: Poems by Rita Dove
Story/Time: The Life of an Idea by Bill T. Jones
The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The art of loving and being loved by Matthew Kelly
What to listen to
Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald
September by Earth, Wind & Fire
These conversations were recorded for our 2022 season.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Producer for episodes in the first half of 2022: Carmen D. Harris
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch this and other episodes on YouTube at The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today’s episode is with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Author Rita Dove. Rita is a US Poet Laureate, the recipient of 29 honorary degrees…Yes, you heard correctly…29, and the only poet to be honored with both the National Humanities Medal and the National Medal of Arts. Her portfolio of work is timeless, precise, and captures the complexity of life.
In today’s episode, we explore the pleasure of the text. We also journey through how using your imagination can help to get what you want, the role writing can play in the midst of chaos, and how Rita’s lived experience as a Black woman has shaped her understanding of the world.
Things mentioned
Award Winning PoetNikki Giovanni
Dawn Revisited, a poem written by Rita Dove
American Poet Michael S. Harper
What to read
Playlist for the Apocalypse: Poems by Rita Dove
Thomas and Beulah by Rita Dove
The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni: 1968-1998 by Nikki Giovanni
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Pleasure of the Text written by Roland Barthes and translated by Richard Miller
Dear John, Dear Coltrane: Poems by Michael S Harper
Staged Otherness: Ethnic Shows in Central and Eastern Europe, 1850–1939 by Dagnosław Demski and Dominika Czarnecka
What to listen to
Take the "A" Train - Duke Ellington
Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald
This conversation was recorded on August 20th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch this and other episodes on YouTube at: The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today's episode is with architect Sekou Cooke. Sekou is one of the leading advocates for the study and practice of Hip-Hop Architecture, a practice that poses hip-hop as architecture and uses the language of design to investigate its construction.
In today's episode, we explore why urban design cannot exist without hip-hop. We lean into what can happen if we start to understand the nature of urban environments, and Sekou reminds us that whether it is hip-hop, your career, or practice, it's essential to make sure love is at the center of what you do.
Things mentioned
Artist, Architect, and Fashion designer Virgil Abloh
“Figures of Speech” exhibition at Brooklyn Musuem dedicated to the work of Virgil Abloh
Artist Theaster Gates
Artist Lauren Halsey
Urban Planner Robert Moses
Post–World War II development StuyTown
Architect Beverly Lorraine Greene
Bricolage is the construction of a sculpture, or a structure of ideas achieved by using whatever comes to hand
What to read
Hip-Hop Architecture by Sekou Cooke
Abloh-Isms by Virgil Abloh
Virgil Abloh. Nike. Icons by Virgil Abloh
Theaster Gates: Black Madonna by Elvira Dyangani Ose, Theaster Gates (Artist)
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro
Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
What to listen to
Champion - Buju Banton
One Dance - Drake
One Love - Bob Marley and the Wailers
The Breaks - Kurtis Blow
Your Wish is Your Command - Kevin Trudeau
Who to follow
Follow Sekou Cooke on IG @sekou21
You can also find his studio here.
This conversation was recorded on July 16th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Watch this and other episodes on YouTube at: The Institute of Black Imagination.
Today’s conversation is with creative director, and architectural archivist Jerald “Coop” Cooper. Coop is the founder of Hood-century Modern — an Instagram account that sparked a preservation movement by highlighting the iconic and unique designs of mid-century buildings in Black neighborhoods; connecting modern architecture to Black culture. A hip-hop aficionado and curious soul, Coop reminds us to get in touch with our spirit, take ownership of our neighborhood, and challenges us to develop a deeper understanding of how design affects our everyday experience.
In today’s conversation we explore our relationship to land, the importance of being attuned to spirit, what architects can learn from hip-hop, and the importance of not just repping your block, but understanding how it was made.
Things mentioned
Maria Montessori Creator of Montessori School Structure
Buckminster Fuller - Architect
Molefi Kete Asante - Professor & Philosopher
Robert Moses - Urban Planner
What to read
Beloved by Toni Morrison
R. Buckminster Fuller: Pattern-Thinking by Daniel López-Pérez and R Buckminster Fuller
Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change by Molefi Kete Asante
Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal by Julia Dolan, Sara Krajewski, Bobby Martin, Hank Willis Thomas (Photographer)
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone
What to listen to
This Can’t Be Life - Jay-Z
Get By - Talib Kweli
Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth - 24-Carat Black
The Heat is On - The Isley Brothers
Who to follow
Follow Jerald “Coop” Cooper on IG @hoodmidcenturymodern
You can also find more of Hood Century here.
This conversation was recorded on August 13th, 2022.
Host: Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, AfroVisualism, Adam Selah, Will Domingue
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with award-winning writer, scholar and activist Frank B. Wilderson III. Frank is known as the Godfather of Afropessimism: a critical theory that positions anti-blackness as the antidote for the psychic well-being of society. Did that sound heady? Well, pull out our pen and paper. Frank’s curiosity and fearlessness in revealing hard truths, takes us on a scholarly journey that will surely require some unpacking.
In part two of today’s episode, Frank reminds us to be fearless in the pursuit of knowledge, even if that knowledge reveals unhealthy truths.
Strap in, as Frank takes us on a ride exploring the foundational tenets Afropessimism along with his own thoughts about reconciliation, activism, and what it means to be a Black individual living in a state of social consciousness and racial reckoning.
Please share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us over on twitter and instagram at @blackimagination. To watch this episode go, visit, and subscribe to our youtube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. You can find this and more content over on IBI Digital at, blackimagination.com. And without further ado, the profound Frank B. Wilderson III.
People and ideas mentioned
More information on what isAfropessimism
Jared Sexton - Professor, African American Studies
Marxism thought of Karl Marx
Professor David Marriott History of Consciousness
Historical and cultural sociologist Orlando Patterson
What to Read
Afropessimism by Frank B. Wilderson
Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid by Frank B. Wilderson III
The Future Is Black: Afropessimism, Fugitivity, and Radical Hope in Education by Michael J. Dumas, Carl A. Grant, Ashley N. Woodson
Whither Fanon?: Studies in the Blackness of Being by David Marriott
Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study, with a New Preface by Orlando Patterson
The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches by Manning Marable, Myrlie Evers-Williams
What to listen to
Fight the Power – Public Enemy
Hell You Talmbout – Janelle Monae and Wondaland Records
This is America – Childish Gambino
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – Marvin Gaye
Who to follow
Follow Frank B. Wilderson III on IG @frank_wilderson
Visit his website here.
This conversation was recorded on August 11th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Saleh, Will Dominique, Sablā Stays
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Audio Engineer + Composer: Adam Radice
Original music composed by Adam Radice.
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with award-winning writer, scholar and activist Frank B. Wilderson III. Frank is known as the Godfather of Afropessimism: a critical theory that anti-blackness is “necessary for world-making at every level of abstraction.” Did that sound heady? Well, get ready. Frank’s curiosity, appetite for knowledge and nuance, along with his fearlessness to explore what is, in the absence of what isn’t, reminds us of the importance of inquiry and the power of examining the world around us.
In part one of today’s episode, Frank reminds us to be fearless in the pursuit of knowledge, even if that knowledge reveals unhealthy truths. Strap in, as Frank takes us on a ride exploring Afropessimism and themes of reconciliation, activism, and what it means to be a young Black man living in a state of social consciousness and racial reckoning. Please share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us over on twitter and instagram at @blackimagination. To watch this episode go, visit, and subscribe to our youtube channel The Institute of Black Imagination. You can find this and more content over on IBI Digital at, blackimagination.com. And without further ado, the profound Frank B. Wilderson III.
People and ideas mentioned
More information on what isAfropessimism
Jared Sexton - Professor, African American Studies
Marxism thought of Karl Marx
Professor David Marriott History of Consciousness
Historical and cultural sociologist Orlando Patterson
What to Read
Afropessimism by Frank B. Wilderson
Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid by Frank B. Wilderson III
The Future Is Black: Afropessimism, Fugitivity, and Radical Hope in Education by Michael J. Dumas, Carl A. Grant, Ashley N. Woodson
Whither Fanon?: Studies in the Blackness of Being by David Marriott
Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study, with a New Preface by Orlando Patterson
The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches by Manning Marable, Myrlie Evers-Williams
What to listen to
Fight the Power – Public Enemy
Hell You Talmbout – Janelle Monae and Wondaland Records
This is America – Childish Gambino
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – Marvin Gaye
Who to follow
Follow Frank B. Wilderson III on IG @frank_wilderson
Visit his website here.
This conversation was recorded on August 11th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Adam Saleh, Will Dominique, Sablā Stays
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Audio Engineer + Composer: Adam Radice
Original music composed by Adam Radice.
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s conversation is with food enthusiast, storyteller, and creative strategist Jon Gray. Jon is the co-founder and self-proclaimed dishwasher of Ghetto Gastro— a collective that uses food as a medium to ignite conversations about race, inequity, and inclusivity. Jon’s love affair with the Bronx, usage of mixed media, and desire to build new narratives that empower black and brown people, teaches us the importance of having pride in your roots and staying true to yourself.
In today’s conversation, we’re reminded of the importance of staying true to ourselves. We explore themes such as the value of fostering deep connections, the importance of perseverance, and we journey into why trusting your instincts can be your greatest tool.
What to read
Pre-order Black Power Kitchen - Ghetto Gastro by Jon Gray, Pierre Serrano, Lester Walker (Drops 10.18.22)
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food: A Cookbook by Marcus Samuelsson, Yewande Komolafe, Osayi Endolyn
People mentioned
Thelma Golden - Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem
Curator, critic & author Kimberly Drew
Graphic Artist Emory Douglas
Artist Jamel Robinson
Co-Founder of ArtNoir & President of Saint Heron Carolyn Concepcion
Larry Ossei-Mensah Curator & Co-founder of @artnoirco
Artist Derrick Adams
Richelieu Dennis - Founder & CEO of Sundial Brands, maker of SheaMoisture
Learn more about Jon Gray
Check out Ghetto Gastro’s appliance collection CRUXGG
Jon Gray's of Ghetto Gastro, Cooper Hewitt Installation
Watch Jon Gray's (Ghetto Gasto) TedTalk
What to listen to
Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud by James Brown
DNA. by Kendrick Lamar
Cranes in the Sky by Solange
Who to follow
Find him on IG
To learn more about his work, visit GhettoGastro.com
This conversation was recorded on July 30th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, Justin Smith, Adam Selah
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Audio Engineer + Composer: Adam Radice
Original music composed by Adam Radice
Today’s conversation is with creative director, designer and stylist Jerome Lamaar. Jerome is a trendsetter whose perspective on art, culture, concepts and colors has transformed style. Exploring the power of imagination, controlling their own narrative, and pride in their community, Jerome has never been afraid to color outside the lines, illustrating their own reality.
In today’s episode, we’re reminded of what it means to design a life on your own terms. We explore themes of manifestation, building your own brand, staying true to yourself, and the value in accessibility.
Things mentioned
Willi Smith: Street Couture - Cooper Hewitt
5:31 by JÉRÔME LAMAAR for And Now - Macy's
Designer and artist Ralph Rucci
What to read
Willi Smith: Street Couture by Alexandra Cunningham Cameron
The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir by André Leon Talley
Black Designers in American Fashion by Elizabeth Way
Fashion Trends: Analysis and Forecasting by Ann Marie Fiore, Eundeok Kim, Alice Payne
Life Visioning by Michael Bernard Beckwith
What to listen to
My Life by Mary J. Blige
The Glamorous Life by Sheila E
Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force
All The Way Up by Fat Joe and Remy Ma
Who to follow
Follow Jerome Lamaar on IG @jeromelamaar
You can also find Jerome's fashion here.
This conversation was recorded on July 9th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Director of Digital Content: Vicky Garcia
Bookings: K.T. Thompson
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s conversation is with designer and creative director June Ambrose. June is an award-winning creative director, stylist, costume designer, and entrepreneur who has built a career creating culture-shifting moments through fashion and style. Using fashion as her language, June teaches us her own personal way of finding one’s voice.
In today’s episode, we explore themes of finding one’s voice, the importance of authenticity, the constance of reinvention and what happens when you give yourself permission. Today’s conversation reminds us of the power in building a brand and not to be defined by someone elses opinion of us.
Things mentioned
June Ambrose’s Collection with Puma
What to listen to
Mo Money Mo Problems (feat. Puff Daddy & Mase)
Missy Elliott - The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
Jay-Z - Change Clothes ft. Pharrell
Who to follow
Follow June Ambrose on IG @juneambrose
Visit her website here.
This conversation was recorded on August 18th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Director of Digital Content: @vickygcreative
Bookings: @itsms.kt
Original Music composed by Adam Radice
Audio Edited by Adam Radice
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with choreographer and dancer Bill T. Jones. Jones is an award winning artist and legendary dancer. His work uses storytelling, movement, and multimedia elements such as spoken narrative and videotape to examine identity, social issues and autobiographical elements of his life. His 43-year long career reminds us on the importance of gratitude and remaining present in your life and artistry.
In today’s conversation we’re reminded of the power in investigation. We also explore what it means to create amidst a state of grief. And the importance of spending a life in service to others.
Things mentioned
2010 Kennedy Center Honors - Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones: Still / Here with Bill Moyers
What to read
Story/Time: The Life of an Idea by Bill T. Jones
The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Spirit in Man, Art and Literature by Carl Gustav Jung
Body Against Body: The Dance and Other Collaborations of Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zane by Bill T. Jones, Artie Zane, Elizabeth Zimmer
Democracy Moving: Bill T. Jones, Contemporary American Performance, and the Racial Past By Ariel Nereson
What to listen to
Fela! (Original Broadway Cast Recording) - Album by Fela Kuti
I Will Move On Up a Little Higher - by Mahalia Jackson
September by Earth, Wind & Fire
Who to follow
Follow Bill T. Jones on IG @billtjonesarniezaneco
You can also find his company here.
This conversation was recorded on July 9th, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Director of Digital Content: @vickygcreative
Bookings: @itsms.kt
Audio Engineer + Composer: Adam Radice
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with landscape architect, designer, urbanist, and public artist Sara Zewde. Sara is the co-founder of Studio Zewde– a design firm practicing landscape architecture, urban design, and public art, as well as an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In this episode, she shares how design has been leveraged as a tool of oppression and how everyone must be involved in the process of thinking about the world they want to create.
We explore the controversial origins of landscape architecture along with topics that range from Hurricane Katrina not only being a natural disaster but a political failure that ignited her curiosity about the land, architecture being built on the backs of Black women, and ultimately the bold moves we should be making now to engage with the environment. Sara’s story introduces you to the origins of architecture that have been omitted and challenge us to participate in the design of being.
Things mentioned
Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. is the father of landscape architecture
Seneca Village existed before Central Park
Liberatory Design is a process and practice
Africatown Community Land Trust can be a model for us
Graffiti Pier by Studio Zewde
What to read
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
An Aesthetic of Blackness: Strange and Oppositional by bell hooks
The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
Journeys and Explorations in the Cotton Kingdom: A Traveller's Observations on Cotton and Slavery in the American Slave States Based Upon Three Former by Frederick Law Olmsted Sr.
Who to follow
Find her on IG
To learn more about her work, visit Studio Zewde and follow them on IG
This conversation was recorded on May 3rd, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Production Assistant: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with Chef, Fermenter, Food Scientist, Photographer, and New York Times best-selling author David Zilber. David is the former Director of Fermentation for “NOMA” Copenhagen; known as one of the most coveted restaurants on the planet, and co-author of the New York Times best-selling book, “The Noma Guide to Fermentation”. In this episode, he shares how the power of a nudge can unlock a world of unlimited possibilities, and trusting biological processes beyond instant gratification.
We explore David’s multicultural upbringing growing up in Toronto, Canada, along with topics that range from connecting fermentation to everyday life, how photography allows him to tether his curiosity for science and fermentation, and ultimately how he’s been able to bloom in the midst of chaos. David’s story is one filled with invaluable gems and speaks to the power of leaning into curiosity.
Things mentioned
What to read
The Noma Guide to Fermentation: Including Koji, Kombuchas, Shoyus, Misos, Vinegars, Garums, Lacto-Ferments, and Black Fruits and Vegetables by David Zilber and René Redzepi
Inbetweeners: On the meaning of (re)mediation in mycelial and human worlds by David Zilber
Why Fermentation Is So Important To One Of The World’s Best Restaurants
Essays in Love by Alain de Botton
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow
The Living Planet by David Attenborough
On the Origin of Evolution: Tracing 'Darwin's Dangerous Idea' from Aristotle to DNA by John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin
A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species by Rob Dunn
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
Being a Human: Adventures in Forty Thousand Years of Consciousness by Charles Foster
What to listen to
Too Hot by Kool & The Gang
Get Up Offa That Thing by James Brown
September by Earth, Wind & Fire
Who to follow
Follow David Zilber on IG @david_zilber
You can also find his photography here.
This conversation was recorded on February 3rd, 2022.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Production Assistant: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with food writer, producer, and media entrepreneur Stephen Satterfield. Stephen is the host of Netflix’s critically acclaimed docuseries “High on the Hog” and the founder of Whetstone, a magazine and media company dedicated to food origins and culture from around the world. In this episode, he shares the importance of food origins as a space for reclamation and what it means to examine who and what’s being left out of the story.
We explore Stephen’s own origin story–growing up in Atlanta in the ’80s–along with topics that range from his start as a young sommelier, the implications of citizens being divorced from food culture, and ultimately how being crushed by a series of life events propelled his career forward; leading him from self-doubt to conviction.
Things to read
Oysters originated because of a Black man
James Hemings invented baked Mac and Cheese
Whetstone Magazine, Summer 2021
What to check out
Kara Washington and food apartheid
Environmental factors that affect a crop - Terroir
Stephen Satterfield became a Sommelier before his 21st birthday
What to listen to
Episode mentioned by Dario - The Morality of Meat
Point of Origin Podcast
Who to follow
Stephen Satterfield on IG
This conversation was recorded on March 4th, 2022
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Production Assistant: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with author, podcast host, and speaker Luvvie Ajayi Jones. Luvvie is a New York Times-Bestselling author and in this conversation, she lays out what it takes to become a professional troublemaker: unapologetically opinionated, courageous, and unafraid to speak the truth even if your voice shakes.
We explore topics that range from the difference in Black identities between Nigeria and the United States, her path from failing chemistry to creating one of the industry’s most popular blogs, how love shows up when you’re not paying attention, and what ultimately allowed her to finally call herself as a writer. This conversation is one that speaks to the troublemaker in all of us.
Her latest book, “Rising Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual for Teens'' is now available for preorder at Penguin Randomhouse (link below).
Click here to take our listener survey!
What to read
Luvvie Ajayi Jones’ NYT, bestselling book "I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual"
Her recently released book, "Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual"
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations by Toni Morrison
Rising Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual for Teens
What to listen to
Luvvie’s podcast Professional Troublemaker
Things mentioned
Join Luvvie in her private community, Luvvnation
Who to follow?
Check out Luvvie on all her platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
For more information about Luvvie Ajayi Jones, visit her site.
This conversation was recorded on January 20th, 2022
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Production Assistant: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
In this conversation, we discuss a wide range of topics from Eboni’s experience growing up in Brooklyn during the ’80s, to her studies of Black Theology along with her definition of Womanist Theology. Through conversation, vulnerability and curiosity eventually we land on what that pivotal moment in Eboni’s life was that ultimately propelled her to pursue her calling.
More on a Black Liberation and Womanist Theology
Black Theology and Black Power
The Matriarchs of Black Womanist Theology
Sacred Text of Black Womanist Theology
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Father of Black Liberation Theology
Sermons by Eboni Marshall Turman
Rev. Dr. Eboni Marshall Turman at Howard University Andrew Rankin Chapel Feb 28 2021
Books by Eboni Marshall Turman
Where Eboni started her education
Where Eboni started her dance education
Da Butt by E.U.
Playlist inspired by this conversation
Biz Markie “Albee Square Mall” (1988)
Short Films inspired by this conversation
Celebrating Revelations at 50 by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Places to Visit
This conversation was recorded on February 25, 2022
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Director of Digital Content: vickygcreative.com
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Today’s episode is with contemporary artist Kenturah Davis. Exploring language, looms, and listening beyond the limen, Kenturah's work reminds us that identity requires an intimacy with the unknown and oftentimes hidden portraits of ourselves.
We explore topics that range from the diminishing value of a Masters of Fine Arts degree to urban planning and design to Toni Morrison’s essay“The Site of Memory”, this conversation is one that holds our hearts in an audible essay on the shadows of life and living.
What to read.
The Site of Memory by Toni Morrison
Playlist inspired by this conversation.
Who to follow.
This conversation was recorded on 12/14/21.
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Director of Digital Content: vickygcreative.com
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Today’s conversation is with chef and activist Zoe Adjonyoh. Zoe is the founder and creative brainchild behind Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen and author of one of New York Times most notable cookbooks of 2021. Exploring identity, belonging,and culture, Zoe’s career is one of pivots and pirouettes that ultimately land her at home with herself and her love of Ghanian food, family, and justice.
In today’s episode, we explore themes of identity, justice, ancestry, family, and well, of course, food. Zoe’s story will inspire anyone whose path feels non-linear or circuitous. Remember, you are right where you are supposed to be…always..in all the ways. As Zoe reminds us, those whispers of the universe are always speaking to us
Things that we mention
What is a Black hole? Let’s ask NASA
Zoe's Ghana Kitchen: An Introduction to New African Cuisine
James Baldwin, In his own searing revelatory words,’I am not your Negro’
What was happening in the 1980s in London
From the New York Time Archives:
Neo-nazis accoused of London Riots, July 5 1981
And also from the New York Times
This conversation was recorded on December 16, 2021 and February 1, 2022
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Production Assistant: Coniqua Johnson
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with Estelle; a Grammy-award winning singer, song writer, and record producer. A woman clearly comfortable with who she is, how she loves, and the boundaries she erects to express said love, Estelle has opened the sun-lit window of her lyrical world for the Institute of Black Imagination… on today. And the church said amen.
Through storytelling and poignant advice-laden gems, Estelle shares the value of being prepared, why you must stay in your craft, and how the industry has changed since she first started over 20 years ago. This conversation is not all business though- Estelle shares her definition of love with me and who to go to for advice when your friends and family can’t help you anymore
A playlist Inspired by Estelle’s journey and this conversation
American Boy-Estelle featuring Kanye West
Right Here (Human Nature Radio Mix)-SWV
It Don’t Mean a Thing if You Aint Got That Swing- Ella Fitzgerald
A Night in Tunisia (live)- Dizzy Gillespie
Books that Estelle gifts the most
The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The art of loving and being loved by Matthew Kelly
This conversation was recorded on March 3, 2022
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with Jericho Brown, a Pulitzer-prize winning poet, scholar, and the Director of Creative Writing at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Exploring poetry as sound, Jericho's written word reminds us that language is always heard before it is spoken and spoken in order to be experienced.
Dario explores an intimate conversation characterized by love- Jericho’s love for exploring the sound of creation, love for his inner child, and love for being in love. We discuss how it is possible to fall in love in a pandemic and what we do to protect ourselves from love and harm. If you aspire to write or create, allow this professor to guide you out of your belief in writer’s block and into your seat of messy. Sensitive content: sexual abuse and rape
What We Mention
Jericho reads his latest poem Vaccinated and from The Tradition
Phenomenal Woman- Maya Angelou
Ego Tripping- Niikki Giovani
Mother to Son- Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers - Langston Hughes
A Playlist Inspired by this Conversation
Lord I’m running trying to make 100 St Stephens COGIC Youth Choir, 1997
I put on for my city by Young Jeezy
The Lord’s Prayer – Patti LaBelle
This conversation was recorded Jan 4, 2022
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Show Notes
Timnit Gebru is an artificial intelligence researcher. Timnit advocates for fair and just use of the technology we use everyday. A former employee of Google, Timnit consistently calls in and calls out a Big Tech industry that leverages power, capital, and bias in favor of, well, themselves and their wallets. From language to surveillance- Timnit knows the potential harms of artificial intelligence know no bounds.
In a time when we’re at war, today’s episode calls into question for whom we are fighting? Whose wars are worthy of discussion and what harms are so deeply ingrained within our consciousness that we ignore our own civilian casualties. As the world witnesses the 16th month of a war in Ethiopia, Timnint’s journey reminds us of the refugee, the warrior, and the heroes we often dismiss and determine unworthy of home.
This conversation was recorded on Jan 27, 2022
Learn More about this topic
Who to follow?
Other Things we mention
Fairness doctrine washington post article
Host Dario Calmese
In today’s conversation, Dario sits with urbanist and architect Toni Griffin. Toni’s work asks us to question the design of our neighborhoods, communities, and cities. From values of belonging to voices of protection, Toni’s work calls us to stand in the center of who we say we are while gazing through the cities we claim to love.
In this episode we explore themes of city design, inequity, and social injustice.
Things we mention.
99 Provocations to Disrupt Injustice in St.Louis – Dario’s hometown for those who don’t know
A Just City Index – value indices and framework to consider for your “home”work
Episode playlist 99 Problems by Jay-Z
Learn more about Toni’s work
This conversation was recorded on Jan 11, 2022
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, AfroVisualism, Stephane Lab
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
In today’s conversation, Dario sits with fiber artist and storyteller Bisa Butler. Bisa tells the stories of African heritage and American home through an artistry and craft we all know as quilts. Her use of vibrant color and fine fibers reminds us that intentionality, textile, and choice allows our spirits to be known and rendered as portraits suspended in time and stories never forgotten.
In this episode we explore themes of investing in your artistry, the universal human spirit, how a successful artist stays grounded, and Dario’s and Bisa’s 90s R&B/Hip Hop inspired handmade teen wardrobe
Things we mention
Time as a function (and an illusion) of the gregorian calendar
Negritude movement and who are we when ‘universal’ seems to naturally mean white
James Baldwin, Doom and Glory of Knowing Who You are, Dostoevsky
Bisa’s time studying art at Howard University included investigating the works and lives of
The beauty and genius of El Anatsui
Episode Playlist and Film List
Ordinary People by John legend
All the latest news about Bisa can be found on Bisa’s Linktree
This conversation was recorded on Jan 6, 2022
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, AfroVisualism, Stephane Lab
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is a special one. This time, it's me in the hot seat, in an extremely candid conversation with our inaugural IBI Fellow, Adam Saleh, an anti-disciplinary designer and current senior at UC Berkeley studying computer science and linguistics.
The Institute of Black Imagination began as a library, when I acquired roughly 2000 books from the personal archive of the late great multi-hyphenate artist, Geoffrey Holder in 2018, roughly 4 years after his passing. What I encountered in Geoffrey was a mentor, and what I encountered in his archive was a roadmap, a blueprint to creativity. I quickly understood how much input it took to create an output like that, and sought to find funding to create a physical space to house the collection and give access to other black and brown creatives to explore, be inspired, and ignite their own imaginations.
What we mention
Speak French to Dario, s’il vous plaît
Decolonizing the Gaze: An interview with Dario Calmese
Dub: Finding Ceremony by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Playlist
I learned to respect the power of love performed by Stephanie Mills
Je te veux Performed by Jessye Norman
This conversation was recorded in October 2021
Host Dario Calmese
Producer Carmen D. Harris
Visual Art Direction and Designs:
River Wildmen, AfroVisualism, Stephane Lab
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
Today’s episode is with the ineffable Bethann Hardison. Bethann is known to the world as a model, activist, and the grand dame of the fashion and design industry.
Today’s conversation is one of iconoclastic voice and elder stateswoman reason. Wherever you are in life, you’ll find a treasure trove of timeless wisdom in this conversation with the Bethann Hardison. Save it. Bookmark it. Come back to it whenever you need to remind yourself to keep dancing on your journey. It was such a privilege and honor to welcome Bethann Hardison to the Institute of Black Imagination.
This conversation was recorded on March 25, 2021.
Things we mention
Bethann’s Street Gang: The Lady Chaplains and the Stompers
Bethann, her mother, and drag queens: About Face: Supermodels Then and Now
Bethann can’t stand this about current cancel culture
Bethann and Willi Smith
Robin Givhan wrote a whole book about Bethann ( we meant the Battle of Versaille)
Meta: https://www.instagram.com/bethannhardison/
Production Dario Calmese and Carmen D. Harris
Show Art by River Wildmen, Social Art by Afrovisualism, River Wildmen, Stéphane Lab
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese
Visit us at blackimagination.com
In today’s episode Dario sits with poet, independent scholar, and self-ascribed cousin to all sentient beings, Sista Docta Alexis Pauline Gumbs. As described by writer, Sharon Bridgforth, “Alexis serves as guide and translator of vibrational realities of dreaming into how to survive, thrive and shape-shift this world.” Dario and Alexis discuss creating our own paths outside of established institutions, particularly, academia and the church. Alexis shares thoughts on collaborating with Spirit and a love offering to anyone who has experienced spiritual violence.
Today’s conversation is part 2 of our conversation with Alexis. During these conversations, we invite you to slow down and simply listen.To listen in between the pauses of life, to listen for the lessons in grief, and to listen for your own voice. Sista Docta Pauline Gumbs leaves us with a benediction and closing ceremony for 2021.
We mentioned over the course of two conversations
A couple of books.
Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Dub: Finding Ceremony by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
A few mentors.
A favorite writer.
A noted singer.
An Academician without Institution .
A spiritual experience.
Alexis Pauline Gumbs on Twitter
Alexis Pauline Gumbs on Instagram
Alexis Pauline Gumbs website
This conversation was recorded on November 23, 2021.
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese, Show Art by River Wildmen, Social Art by Stéphane Lab, production Carmen D. Harris, Dario Calmese
In today’s episode Dario sits with poet, independent scholar, and self-ascribed cousin to all sentient beings, Sista Docta Alexis Pauline Gumbs. As described by writer, Sharon Bridgforth, “Alexis serves as guide and translator of vibrational realities of dreaming into how to survive, thrive and shape-shift this world.” Dario and Alexis discuss how creatives can use their own archives to find their voice and the many lessons of love that come from grief.
Today’s conversation is the first of two with Alexis. During these conversations, we invite you to slow down and simply listen.To listen in between the pauses of life, to listen for the lessons in grief, and to listen for your own voice. Sista Docta Pauline Gumbs leaves us with a benediction and closing ceremony for 2021
We mentioned over the course of two conversations
A couple of books
Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Dub: Finding Ceremony by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
A few mentors
A favorite writer
A noted singer
An Academician without Institution
A spiritual experience
Alexis Pauline Gumbs on Twitter
Alexis Pauline Gumbs on Instagram
Alexis Pauline Gumbs website
This conversation was recorded on November 23, 2021.
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese, Show Art by River Wildmen, Social Art by Stéphane Lab, production Carmen D. Harris, Dario Calmese
In today’s conversation, Dario sits with fashion editor and Pulitzer prize winning writer Robin Givhan. Robin’s love for the written word and the sound of a sentence is never lost on her readers. She slips in and out of the worlds of fashion, politics, culture, and race with the ease of a classically composed concerto. In a day where facts are fabled, Robin’s essays share truth with intellectual curiosity and compassion.
In this episode we explore the wonder of words, the impact of small gestures, and to whom does beauty belong. Spoiler alert: It’s everyone. Always above the fold, Robin’s journey and work reminds us of the power of aesthetics when laced and layered through culture.
We mention.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Battle of Versailles: The night American fashion stubbled into the spotlight and made history by Robin Givhan
The fictional complexity of Omar by Robin Givhan
Where to find Robin.
Robin Givhan on Twitter
This conversation was recorded on September 23, 2021.
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese, Show Art by River Wildmen, Social Art by Stéphane Lab, production Carmen D. Harris and Dario Calmese
In today’s conversation, Dario sits with celebrated community activist, restauranter, and poet, Omar Tate. Hailing from West Philadelphia, Omar’s work reminds us of our vulnerabilities when we live in the worlds of whiteness, power, and privilege. Honeysuckle, his fine dining pop-up experience turned community center and cafe, uses food as an antidote to these worlds and a portal into Black and afrocentric ideology, resiliency, and design.
In this episode we explore the reality of racism in the kitchen with the joys of new babies named Jupiter. Known for truth telling, Omar shares the lessons he’s learned about fatherhood, why he serves every guest his iteration of red Kool-aid, and how he distinguishes between the lies Black people are taught about ourselves from the truths of our own stories.
We mentioned:
A Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
High on the Hog by Jessica B Harris
The Grey Album: on the Blackness of Blackness by Kevin Young
Honeysuckle on the interwebs
Honeysuckle on the metaverse of Instagram
This conversation was recorded on March 30, 2021.
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese, Show Art by River Wildmen, Social Art by Stéphane Lab, production Carmen D. Harris, Vicky Garcia, Dario Calmese
Show Notes.
Today’s episode Dario sits with art curator, writer, and social activist Kimberly Drew. Hailing from Orange, New Jersey, Drew was taught by her parents to trust her own voice at an early age. In a family full of creatives, this lesson was fortuitous of Kimberly’s career in the arts. Her words and voice have served to shape a new canon of Black contemporary art and question who and what are worthy of being valued in our nation’s most lauded museums and cultural backdrops.
In today’s conversation, Kimberly shares how she cultivates community through art, what she’s learning about the vulnerability of rage, and why she’s able to speak her truth with such determined power. It’s a conversation where Kimberly gives Dario permission to be messy with his own process.
We Mentioned:
Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham
This is what I know about art by Kimberly Drew
Down for My Niggas by C Murder featuring Snoop Dogg
Disability Visibility Project Alice Wong
@museummammy Instagram
@museummammy Twitter
This conversation was recorded on May 8, 2021
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese, Show Art by River Wildmen, Social Art by Stéphane Lab
Producer Carmen D. Harris
In this episode, Dario sits with award-winning author and activist Darnell Moore. Moore’s scholarship weaves effortlessly between the role of the colonial state, the depraved church and the destitutes of patriarchy on political, spiritual, and social freedoms of Black, queer and marginalized people. A leading voice in culture, media, and movement, Moore antagonizes any Black liberation thought that colors freedom inside of the lines of cis, straight, and able-bodied Black people.
In today’s conversation, we’ll explore Moore’s definition of a “costly grace” in transforming our justice systems, the role and relevance of Black churches in queer lives, and what it means to unbecome a man in community of menfolk. Sensitive topics in this conversation include suicide and domestic abuse.
Mentioned In This Episode:
No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America by Darnell Moore
Heather McGhee - Ep.23 The Hidden Cost of Racism, Institute of Black Imagination Podcast
Invisible Man Got the Whole World Watching : A Young Black Man’s Education by Mychal Denzel Smith
Darnell's Instagram: @mooredarnell
This conversation was recorded on February 8, 2021
Original Music composed by Dario Calmese, Show Art by River Wildmen, Social Art by Stéphane Lab
In this episode, Dario sits with writer and MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow, Jacqueline Woodson. Woodson’s work reflects the prose, poetry, and undying possibilities that exist within the lives of young Black people. Often including themes that land her books on censored reading lists, Woodson challenges readers to consider our own relationships to the complexities and contraindications of life.
In today’s conversation, we’ll explore themes of parenting in a pandemic, the techniques and tools of a storyteller, Black economic wealth across generations, and the promise of safety young people bring to this world. If you aspire to write or we know you dare to dream, light a candle and put on your headphones, because today, you’re gonna hear why Woodson commands these hallowed halls of Black imagination.
Things We Mentioned:
“Mirrors, Windows, Sliding Glass Doors” by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop
“Another Brooklyn” by Jacqueline Woodson
If you come softly by Jacqueline Woodson https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299792/if-you-come-softly-by-jacqueline-woodson/
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/97395/bird-by-bird-by-anne-lamott/
Natalie Diaz
https://www.nataliegermainediaz.com/
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/190696/the-warmth-of-other-suns-by-isabel-wilkerson/
Baldwin for the arts
https://baldwinforthearts.org/
To learn more about Jacqueline:
https://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/
Instagram @jaqueline_woodson
Twitter @jackiewoodson
Today’s episode is with conceptual artist, Hank Willis Thomas. Hailing from the mean streets of Plainfield, NJ… That’s a joke, by the way,. Hank’s body of work explores themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture, Hank is one of the most celebrated artists of his generation.
The son of musician and physicist Hank Thomas, and artist, photographer, historian, curator and educator, Deborah Willis, one could say that art runs though Hanks’s veins. Growing up amongst the stacks of Harlem’s Schomburg Library, where his mother served as curator of photographs and as exhibition coordinator, his exposure to the power of images began at an early age. He went on to study photography and Africana Studies at New York University and later received his masters of fine arts in Photography at California College of the Arts, but it was the blunt force of family tragedy that spurred a turning point in his career; all of a sudden, the photographic frame could no longer contain everything he wanted to say.
The execution-style murder of his cousin and best friend, Songha Willis while visiting family over the holidays ripped the Willis family apart, and an image he took of his grieving family, became one of his signature works, titled “Priceless”. Mimicking the popular MasterCard ads of the era, it crystallizes Hank’s artistic lens, the combined effects of consumerism, capitalism, advertising, and their impact on Black life in America.
His work has been exhibited the world over, and is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim, The Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum… you get the idea. He’s a recipient of the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship and The Guggenheim Fellowship, amongst others, and holds honorary doctorates from the Maryland Institute of Art, and the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts.
In today’s episode, we discuss the power images hold, the importance of family and especially grandmothers, the illusion of separation, and the invention of race in United States. This is one of those episodes you’ll want to listen to again and again, and if you find this content valuable, be sure to leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts and shout us out over on Instagram at @blackimagination, we love love love to hear from you. Now, get ready for this powerful tête-à-tête, with the artistic genius of Hank Willis Thomas.
Follow Hank on Instagram: @hankwillisthomas
Hank's Website: www.hankwillisthomas.com
Today’s episode is with artist and graphic designer, Brandon Breaux. Hailing from Chicago’s South Side, Brandon is one of those rare artists whose body of work sits comfortably at both the personal and at commercial scale. If you don’t know Brandon by name, that’s ok because we’re sure you’ve seen his work with brands like Bud Light, Alia Seltzer, most likely on all 3 of Chance the Rapper Album covers.
Art entered Brandon’s life at at early age, not as a class elective, but as a way to cope. You see, mental illness was a conversation had around the house throughout Brandon’s childhood, as his father experienced a severe psychotic break that placed him behind bars, all on the day before Brandon was born. Slightly isolated and shy, Brandon found solace in art, comic book characters to be exact. And it was in this space of world-building, that Brandon developed his love for characters, fashion, design, and illustration that would later develop into the career he has today.
Brandon now works with brands all over the country while also focusing on his personal and community-based work. More than just hanging in his studio, Brandon is always seeking out ways to give back, like a Field Trip project, in which he rented busses to take children to museums who may not have otherwise had the opportunity. He also lead daily meditations throughout the pandemic, and launched his 28 Days of Greatness portrait series earlier this year to highlight local individuals making massive impact. And an exclusive collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago features design objects with themes that address accessibility, safe spaces and representation.
In this episode, we discuss what it takes to bring a creative idea to fruition, the ghost of mental illness that exist in many families, the power of meditation, and why the design world remains one of the least integrated disciplines. This is such a vulnerable conversation, and you’ll see quite quickly that Brandon is one who leads with an open heart. If you find this content valuable, would yo leave a review over on Apple podcast? We love hearing from our audience, and definitely shout us out over on instagram @blackimagination… we’ll shout right back. Now, take a breath, relax, and settle in for this enriching conversation with Graphic Designer and Artist, Brandon Breaux.
Follow Brandon Breaux on Instagram: @bbreaux
Todays episode is with former chairman and the first and only woman to lead the Black Panther Party, Sister Elaine Brown. Elaine is a activist, writer, speaker, and songwriter known for her sharp wit and sheer intellectual voracity, but we all began somewhere, and Elaine is no exception.
Hailing from the streets of North Philadelphia, Elaine had a bit of trouble finding herself early on, some would call it an identity crisis. Her single mother, wanting to create a better life for her daughter, sent her to predominantly white schools, but once back home, Elaine found herself amongst the struggling denizens of a segregated north Philadelphia, allowing Elaine the experience, but not yet the words, of what it meant to be Black in America. An accomplished musician, Elaine fled to Los Angeles to pursue songwriting, but found herself at a Black panther rally within days of the assassination of Martin Luther King, despondent with the state of affairs in the country. Making her way up the ranks of the Black Panther Party, it was actually her songwriting that got her noticed by David Hilliard, the Party’s Chief of Staff, who made her song “the Meeting” from her debut album, “Seize the Time” the party’s official anthem. Her songs were also noticed by party Chairman and Elaine’s future lover, Huey P Newton, who placed Elaine at the top of the Party’s Leadership when he fled to Cuba in the 1970s to escape persecution.
While with the Panthers, Elaine helped set up many of the initiatives the party is known for, like it’s free breakfast For Children program and its Free Bussing to Prisons program, with prison reform becoming a lifelong pursuit for her.Since formally leaving the party due it’s patriarchal structure, Elaine has made activism, education, and revolution her life’s work. She’s the author of two books, A Taste of Power, her memoir, and The Condemnation of Little B, a nonfiction book charting the prosecution of young Michael Lewis, a 14-year-old sentenced to life in prison for a crime Elaine believes he did not commit. After founding multiple non-profits rooted in social justice, now at 78, Elaine is CEO of Oakland and the World enterprises, a non-profit dedicated to launching and sustaining for-profit businesses for cooperative-ownership by the formerly incarcerated, and others facing monumental social barriers to economic survival. Their multi-million dollar affordable housing complex in Oakland is slated to break grown in late 2021. And her album, Seize the Time was just re-released on Black Forum records, a division of Motown.
In this episode, Elaine and I discuss her bifurcated childhood in 1950s North Philadelphia, what it means to be seen for the first time, the way language shapes our sense of self, how the Black Panther Party used fashion and aesthetics as a signaling device, and so so so so much more. This episode is a history lesson, a sketch comedy, and manual on the vicissitudes that accompany a life of service and continual self-discovery. I hope you’re sitting down somewhere where no one can see the faces you’re about to make as you listen to this incredible conversation. It’s with gratitude we present to you none other than the indefatigable Elaine Brown.
Follow Elaine on Instagram: @sistaelainebrown
Today’s episode is with fencer and three-time Olympian, Daryl Homer.Hailing from the U.s. virgin islands, Daryl, along with his mother and sister relocated to the Gun Hill section of the Bronx when he was five. His interest in fencing began at a early age, after encountering the word “Fencing”” in a pictorial dictionary that his mother gave him. Inspired, he begged his mother to begin lessons, but it wasn’t’ until a chance encounter with an advertisement featuring two black fencers did Daryl’s Mother finally cave in to her son’s growing obsession.
And so, at the ripe old age of 11, Daryl was enrolled at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, an organization founded by it’s namesake, Peter Westbrook, who took home the bronze in fencing in the 1984 Olympics, Quickly seeing his potential, Daryl was placed on the olympic track just one year later, and his path to the games began.
By the age of 17, he’d already medaled in the Cadet World fencing championships, later, taking home gold in 7 Pan American championships, also competing in the 2012 Olympics in London, the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and mostly recently the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. At the Rio games, Daryl took home the silver medal in men’s individual saber fencing, surpassing his mentor Mr. Westbrook, and thereby making him the highest medaled Olympic fencer in American history.
In today’s episode we discuss Daryl’s early beginnings in the Bronx, what it takes to have a champion mindset, how to recover from failure, and the power of imagination and visualization to overcome obstacles. This is such a powerful episode, as we chart the sheer will and tenacity needed to accomplish big dreams. I learned so much, and I’m sure you will to. Be sure to subscribe wherever you receive your podcasts, and leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts, we love to hear your thoughts, and be sure to follow us over on Instagram at Blackimagination. And now I invite you to pull out your notepads, Daryl’s about to drop some wisdom.
Follow Daryl on Instagram: @daryldhomer
Today’s Episode is with actress, choreographer and dance legend, Carmen De Lavallade. Raised by a single father in post-depression Los Angeles, Carmen began her formal training at 14, a bit late for female dancers, but that didn’t stop her one bit. Within 5 years she became a lead dancer under the tutelage of renown teacher and choreographer Lester Horton, who’s technique is taught in modern dance classes around the world. It was around this time she encountered another modern dance legend, eventually taking him to his first dance class, a young 15 year old gymnast by the name of Alvin Ailey.
Increasingly in demand, Carmen skipped town with Alvin to New York to make her Broadway debut in House of Flowers, starring Pearl Bailey. It was here that she met her soon-to-be husband, the multi-hyphenate artist and future Director of Broadway’s The Wiz, the Tony-award winning Geoffrey Holder. The following year she made her debut as prima ballerina in the Metropolitan Opera’s Samson and Delilah, further integrating the storied opera house who’s color barrier was broken just 5 years earlier by her cousin, prima ballerina Janet Collins.
Making her television debut in Duke Ellington’s “A Drum is a Woman” an encounter with actress Lena Horne lead her to a bevy of film roles, however Carmen’s feet remained solidly on the stage where she danced with companies all over the world, including that of her childhood friend Alvin, and his nascent Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, now the most widely toured and well-known modern dance company in the world.
Her acting chops led her to to be named Artist-in-Residence at Yale Repertory theatre, later joining the faculty where she trained young upstarts like Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver., among others, and she was awarded a Kennedy Center Honors in 2016
In today’s episode, we discuss Carmen’s journey to becoming one of the most celebrated performers of her time, the lessons she learned from mentor Josephine Baker, how to maintain relationships as a creative, and the greatest lesson she’s learned in her ninety years here on earth. That’s right, ninety. This episode is a special one for us at the Institute of Black Imagination because it was her donation of over 2000 books from her late husband’s archive that began this entire project. It’s an honor and a privilege to present this beautiful conversation with the great, Carmen De Lavallade.
Be sure to subscribe where ever you receive your podcasts, share a favorite quote with friend, and be sure sure to tag us on instagram at @blackimagination and on twitter at @blkimagination.
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Heather McGhee designs and promotes solutions to inequality in America. Do you know Heather? You might know Heather. Maybe you saw her on NBC’s Meet the Press, or MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Or perhaps you saw her sparring with Republican Senator John Kennedy during the confirmation hearings of supreme court Justice Neil Gorsuch, or it just may have been that time when, while on C-Span, an older white gentleman called in to acknowledge his own racism and prejudice, and wanted Heather’s advice on how to change, how to be a better american Citizen, and Heather’s response went… viral.
Born on the south side of Chicago, and raised in suburbs of Evanston IL, Heather McGhee has made a career out of fighting for a more equal America. She holds a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and a law degree from University of California, Berkeley, and for the last two decades, helped build the nonpartisan “think and do” tank, Demos, later serving as president for four years. She’s argued before the Supreme Court to protect voting rights. She’s helped Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz design anti-bias training for its 250,000 employees. She’s lead research campaigns behind successful wage increases for low-wage workers on federal contracts as well as at Walmart and McDonalds.
And that’s like, 5% of her resume. But of course, Heather is so much more than her work. She’s also a wife and mother of a beautiful two-year-old, who makes a small cameo in this episode.
Her new book being released this week, and also partially written while carrying the aforementioned toddler, is called The Sum of Us. It unravels the mystery of how. How the wealthiest country on earth suffers some of its worst health disparities, has a collapsing infrastructure, all while its citizens are crippled by insurmountable levels debt. One word: Racism. And you know who actually suffers most? White people.
In this episode we discuss Heather’s journey into hallowed halls of our country’s government, How motherhood has changed her view of the world, what parents can do to ensure their children receive good educations, even while under lockdown, and how we ALL lose in the zero-sum game of racism.
Heather's website: https://heathermcghee.com
Get your copy of "The Sum of Us" here.
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimagination).
Support this podcast here!
Why open a school? To close a prison. That is the title of the Ted talk given by today’s guest, Educator Dr. Nadia Lopez. The award-winning founding principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy located in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn never dreamed of being a teacher. In fact, she took quite a circuitous route to becoming an educator.
The child of Honduran and Guatemalan immigrants, young Nadia struggled with her Afro-Latinx heritage, often being teased for her last name, while growing up in her native Brooklyn. But it was this outsider status that would prove to be her superpower. After an unfulfilling attempt to live out her mother’s dream of becoming a nurse, Nadia found her calling in the classroom; an opportunity to uplift and pour into the outsiders and misfits; those whom society deemed not worth the trouble. But it was this very attention and care that led to the event that changed her life.
On the verge of quitting due to burnout, literally waiting on a sign from God as to where she should be headed, one night she began to receive text messages. Then calls. Before she knew it, she had become an overnight viral sensation when the popular blog Humans of New York featured one of her scholars, Vidal, asking who was the biggest influence in his life. The answer? His principal, Nadia Lopez.
The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal. Ebony Magazine. Ellen Degeneres. Even President Barack Obama came calling. That aforementioned TED talk? 1.3 million views. Her best-selling book, The Bridge to Brilliance was published in 2016 and she co-authored Teaching in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which was published in 2018.
This all sounds like a dream come true, but just under the hood of this seemingly well-oiled machine, was a human being whose body was crumbling under the pressure. The over-giving. The never-ending work load. The personal sacrifices. It all began to take its toll. You’re in for a treat and I won’t give it all away, so please enjoy this in-depth, moving, and candid conversation with the incredibly generous and ridiculously wise Dr. Nadia Lopez.
Nadia's Instagram: @thelopezeffect
More information about Nadia's projects can be found here.
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimagination).
Support this podcast here!
Today’s episode is with the award-winning chef and restaurateur, Marcus Samuelsson.
Hailing from a tiny Ethiopian village where tuberculosis had spread amongst the population, a two-year-old Marcus and his sister found themselves orphaned after his birth mother succumbed to the disease… but not after she’d walked 75 miles to the nearest hospital with young Marcus and his sister in tow. Taken in by a compassionate hospital nurse, he and his sister were later adopted by a family in Gothenburg Sweden, where Marcus’ love of cooking began.
Although he is best known as the owner of the Harlem-based restaurant Red Rooster, Marcus Samuelsson cut his culinary teeth at New York’s Aquavit, a Scandinavian-infused restaurant where he served as executive chef… at the age of 24. While at Aquavit, he was named The Best Chef in New York by the James Beard Foundation while also receiving a 3-star rating in the New York Times… the youngest chef to do so.
Marcus has also been featured on numerous cooking shows including PBS ‘No Passport Required,’ Top Chef Masters, Chopped All-Stars, and Iron Chef America. In addition to being a restaurateur, philanthropist, and activist, Marcus is also a best-selling author. In his latest book, The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food, Samuelsson describes how “black cooks and creators have led American culture forward.” Featuring recipes inspired by the chefs and activists that inspire him, the book rewrites the Black chef into the narrative of American cuisine, and becomes a gustational call and response with the community that welcomed him with open arms.
In this episode we discuss why it was important for him to begin his latest book by focusing on the future, the impact the coronavirus has had on him and how he views himself, the relationship between food and spirituality,, and why it’s important for African immigrants living in America to recognize their privilege. Recorded during lockdown, it’s a joy to welcome my brother, Marcus Samuelsson to the IBI podcast.
On the structure of his new book: “The future is our hope especially in difficult and challenging times like now.”
On how he sees the impact of the virus outbreak: “I think the pandemic as horrible as it is, is going to allow us as creatives to rethink and repackage ourselves and reconnect“
On his origin story: “I was born into a hut, yes that is about the size of two restaurant tables, and we were hit by tuberculosis. Got to the hospital through the strength of our mother and she passed away. We survived.”
On what America looked like to him from Sweden: “We lived through America through its stars! Through black excellence.”
Marcus's Instagram: @marcuscooks
His latest book "The Rise" can be found here.
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimagination). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
Today’s episode is board-certified Dermatologist, and skincare expert to the stars, Dr. Rose Marie Ingleton. Long before caring for the faces of well-known beauties like Iman, Chrissy Teigen and Adriana Lima, Dr. Ingleton stomped the urban streets of the irie metropolis, Kingston, Jamaica. Growing up in the city, her family realized she had a little something different: the brains to transcend her lower middle-class upbringing to become something special... the first doctor in her family. Combining a heavy dose of the performing arts coupled with a voracious appetite for knowledge, young RoseMarie Ingleton excelled at her studies, immigrating to the United States and matriculating into college at the age of 16.
Dr. Ingleton took a circuitous route to becoming a dermatologist, and marvels at just how much her undergraduate degree in psychobiology plays a part in her practice, using what she calls “talk-esthesia” to not only put patients at ease, but discover underlying mental conditions like anxiety or stress that often manifest themselves on the skin of her clientele. It’s this holistic and profound vision that is the foundation of her 20-year practice, and has made Dr. Ingleton the go-to voice on all things skin. Essence. Vogue. Glamour. Dr. Oz. Good Morning America… you get the picture.
2019 saw the launch of her own namesake line, Rose Ingleton MD Skincare. Simply comprised of 5 booster serums along with her signature, luxurious moisturizer, the secret sauce is Dr. Ingleton’s own origins… the island of Jamaica. Powered by her signature jamaican superfruit blend, Dr. Ingleton’s line targets the main issues she’s encountered in her 20-plus years in the industry like skin discoloration, hyperpigmentation, and fine lines.
How does she do it all? Well, this is exactly what we discuss today. We also discuss her culture shock upon arriving in the United States as a teenager, the power of intention and goal-setting, the dangers of skin bleaching, and why it’s important to pay attention to your body, even when you think you have it all. Recorded remotely, this in-depth and at ,times emotional interview will inspire you to never give up on your dreams and never give up on yourself. It is an absolute honor to introduce Dr. RoseMarie Ingleton to the IBI podcast.
Here are some highlights:
On skin bleaching: “It goes so far back to none love of self; too wanting to be something that is more assimilating with the majority culture.” [42:40]
On natural hair care: “I find that many of the oils that are being used are comedogenic, meaning pore-clogging. These oils on your hair over the day, where do they end up?” [53:23]
On starting your own business: “I invested $300,000 which I had saved up - I had to hire a bunch of consultants that’s where the money went.” [59:53]
On health: “In 2018, I found out I was having a brain aneurysm so I go from a woman who has never had anything wrong with her, to having these symptoms.” [75:30]
Follow Dr. Ingleton on Instagram here, and check out her skincare line here.
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
Today’s episode is with systems thinker and design maverick, Marquise Stillwell.
Born and raised in Ohio, into a family of community activists, Marquise learned the power of owning one’s story at an early age. He is the founder and principal of Openbox, a company focused on improving the lives of those in the communities they serve through design, storytelling, and innovation. His work spans over 20 years, designing and implementing fresh models for businesses and cultural organizations, while sitting on the boards of The Lowline Underground Park, Stae, Artmatr, Creative Capital, PioneerWorks and the Urban Ocean Lab. He is also a member of the High Line Advisory Committee.
Through Openbox, Marquise has created an intellectual circular economy, grounded in the ethos of improving our communities’ by placing people-centered services and experiences at the forefront of design thinking. His philanthropic and creative activities include teaching for two Danish design schools: the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design and KaosPilot in the city of Aarhus. In addition to being the co-founder of Deem Journal, a magazine focused on design and social practices, he also collaborates with colleague Petter Ringbom on various films including Shield and Spear (2014) and The New Bauhaus (2019) which brings to light the wide-ranging oeuvre and brilliance of Bauhaus instructor Lazlo Moholy-Nagy. The company name, Openbox, takes its name from the story of Henry Box Brown, a slave who, in 1849, mailed himself to freedom from the Jim Crow South, arriving 27 hours later in Philadelphia. Representing the idea of openness and freedom, OpenBox builds frameworks that aren’t designed to lock the individuals in, but instead provide them with tools of liberation.
In today’s episode, we discuss how people of color can create spaces for the curiosity of others, the art of not turning one’s struggle into a lifestyle, the power of subversion in design thinking, and how he has made his network his net worth. It is with great pleasure to introduce the incredible Marquise Stillwell, to the IBI podcast.
Here are some highlights:
On people of color creating spaces for the curiosity of others: If you have the ability to know yourself, know who you are, have the ability to own who you are, and have the ability to tell your own story then I really believe there has to be some window of opportunity to allow for people to engage with you with open curiosity without you feeling that they’re going to take something from you. (12:30)
On the art of not turning one’s struggle into a lifestyle: Don’t turn your struggle into a lifestyle; be who you are - but don’t turn it into a lifestyle to where you’re trying to be this thug when you don’t even have to be like really is that how you have to live your life? Then you can do better. (24:00)
On how he has made his network his net worth: My network is my net worth, and I put a lot of value in the people that I know and I connect with. And with that being said I walk into every relationship knowing who I am first! Someone would ask me what’s the key to living in a city like New York or London or any other big city is that if you don’t know who you are, you’re done! (42:27)
Today’s episode is with conceptual and multimedia installation artist, Kenseth Armstead. Born and raised in Washington DC, Kenseth found his artistic path in high school at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, later receiving his Bachelors of Fine Arts from the Corcoran College of Art & Design and his Masters in Integrated Digital Media from the Tandon School of Engineering at NYU. With a career spanning over three decades, his provocative works centralize history, American culture, and the complex narratives embedded in ethnicity. His multimedia public art installations are deliberately in dialogue with the communities in which they reside. Nestled in his large scale, at-times architectural works, are themes around the black imagination, social justice, abolition, redemption, freedom and change. He was also recently named to the Public Design Commission in New York City.
Although Kenseth is known for his independent installations, he actually started his career in collaborative work with X-PRZ, an art band which included his mentor Tony Cokes, along with artists Doug Anderson and Mark Pierson. This avant garde group was dedicated to using music, video, and other ephemera to critique culture and existing social norms, especially as it pertained to art world notions of individual genius and critical theory. Kenseth’s most recent public artwork, Boulevard of African Monarchs, connects the hub of African excellence in America,(Harlem, USA) to the royal court of the Kassena people of Tiebele, Burkina Faso. It’s on display until August of 2021 at the intersection 116th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd in Harlem.
Kenseth is a prodigious scholar and we cover a LOT of ground. In this episode we discuss his 30/30/30 formula for consistent artistic production, the link between Chistianity and social media, the role time plays in criticism, and what community engagement in art really looks like. Kenseth’s portfolio is extensive, immersive and influential. His work has infiltrated the streets of New York for decades with projects and installations that focus on creating images and cultural activities that aim to close the gulf of space and time between African and African-American identity, communication and social ritual. Recorded remotely and safely, it is with great pleasure that I introduce Kenseth Armstead to the IBI Podcast.
Here are some highlights:
On his 30/30/30 formula: “I’ve had this rule about 30-30-30 so roughly I’m splitting my time 30 percent production, 30 percent marketing, and it’s like you realize like the 30% when you’re making work is not separate from the 30% when you’re marketing the work or the 30% when you’re doing administrative work these are not separate concepts they are all apart of this flow.”
On Media: “If you took in all media and you watched television for 24 hours and you didn’t have a way to be critical about it, you would commit suicide because you don’t have the car that they are trying to sell you, you don’t have the house, you don’t have the money. And if you had the money you would never have enough, you’re not tall enough, you’re not short enough, you’re not this, you’re not that, it’s all about what you’re not!”
On community engagement: “When you’re the youngest of 8 you don’t even ever get your own fresh pair of underwear, everything is a hammy down. So I’ve always been in a group in a sense so that’s natural to me, but actually naturally I’m an introvert, naturally alone, and reading. But then in order to cope with life, you build an extrovert persona and they’re pure sort of narcissists who really feed on community and so Bill Clinton would be a pure narcissist who feeds on crowds. Obama would be someone like myself who’s an introvert but can be an extrovert and so there is a cost. In the piece I did in Central Park, I think I talked to 600 people directly in one day but then after that, I don’t want to talk to people for days because it’s a lot, it’s a lot of energy and I don’t feed on it in that way but I love the energy and I love that it’s worth any sacrifice to have an art world that has more people in it and have people in it that are more understanding and more open, art changes people.”
Contents:
On his 30/30/30 formula ------------------------------13:45
On Media--------------------------------------------51:10
On Community--------------------------------------59:42
Kenseth's Instagram: @kenseth.armstead
Kenseth's Website: kensetharmstead.com
Today’s episode is with bespoke tailor and designer, T-Michael. Born in Accra, Ghana, T-Michael spent the majority of his adolescence in London, later moving to Bergen, Norway. Operating from the philosophy of mastering one’s craft before achieving success; T-Michael discovered his passions early in life, by mastering the art of tailoring, a skill naturally developed surrounded by the colorful fabrics of his childhood in Ghana. After graduating, T-Michael began a groundbreaking career as one of Europe’s most distinguished menswear designers after opening his own studio on his 30th birthday, in Bergen. With conceptual and abstract ways of thinking , T-Michael uses a unique approach to luxury menswear which seeks to connect the substance of traditional formalwear with modern, functional design.
T-Michael has established a reputation for his meticulous attention to detail and impeccable garment construction. From early experimentation to the mastering the cut of cloth, the T-Michael brand has evolved into the sleek looks they design today; slim cuts, clean lines, and half-linings are all blended in the fluidity of T-Michaels creations, making him one of the most photographed street style stars in the world.
Here are some highlights:
On getting rid of distractions: “My advice to that is to be focused somehow as much as you can on your target, your goal, and the things around you and ignore those flags that come up because practically they’re just there to distract you and people put them there when they know people are excelling if you are not doing anything important who cares about you, people don’t really worry you but the moment you start doing something that’s important and then those distractions will come in, so focus man! Eyes on the prize, always.”
On the art of tailoring: “It’s just a balance of things and my inspiration doesn’t come from clothing itself it comes from the tradition that made the clothing what it is today. You know tailors are tailors because somehow we had to build clothing around the people before the knowledge of just mass-produced product production came. Um, and that’s why tailoring it’s even more beautiful today because even though we can make it in a simpler form, we do it in a more uh demanding way and that’s where the art is, that’s where the beauty comes from.”
On the importance of creating your space: “I spend a lot more time in the space than I probably do at home, so the space becomes my home as well at the same time, you know. The beauty of the space lies in the things you see that, that doesn’t actually fit in the space, you know.- So this stuff the things in the store are like snapshots of my mind in a way, things that are off but their right, you know. Uh very difficult to explain but its just that kind of thing where you see something that is so perfect it becomes a bit boring and i hate that. I think the beauty lies in the fact that it’s a little bit off but you know the reference points so it’s easy to understand it.”
Contents
On getting rid of distractions-------------------- 27:29
On the art of tailoring-------------------------- 30:04
On the importance of creating your space---------- 31:15
LINKS.
T-Michael's Instagram: @tmichael_bergen
T-Michael's Website: t-michael.com
Norwegian Rain: norwegianrain.com
A lot of time, the conversations I have with guests offline are JUST as interesting as the interview itself. So today, we’re trying something a little different... The tables are turned! Today’s episode is well, not an episode, but a conversation. If you listened to last week’s episode with artist Xenobia Bailey, and if you haven’t, you definitely should, towards the end, Xenobia laments not asking me any questions, and so I obliged, you know, off the record, and for the first time in the history of this podcast, it is I who was in the hot seat. One of my favorite seats in the house.
Oh, we spoke of many things. We touched on my list of favorite photographers, my recent Vanity Fair cover with Actress Viola Davis, why we really don’t know anything, how thought is faster than the speed of light, and why I even started this podcast in the first place,
I really hope you enjoy this experimental format and please let us know your thoughts over on instagram at @blackimaginationpodcast and over on twitter @blkimagination with the hashtag #processingthepod. Share some of your favorite quotes, be sure to pass along to a friend, and rate an review us over on iTunes and Sticher. We really want to grow this beautiful community we’ve created together. I’m a little nervous, but here we go: our first, Processing the Pod conversation, with artist Xenobia Bailey.
Links we mention in this episode:
Fashion Photographer Erwin Blumenfeld.
"Gutai: Splendid Playground" at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Today’s episode is with fiber artist and cultivator of funk, Xenobia Bailey.
Born in Seattle Washington, into a family that survived off of a material culture provided by both the land and the ingenuity of the Black homemaker. Xenobia discovered her passions early in life, going on to study ethno-musicology at the University of Washington, and later attending Pratt Institute for Industrial Design. Xenobia found her freedom in the funk and her work centralizes the liberation of the black creative mind.
Known for her eclectic crocheted hats and large-scale mandalas consisting of colorful concentric circles and repeating patterns, Xenobia creates pieces that allow mental space to daydream, or dreamscape, through the lens of the undocumented world of contemporary African American material culture. These visuals are mesmerizing and swirling in their own staticness
Xenobia’s works infiltrated pop culture during the 80 and 90s, making appearances in Spike Lee’s ‘Do the Right thing’, United Colors of Benetton and Absolut Vodka advertisements, and was featured in mainstream fashion publications like Elle magazine. Her work is in the permanent collections at Harlem's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Allentown Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Arts and in the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City.
During our conversation, we discuss the African American homemaker, the power of soundscaping and lullabies, the black creative collective, and what is FUNKtional design, and yes, the power of the funk. Recorded remotely and safely this conversation will have you reevaluating the cycles of life and the power of the black intellectual mind. It is with great pleasure to introduce to you, artist Xenobia Bailey.
Here are some highlights:
On how music has evolved in black culture: “Music is the only part of African American Culture that’s evolved since we were brought here. You know, like they took our language from us but they couldn’t take our beat and our rhythm and stuff. And so that evolved into like jazz and funk and I guess you call the blues too, but I think like jazz that is something, its so abstract and arbonguard and if the material culture was um equal to where jazz is, we’d be on the space age, you know!”
On the power of soundscaping and lullabies: “We don’t have lullabies for our children in our community; they have to know that there’s light at the end of this madness, you know. And they are the light, you know, and that could be in lullabies, you know. Like it’s not going to always, you’re not going to be powerless forever, you know. You’re going to grow up and you’re going to create another world or you could, you know, whatever but you have a powerful imagination that is yours! It’s greater than anything that exists now, you know!”
On what is Funk: “Funk is everlasting life! Nothing ever dies in funk. Okay, you take an apple tree, okay, and if nobody picks that apple, that apple is going to fall to the ground. And it’s going to decompose and it’s going to go back into the soil, and that’s when it gets it’s funkiest, it’s most fertile is when its, you know, decomposing because that’s when that seed inside that apple starts germinating and going into another tree, that’s its funkiest, that’s its richest for life. And also when you go into that state of, like when you get to your funkiest really that’s your richest time, you know.”
Xenobia's Instagram: @xenba_xenba
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
Today’s episode is with American dancer and choreographer, Kyle Abraham. Born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, into a home of loving and supportive parents, Kyle’s family instilled in him the sense that he could do and achieve anything. He discovered his love for dance in his late teens after being cast in his highschool musical, Once on This Island, later receiving his Bachlors of Fine Arts from SUNY Purchase and his Masters in Fine Arts from New York University.
This all sounds lovely and quaint, but Mr. Abraham is a force to be reckoned with. After performing with a number of prestigious companies, including the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, he founded his own namesake company in 2006: Abraham in Motion, now known as AIM. And it is here, where Kyle has created many of his critically acclaimed pieces including ‘The Radio Show’ and ‘Pavement’ which, inspired by John Singleton’s 1991 film, Boyz In The Hood,truly exemplifies his seemingly eclectic style. Like a writer of prose, Kyle weaves together memories of his childhood in Pittsburgh along with the impact of violence within black communities , with a dash of WEB Dubois, with a dose of Jacquel Brel and Johann Christian Bach. He’s choreographed for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and New York City Ballet. He’s worked with Misty Copeland and Beyonce. He’s a Princess Grace Statue award recipient, and a Doris Duke award recipient, and a Bessie Award recipient, and a United States, Artist Fellow, and a Macarthur “Genius” Fellow and, well, you get the picture.
Recorded safely and remotely, this conversation explores Kyle’s journey to dance, how he deals with his own insecurities, what it’s like being fired by one of your heroes, how to balance empathy and ambition, and his journey back to dance after an extended hiatus. It is with great pleasure to introduce to you, a master of his craft, Kyle Abraham, to the IBI podcast.
Here are some highlights:
On his relationship with dance: “Dance is actually my longest relationship, sometimes an unhealthy one but um I think I’m actually in love with dance in some way.”
On the question dance answers for him: “It’s really a question of who I am and how I feel um because we hold so much history in our bodies and along with that history we can hold so much joy, sure, but a lot of sadness for someone like me um and a lot of struggle and I think you can see that when you watch me dance, the struggle.”
On how he deals with insecurities: “For me, it’s honoring my parents and those aunts and uncles that, you know, aren’t blood relatives but you still call them aunt and uncle. And so thinking about how they interacted with each other in the early to mid 80’s um just trying to live in the richness of kind of ownership that they possessed um so you can’t really be insecure and do that successfully.”
Kyle's Instagram: @kyle_abraham_original_recipe
A.I.M. Website: aimbykyleabraham.org
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
Today’s episode is with Harlem socialite and style icon, Lana Turner. Born at the Women’s Hospital on West and 110th st. and still residing in the neighborhood 70 years later, Ms.Turner is quintessential Harlem, a landmark unto herself. A mathematician of dressing, Ms. Turner does not just put clothes on, but uses her body as a medium in which she expresses her appreciation and preservation of life, style, and beauty, or as she likes to refer to it: “Painting the body canvas.”
A doyenne of mid-20th century fashion, and muse of New York Times Street style photographer Bill Cunningham, Lana Turner and I were introduced almost a decade ago at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem when I was looking for a few hats for a fashion story while in grad school. Upon meeting and chatting with her, I realized quite quickly that it was SHE who needed to be photographed, in her wardrobe, and in her hats… of which there are upwards of, wait for it… 500. Actually I believe the exact number is 638.
Here are some highlights:
On New York’s own black migration: "The reason for the Harlem Renaissance, or for it to have that label, was a few things. This was part of the great migration, so once we have gotten the black community moving out of San Juan Hill and moving here. When other people are enticed to come North as part of that wave, Harlem is the place their pouring into -And this is how it happens, setting the stage for that, for people who are leaving cotton fields and coming to work in the industry also brings a tide of musicians, and writers, for the first time in our history."(22:53)
On the birth of the Harlem Renaissance: "But here we are with joy, with love, with humor, and, yes, sadness, you know sometimes blues, but it's all in that music and I cannot help but relate to. Harlem was one of those bright lights at a time of the Harlem Renaissance and I dare say a bit before that." (8:30)
On Marcus Garvey’s downfall: "Marcus Garvey’s fall, however, was the fact that he only kept his counsel to himself, and when he thought about things that’s the way they should be. Now, you know, when it worked, it worked but when it didn’t it really crashed. And you know Marcus Garvey was not someone who readily took advice from people that he probably employed to give him advice, he lived by his own sensibility." (46:02)
On advice to her twenty-year-old self: "I would say do not wait for someone to give you an invitation to get dressed and go out and have yourself a ball. I say because you have meditated, because you can stand tall, because you can take the high road, you have no problems pulling together the most fanciful outfit, making a reservation at the most amazing restaurant, for 1, making your life singular so that when you are endowed with someone who is either your soulmate or your love it adds to the cake, it should never be the cake. You are the cake!"(50:01)
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
Today’s episode is with Harlem socialite and style icon, Lana Turner. Born at the Women’s Hospital on West and 110th st. and still residing in the neighborhood 70 years later, Ms.Turner is quintessential Harlem, a landmark unto herself. A mathematician of dressing, Ms. Turner does not just put clothes on, but uses her body as a medium in which she expresses her appreciation and preservation of life, style, and beauty, or as she likes to refer to it: “Painting the body canvas.”
A doyenne of mid-20th century fashion, and muse of New York Times Street style photographer Bill Cunningham, Lana Turner and I were introduced almost a decade ago at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem when I was looking for a few hats for a fashion story while in grad school. Upon meeting and chatting with her, I realized quite quickly that it was SHE who needed to be photographed, in her wardrobe, and in her hats… of which there are upwards of, wait for it… 500. Actually I believe the exact number is 638.
Here are some highlights:
On the discovery of self: “You know a single woman, single mother, taking care of all of that. But when he got old enough to fly away from the nest, it allowed me to expand my sense of self. Prior to his leaving, however, that sense of self was always in play.” (19:46)
“That sense of self was one thing that allowed for, for example, deciding to change say the furniture in my room, and I woke up one morning and I said, No everything should not only be functional, it should also be beautiful.”(20:09)
On her love for archiving: “I think the archiving element is in my DNA, it seems to have always been there without you know, want for formalizing that as an educational piece in my life, and it's always been there.” (4:28)
On the theatricality of the black church: “But of course, with the black church we are looking at, or at least I'm looking at it as the as a critical foundation for our deliverance from the slavery, both external and internal. I look at church as a way to release the notion of what it means as a collective, to breathe and to pray. I look at the black church in particular for all the things that go on in it that have more theatricality attached.-But I love the collective energies that black people bring to anything. And when it comes to church, oh my goodness. (39:29)
On the art of living: I don’t know what the formula is I don't know if I could articulate it all. So let's see, I can start, I can try. There's things that I love. So I love and I don't need other people to do it. I just like being myself. (27:04)
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportTarik ‘Black Thought’ Trotter on his origin story: “I think often in the case of heroes or of a character, a protagonist who sort of rises to greatness there is some trauma Yeah. And you know my life is was no different.”
Today’s episode is with a man who needs no introduction, but I’m going to introduce him anyway: Tariq Luqmaan Trotter, better known as Black Thought, lead MC and co-founder of the hip-hop band, The Roots. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Tariq faced some early hardships– losing both of his parents to homicide before the age of 16, but he found his path in the arts, attending Philadelphia’s High School for creative and performing arts, also known as ‘the fame school of Philly’, notable alumni include Boys to Men, Erika Alexander, Leslie Odom Jr., Joey de Francesco, Jasmine Sullivan, and many more. While immersed in this brilliant world of musicianship, Black Thought encountered yet another now-famous alum and co-founder of The Roots, Questlove.
Emerging from the Philly soul scene in the late eighties and early 90s, The Roots created a space for themselves that didn’t exist during that era: A live, hip hop band. Known for their jazzy and eclectic approach to the genre, their debut album Organix was released and sold independently and were quickly signed to DGC/Geffen. Today, they serve as the house band for the Tonight show, while still touring extensively, and producing projects both collectively and individually, including an upcoming Broadway musical, “Black NO More”, penned by today’s guest, Mr. Trotter.
Here are some highlights…
On His Origin Story: “That's, that's sort of my, my origin story is I am, you know, I grew up in Philadelphia, I lost my father at a very, very young age before I was two years old, and, you know, to murder to homicide in the streets of Philly and I lost my mother to the same at 15 or 16. So, yeah, I feel like that is my origin”
On Trauma being a motivating factor in his life: “It's the ways in which we allow that internalization to, you know, compel us, and sometimes you're compelled to, you know, to quit, or in that pause to, you know, to give up, or sometimes it becomes a huge motivating factor for you. And, in my experience, that's, that's, you know, the purpose that it has served is as a, as a motivator”
On The Notorious Roots Jam Sessions: “I remember John Legend, you know, he was a student at the University of Penn, he would come and, you know, try and get into our jam sessions and would often be turned away, for whatever reason, like, you know, go figure. I wasn't at the door had I been at the door, that would never have been the case, but I know people who remember turning him away, and I feel like that was a motivating factor for him and you know, that that's part of what propelled him to greatness”
Links we mention in the episode:
Tariq's Instagram: @blackthought
Link to "Black No More" info: deadline.com
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportDiedrick Brackens on his first encounter with creativity: “Moving my hands in the pursuit of language feels important and to me, it’s so relative to the way that I build narratives with textiles. (10:33)
What is a Fiber artist? Currently represented by the galleries Various Small Fires in LA, and Jack Shainman in New York, Diedrick is, and I quote” best known for his woven tapestries that explore allegory and narrative through the artist’s autobiography, broader themes of African American and queer identity, as well as American history. Brackens employs techniques from West African weaving, quilting from the American South and European tapestry-making to create both abstract and figurative works.”
In 2018 Diedrick was awarded the prestigious Studio Museum Wein Prize, and made his New York Institutional debut in 2019 at the New Museum with his Exhibition, “darling Divined.” His current body of work, “Blessed are the MOsquitos” explores the impact of HIV/AIDS on the black queer community.
Here are some highlights…
On his origin story: “My parents were just like- packrat, that’s how they saw it. But I was like, no I’m like making things, building stuff, I’m kind of creating this little universe - I always was just like fascinated by my own thoughts and ideas about how the world worked or what kind of fantasy I could construct out of this junk” (5:49)
On his first encounter with creativity: “I think I knew that I was going to write very early, and I wanted to write creatively. And I think somehow as I went along, I just was in these spaces where I don’t think you’re encouraged to write as a child, you have to know how to write, you have to write this essay like you’re writing for a particular type of information, you’re not writing as a tool of self-expression. So I think there was no avenue as a small child that cultivated that thing so I moved into art” (9:11)
On how he approaches a new piece: “For me, it comes out of thinking about my experiences of the world and what I have lacked or been rewarded with. How to make an image out of that” (24:34)
On the advantages and disadvantages of growing up without mentors: “Mentors and I also wanna say like fathership; mentors who serve a specific role around like what is it going to look like in 30 years, or what should I be doing right now, or how do I navigate the world that I live in right now” (26:02)
On his relationship with his father: “I think of that both in the role of a biological father but like this person who has actually lived it. And I remember my dad would always saying, ‘There’s nothing new under the sun, I mean now I’m like maybe
Links we mention in the episode:
Diedrick's Instagram: @deedsweaves
Link to Diedrick's work: https://jackshainman.com/artists/diedrick_brackens
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportEpisode number 10, with playwright, Tarrell Alvin McCraney
Tarell Alvin McCraney on living freely: “I’m starting a new chapter where I try to live and be as free as possible rather than be chained to survival mode.”
What makes a person become a writer? An Academy award-winning, playwright, actor and co-writer of the 2016 film ‘Moonlight,’ Tarell Alvin McCraney likens writing more as a survival instinct, rather than a calling. Growing up with a constant feeling that change was imminent, Tarell found a way to take hold of that narrative, and rewrite it.
Tarell began writing the first draft of ‘In Moonlight black boys look blue’ which later became the source material for the Oscar-winning movie, “Moonlight” with director Barry Jenkins. He describes it as an effort of piecing together the scapes of memories that he had about who he was, who his mother thought he was, and who he could become. In January of 2019, his Tony and Drama Desk award-winning play, Choir Boy debuted on broadway, and later that year, he made his television debut as writer and executive producer of the critically acclaimed series, “David Makes Man” on Oprah’s OWN network. In 2020, it won the prestigious Peabody Award, a first for the network. And lest he stops to catch his breath, Tarell also serves as the chair of the playwriting department at the Yale School Of Drama.
Here are some highlights…
On His Super Hero Story: “When you grow up knowing that, that shift, that change is ever-present and can fall one way or another, it’s sorta something you begin to survive rather than live” (7:37)
On the Internal Journey: “If you look around and see change happening all the time and you can’t imagine yourself in it, then you begin to write yourself into stories”
On the Power of Word and Text: “Words are powerfully limiting in that we are often grasping, throwing, pulling at, shaking up vocal sounds, to form, to shape, sometimes the unimaginable, the unquantifiable, the unpalatable things that are ephemeral feelings”
On the way, Spirit informs the Diaspora:“Because capitalism is the zeitgeist or spiritual animism of the United States, it interferes with a real look at spiritual and the understanding and investigation of that which is free”
On the Power of Naming Yourself:“That’s what all religion, history, methodology, cosmology, are about trying to put some order to the world we live in through theses ideas of stories”
On the Idea of The Wounded Healer:“Empathy, If you too have been wounded, you know why it is necessary to heal”
On Advice to Young Writers: “There’s moment’s where you have to be still enough in what you’re doing recognize when you are doing what’s right for you and your work and your path”
Links we mention in the episode:
Tarell's Instagram: @octarell_again
David Makes Man on OWN: www.oprah.com
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Additional editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportToday’s episode is with management consultants and two of the three founders of MyUberLife, Jey Van Sharp and Kwasi Gyasi. With combined degrees in electrical engineering, physics, math, and business, these two men developed keen senses for dimensionality and the need to impact the cultural spaces around them. “Through conversations, people were always amazed by how smart we were, part of it was because of the pigment in our skin” (16:05). While seeing a gap between the creativity of business and the business of creativity, their consultancy, MyUberLife was formed. “Let’s create this company called MyUberLife so it would be almost a self-manifestation like I want my life to be super so lets create a company and teach business to creative people and it was that simple (18:53).
Jey and Kwasi created an ecosystem of intellectuals by inadvertently becoming the middle man between cultural intelligence and business intelligence. “What we do is teach creative people business; as we found out to do that really well we also have to deal with the money and teach the money how to deal with creatives so we start teaching corporations culture and that community. So we start doing two things, one part teaching creative people about business and the other part teaching business people about creatives” (19:16) MyUberLife’s method always starts with the Why. “The first thing we do when we start out is tell artists to write their manifesto out. I don’t care about what you do, tell me why you’re doing it.” (22:12). Afterwhich, they approach with practicality: what is your story? How much does it cost to make these goals a reality? “Then you start understanding, ‘How much does it cost to do my practice?’ My rent, my studio, my equipment, my paint brushes. A lot of people don’t understand how much it costs to be an artist.” (23:30). How do we generate revenue around your creative endeavors? “We have a rule of thumb we say you need to make 3x the amount of money that it actually cost you to do something” (23:52).
During this episode, we discuss the formula for creating impact in the world, “Creativity times organization equals impact (25:06), the importance of owning your ideas (24:36), understanding the value of your individual story, “everywhere you go is your ideology and your ethos representative in that moment and time, in that space” (29:57) and how to communicate that to consumers, “Marketing is communicating your value through someone else. Marketing is also understanding what someone else values” (24:18). Recorded before quarantine, this informative conversation will cause you to pull out your notebook and get organized about your creative pursuits. It is with great pleasure to introduce Jey Van-Sharp and Kwasi Gyasi to the IBI podcast.
Links we mention in the episode:
Jey's Instagram: @jeyofmyuberlife
Kwasi's Instagram: @kwasiofmyuberlife
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Additional editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportToday’s episode is with painter, sculptor, and multi-hyphenated artist, Torkwase Dyson.
Born in Chicago Illinois, into a family embedded with scholars and artists of many forms, Torkwase found her artistic path while studying Sociology at Tougaloo College, later receiving her Bachelors of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonweath University and her Masters at the Yale School of Art. Her work is about the reimagining of black compositional thought, while exploring shape and form as it relates to black bodies in space. In Torwkase’s words, “The works are deconstructions of natural and built environments that consider how individuals negotiate and negate various types of systems and spatial order.”
This multi-disciplinary approach was on full display during her show, “Nautical Dusk” which debuted at the Colby Museum of Art in the fall of 2018. Her sculptures, paintings, and geometric forms depicted the life of Samuel Osborne, a janitor at Colby College at the turn of the 20th century, who was born into slavery. Using Osborne’s text obituaries written by white authors this exhibition raised questions concerning creation, conveyance, and autonomy. In 2019, she was awarded the prestigious Studio Museum Wein Prize, and in 2020 she was added to the roster of the influential Pace Gallery. Torkwase continues to explore the language of structural constructs, black activism, and what it means to be and live in blackness.
During our conversation, we discuss the role language plays in her practice, how art allowed her to express her innermost being, why one must ALWAYS be prepared, and what black genius means to her. Recorded during lockdown, this eloquent conversation is one for the books. It is with great pleasure to introduce to you, an artist of many forms, Torkwase Dyson.
Links we mention in the episode:
Torkwase's Instagram: @torkwasedyson
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Additional editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportThis is Part Two of our conversation with Andre Leon Talley. In this episode, we discuss how Andre’s crippling childhood experiences resulted in him never knowing a reciprocal type of love. “Tragically and regrettably. I never channeled how to be intimate.” (3:45) How he interprets beauty not only in his personal life but beauty’s role and purpose in our surrounding world. “Luxury and Beauty are the same thing to me. Luxury is not necessarily [symbolic] that you’ve arrived. I earned early on- that beauty is everywhere around you. (7:02) The role faith and spirituality play in his life and how it connects back to his aesthetics and love for fashion. “ I grew up in a church, I still go to church. I don’t know where I’d be without the church.” (13:41) The church is pivotal to my survival.“ (16:25) The power of the black African church has sustained me. And my own inner fortitude to overcome all obstacles.(16:50)
The tenacity and juice it takes to make it in the world of fashion. “The essence of that is the uniqueness and the originality. (18:32) When I’m authentically me. It works. (22:45) We also discuss how the fashion industry can advance and not only be more inclusive but actually be at the vanguard of this moment we’re currently in. “It must go back to the individual imagination. Individuality, this is where fashion must return. (27:26) “Fashion must create and embrace the oneness of the imagination, particularly the black imagination.” “The black imagination is a very powerful thing. (38:22) And lastly, we touch on what he aspires his legacy to be. “ My legacy will be that of human kindness, great unique imagination, curator of knowledge. And that he contributed to the world he left a contribution of oneness. Oneness that mattered. That’s what I’d like my legacy to be (40:48).
Please enjoy Part TWO of this wide-ranging interview with my friend and mentor, Andre Leon Talley. Links we mentioned in the episode: his latest book The Chiffon Trenches available on amazon.com and audible.com. Thank you for tuning in! Please don’t forget to rate, comment,subscribe and share with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast).
Links we mention in the episode:
Andre's Instagram: @andreltalley
His Latest Book: The Chiffon Trenches
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Additional editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportToday’s episode is with titan of American fashion, André Leon Talley.
Raised in Durham North Carolina by his grandmother, Andre’s love for fashion began at an early age, with his discovery of magazines like Vogue and Harper Bazaar, giving him access to worlds and visions beyond the segregated Jim Crow South. A star student, Andre received a full scholarship to Brown University to study French literature, after completing his undergraduate degree at local HBCU, North Carolina Central University.
Although he came from humble beginnings, André’s meteoric rise through the editorial mastsheads of fashion's most prominent publications, speak not only to his fine-tuned intellect, but also a keen... social intelligence; navigating the dominantly white front rows of the fashion industry for decades. Beginning with an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with legendary fashion editor and life-long mentor, Diana Vreeland, he went on to work at Andy Warhol’s Factory and Interview magazine. Later stints at Women’s Wear Daily, W Magazine, and the The New York Times, prepared him for his influential role atop the masthead as creative director of American Vogue in 1988, making him the highest ranking Black person in fashion journalism.
In 2003 He published his first memoir, ALT, and his current book, “The Chiffon Trenches,” which offers a candid window into his professional and personal struggles, was released May of 2020. He currently sits on the Board of Trustees at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and his documentary, “The Gospel According to Andre” by director Kim Novak, was released in the US in 2018.
This conversation with Andre was recorded just two day ago, but felt so relevant and pressing that we decided to release part one for you today. We speak of Andre’s life in the Jim Crow South, his introduction into America’s upper class at Brown University, how fashion served as armor to shield him his serial childhood sexual abuse, and I, for the first time publicly, speak of my own. Please enjoy Part ONE of this wide-ranging interview with my friend and Mentor, Andre Leon Talley.
Links we mention in the episode:
Andre's Instagram: @andreltalley
His Latest Book: The Chiffon Trenches
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
Additional editorial content provided by Kalimah Small.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportToday’s episode is with the provocative artist and photographer, Renee Cox. Born in Colgate, Jamaica, into a West Indian heritage that instills unwavering confidence into their youth, Renee and her family eventually settled in Scarsdale, New York while in her teens. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies from Syracuse University, Renee began a groundbreaking career in commercial photography, first cutting her creative teeth in Paris, with visionary fashion designers like Issey Miyake and Claude Montana before returning to the states to shoot for publications like Seventeen, Mademoiselle, Essence, and Cosmopolitan. “In the ’80s me being a fashion photographer that was something that I wanted to do from the time I was in high school, so one could say that was a manifestation.” (31:39)
However, the birth of her first son, along with an encounter with fine art photographer Lyle Ashton Harris, caused Renee to question her legacy and the impact of the images she was creating. “I think that all change has to come from within and in this life situation that we’re in, it's about trying to get to a higher level of consciousness (13:59). She enrolled into the Masters of Fine Arts program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and later was selected for the Whitney Independent Studies Program, the first artist to do so while pregnant. Using her own body as a template “I’m not gonna be their Hottentot Venus. I’m not going to be made a spectacle of without implicating them (39:31) . Renee’s art is dedicated to the deconstruction of stereotypes and reconstitutes the identity and dignity stripped from black bodies during the Trans-Atlanic slave trade. “It’s time for black folks to take back and to eradicate the views that have been implanted into their heads. I think we’re taught to underestimate from day 1 and that needs to change (57:55).
Her piece "It Shall Be Named", which depicts the chilling allusion of a lynched man, castrated from his manhood, debuted in the groundbreaking show, Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art at the Whitney Museum of Art, curated by Thelma Golden, now Director and chief curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem. “I always chose to deal with topics that some people might find a little difficult” (45:58). Often controversial, her work, “Yo Mama’s Last Supper,” which was shown at the Brooklyn Museum in 2001, reimagines Leonardo de Vinci’s masterpiece the Last Supper with Renee as a nude Jesus, surrounded by the 12 apostles, all Black, except for Judas, who was white. “If you got yo mama’s last supper let’s say you had it in your home in your dining room, where Russell Simons does have it. People are going to ask you about it so you have to explain my story behind it or you can bring your own story into it. It will insight some sort of reaction and conversation from your guest and I think some people just don’t wanna be bothered with that kind of thing either (45:30). Then New York City Mayor denounced the work as Anti-Catholic, and formed a panel to create decency standards for all art shown at publicly funded museums in the city.
Links we mention in the episode:
Renee's Website: www.reneecox.org
Renee's Instagram: @reneecoxstudio
Edward Bernays: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportToday’s episode is with Kerby Jean-Raymond, founder of the fashion brand, Pyer Moss. Hailing from East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Kerby has taken the hutzpah of self-resilience and toughness and has woven it into the fabric of what is now one of the hottest fashion brands.
Founded in 2013, Pyer Moss fashion shows have been revered as theatrical and emotionally moving and the must-see show of New York Fashion Week. He personally describes the brand as an “art project” or “a timely social experiment” which explores the depths of the cultural
origins of blackness.
In this conversation we discuss how his work in the fashion industry cost him his sanity (7:20), how Kerby leverages his fame for the freedom of Black peoples around the world, doing everything with the intent of centering black people (6:32), his tools for success and finally arriving at a place of self-love and acceptance (27:43). “I started to discern the difference between the person I was and the person I was pretending to be.” (10:37) The internal growth which lead him to figuring out what was right for him. “What was instinctively right for me was always talking about race, talking about politics, talking about things I actually cared about.” (11:34) We even discuss our own falling out a few years back. “I was constantly in contention with you, with everyone that was trying to force me to follow my instincts. You had it right the first time! You said that to me once.“ (13:14) —a topic even we hadn’t discussed until this interview. Recording during lockdown, this is Kerby at his rawest and most vulnerable.
Links we mention in the episode:
Pyer Moss: www.pyermoss.com
Kerby's Instagram: @kerbito
Momentum Education: www.momentumeducation.com
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportIn today’s episode we chat with psychologist, Dr. Courtney Cogburn. Hailing from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Doctor Cogburn’s research focuses on how racism contributes to health disparities amongst Black Americans and in particular how over time, blatant and subtle racism in media stresses and literally wears down Black bodies—a phenomenon also known as “weathering”—something we have all witnessed to during the current outbreak of Covid-19 in the United States, and its devastating effects on communities of color.
An associate professor at Columbia’s School of Social Work, Dr. Cogburn’s racial immersion VR experience, 1000-Cut Journey, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. Developed in collaboration with the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University, It allows for the viewer to experience life as a Black man, from adolescence through adulthood, and has been featured on TEDx, CBS, and Forbes.
In this conversation we discuss when she first began to notice the correlation between race and academic achievement (5:00), the effects of "breathing racism" (13:00), how watching videos of police brutality is bad for our health (18:46), how reason rarely works as well empathy (22:00), a step-by-step explanation of her racial VR experience (28:04), how her lack of experience with virtual reality didn't keep her from pursuing her goals (34:22), her biggest failure as a researcher (41:40), how her own son changed the way she works (43:18), why higher education has health benefits for every demographic, except for those of African decent (46:48), and the ways in which VR is being used to help Black people begin to heal from a lifetime of racial stress (59:26). Given where we are as a country and a people, I found this conversation to be right on time.
Links we mention in the episode:
Courtney's Twitter Account: @courtneycogburn
Her Racial VR Experience: 1,000-Cut Journey
Hyphen Labs: Neurospeculative Afrofeminism
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportToday’s episode is with writer Casey Gerald. Born in Oak Cliff Texas, Casey’s life reads like a textbook definition of The American Dream. Oh you know, Small town boy from troubled home makes good and lands in the Ivy Leagues—Yale to be exact. Casey later goes off to Harvard Business school and co-founds the nonprofit MBAs Across America, for which he is listed as one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People. All of this and more can be found in his memoir, There Will be No Miracles Here, which was listed by both NPR and The New York Times as one of the best books of 2018. His Ted Talk, “The Gospel of Doubt” has over 2.1 million views. Did I mention he was also a Rhodes Semifinalist?
Recorded via Zoom while under lockdown, we speak about when Casey realized the "American Dream" was a scam (16:35), how he rediscovered his inner child (19:30), the malleability of time (26:10), the first boy he ever loved (40:15), the gift of being gay (47:25), what prisons and the coronavirus have in common (50:30), the joy of blackness (56:07), why it's always a good idea to leave New York City (59:30), and the path to finding internal joy (1:02:43) We cover so many amazing topics, and Casey shows us a side of himself he rarely ever does. This episode takes on a more conversational tone, and a few F-bombs are dropped, be warned, lol.
Links we mention in the episode:
Casey's Instagram and Twitter: @caseygerald
His book: There Will Be No Miracles Here
Abraham Hicks: https://www.abraham-hicks.com
Marianne Williamson'sA Return to Love
bell hook's All About Love: New Visions
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportToday’s episode is with architect, designer, and scholar, Dr. Mabel O. Wilson. Doing double-duty as a Professor of Architecture and as Associate Director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies, both at Columbia University, Dr. Wilson is not your traditional designer of buildings. Her trans-disciplinary practice extends well beyond the built environment in to the worlds of curation, performance, art, and cultural history.
In today’s episode we discuss how Mabel’s problems fitting in as a young architect led to designing her own path to success (5:40), her advice for young architectural students (9:00), what Beyonce stole from her (21:30), the ways in which design and structures have been used to create the concepts of both blackness and whiteness (26:26), the radical change needed for an equitable America (32:27), the invisibility of Black women (35:00) and how mass incarceration not only tied a generation of Black men to a failing capitalist state, but left a generation of Black women without partners (49:40).
Links we mention in the episode:
Mabel's Instagram: @studio_and
Her new book: Race and Modern Architecture: A Critical History from the Enlightenment to the Present
Thank you for tuning in! Please don't forget to rate, comment, subscribe and SHARE with a friend (@blackimaginationpodcast). Support this podcast: anchor.fm/blackimagination/support
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackimagination/supportToday’s episode is with TJ Walker, one of the co-founders of the pioneering streetwear brand, Cross Colours. Cross Colours blasted onto the urban fashion scene in the late 80’s, and their bright colors, loose silhouettes, and inspiring message, “Clothing Without Prejudice” presaged the launch of a string of urban streetwear brands like Karl Kani, FuBu, and Phat Farm. Cross Colours came to define the 90s, worn by every musical icon of the era like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Lil Kim, Mary J Blige, TLC, and most famously Will Smith while on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The brand has had a resurgence recently, especially after Bruno Mars and Cardi B wore Cross Colours during the 2018 Grammy Awards.
In this episode we discuss TJ’s path from a farm in Mississippi to designing for one of the most profitable Black businesses of his time (2:34), how he actually got those clothes on Will Smith (16:30), why their slogan, “Clothing without Prejudice” still resonates 2 decades later (29:07), and a new initiative he’s started with costume designer Ruth Carter, who most recently won the Academy Award for her costume design for Marvel’s Black Panther(38:10).
Thank you so much for listening, and if you enjoyed this conversation,, shout us out on social, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, which is super helpful! please share it out over social media. and let him know your favorite part of our conversation together.
Thank you all so much for tuning in today, I hope this show brought a lot of value to you. If you enjoyed, please share it out over social media with your friends and loved ones. Tag me at @blackimaginationpodcast on instagram, and shoutout our boy TJ Walker @tjwalkerofficial. We have so many amazing episodes coming your way, so be sure to subscribe wherever you receive your podcasts, and be sure to rate us over on iTunes, which helps out a lot!
Keep Dreaming!
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