MUSEUM OF BLACK JOY
A BLACK JOY SYMPOSIUM
To Imagine & Ritualize an Opulent Black Future…
The Museum Of Black Joy presents a month-long, curated series of virtual prompts, performances, queries, artistic interventions, and intergenerational gatherings to consider topics related to Black Joy, defined here as a revolutionary process and practice. Please join us in this extended community conversation designed to joy-scape a vibrant Black future in a way that transcends (without ignoring) histories rooted in oppression.
Mz. Icar and Tough Dumplin will be screening 2 short films created in collaboration. The first short is titled Of Expansion. It’s inspired by quarantine musings and art-making. This trippy studio visit follows 2 puppets through an art exhibition distorted by time and space. The visit features a collection of collages, photography, banners, textile studies, and mixed media pieces exploring ‘what is the ideal scenario and how do we get there?’ The second short film is called Covert Honey. It’s a documentary on Brooklyn rooftop beekeepers and a visual record chronicling the joyous adventure of beekeeping, nestled in the urban confines of a Brooklyn rooftop. Following the screening we will discuss process, collaboration, vision and using art as a vehicle to connect with people, and explore places and spaces.
Registration is required
Sashay from The D'Archive on Vimeo.
GET IT TOGETHER
TOGETHER MURAL
Photography by Lee Hopkins
Today our piece ‘Together’ was officially accepted into the collection of the City of Boston.
This project was unique. It’s taken us some time to process and fully and articulate the experience. For the team and me, it was a practice of radical empathy, love, boundaries, and the balance between. We are in it, but not of it.
CONTEXT:
The Engagement Center is located in an area of Boston referred to as methadone mile. The sidewalks are home to many. Tents fill the sidewalks, bleed out to the streets and little orange caps are everywhere…so many little orange caps. We were advised to be mindful of touching anything because it may have fentanyl on it. There is a homeless shelter on one end of the block, the engagement tent behind the shelter, and a police department one block over. Most major US cities have areas like this because addiction is real, capitalism and lack of affordable housing is real and our society struggles with meeting people where they are at.
THE AWARD
The Engagement Center has a new building, and we were asked to put some magic on the exterior. When we were initially awarded the project, the one thing we noted early on was the manner in which folks described the area and constantly gauged our comfort level with creating and engaging with the community…we just don’t have language that fully acknowledges and dignifies people that suffer from addiction and homelessness…so we hear the apologetic tone in which we (ourselves included) describe the community….one that we are inherently connected to.
IN SERVICE TO EACH OTHER
Here’s the long and short, people are people…all people. Folks go through stuff, some get luck, and various privileges that afford them a ‘good look’ but at the end of the day none of that matters cuz if one suffers we all will suffer.
Folks are out here doing the work tho. We met poets, witnessed bonds, dedicated outreach, and love…all in what has a surface appearance of chaos.
We were honored and humbled to be able to use art to be in service. Mario, Sabrina, Natalie, and the whole Engagement Center staff are modeling what it is like to just show up for folks…over and over again. We got a chance to chat with folks, experience some real rachet shit, and also be held and have our intentions of focusing on connected supported community mirrored.
THE ART
We decided to do something a bit different to make the piece more accessible. As much as we love celebrating figurative narratives, we felt that it was better suited to go with a slightly abstracted text-driven theme. Our thinking was that, If all you got from the art was color therapy and a sense of play, then it still hit. We know what it’s like to not be seen and just want to let the staff and guests of the engagement center know that they are seen.
Please love up on yer folks. We gotta do it together and get it together.
We’d like to acknowledge and extend gratitude to the City of Boston’s Transformative Public Art Program and the Mayor’s Office of Art and Culture for supporting and generously funding this project. We would also like to thank Street Theory Gallery for helping us all Get it Together!
Much gratitude and love…it’s a journey ya’ll.
THE FULL SET
THE FULL SET: ARCHIVE
We did the damn thing. @kendrasteppdavis and the whole collective came to show all the way out! The Full Set is HERE! @theculurerooms is HERE….and we are very extra.
Huge gratitude to all of our peeps old and new that came out to support, chill and celebrate The Full Set. Big shout out to the universe for granting us a summer day in October.
Doing things together is fun.
Taking up space is a must.
Being fly while doing it is essential.
📸 Courtesy of @dodai
PICS FROM THE EVENT
BET MURAL: SINCE DAY
BET MURAL: SINCE DAY
It’s been hella hard to sit on announcing this.
We have a new mural in collaboration with @bet . It’s called ‘Since Day…’
This piece is an exploration of rhythm and movement. It is an ode and mirror of trends, styles, and expressions of culture that we’ve shared and continue to share with the world. It’s a bold celebration of us. ‘Since Day’ visual depicts the grit, flow, and beautiful connections that swirl throughout Philadelphia. We are inspired by the stories, community, music, and soul of this city. We hope to reflect that back in this piece.
Located at 5729 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19144.
Big shout out out to the @overallmurals team for making it happen and having me out here on this big wall with the Lil brushes.
#mural #mzicar #blackcanvas #betblackcanvas #germantown #philadelphia #paint #big #walls #streetart #muralist
BET MURAL LOCATION
FLUIDITY MURAL
FLUIDITY MURAL
SUMMER OF 2021: This piece is called FLUIDITY
and it’s hella big.
Have you ever listened to the ‘slave’ narratives recorded in conjunction with the WPA project? If not, stop scrolling and listen now. The sounds of the ancestors voices recalling there experiences of basically being responsible for the physical embodiment of wealth in this nation is chilling. The most memorable part of it is that folks were in there own bodies. Meaning, I could hear who these people are, which is way more than the exploits. They/We are beautifully expansive.
It’s no coincide that I, along with my amazing collective are out here in mid 90deg weather getting eating by mosquitoes and loved up by the sun on Juneteenth. We are humbled and honored to be here.
I often think about the folks who decided to migrate to Texas to skirt emancipating Black folks. How blown outta their minds they must have been to be that outta touch. I think about the blended lineage and often ponder the ancestral stories that comes with continuing to share space with such oppressive folks. Some folks gotta learn to share and some folks gotta take up more space.
We take freedom hella seriously. Part of being free is understanding that we are all intricately connected and that comes with responsibility. It requires accountability and humility. Marginalized folks tend to do the heavy lifting in this particular understanding and that needs to change…like right now…like yesterday.
The blood that pumps through my veins is the blood of folks who originate from this land, Africa, the Caribbean, the south and even includes some colonizer juice. It has traveled continents, built nations and most incredibly it simply exists.
Today I give thanks/honor the ancestors in the best way I know… by painting us huge and glorious and black as ever. Hanging with my peeps, eating fresh food, randomly twerking, getting in some good laughs and avoiding all situations that require kissing my teeth or rolling my eyes. What ya’ll gonna do with yerselves on this glorious day?
Happy independence day aka Juneteenth.
Big up to the @seismigue team for sharing space.
SEISMIQUE ART MUSEUM
OF EXPANSION
OF EXPANSION
We made a movie…a short one…but still a movie! And it won Best Experimental film in the Imagine This Women’s Film Festival!
‘Of Expansion’ is a short film inspired by quarantine musings and art-making. Here’s the website for the film
This is a trippy studio visit follows 2 puppets through a time and space distorted art exhibition. The visit features a collection of collages, photography, banners, textile studies, and mixed media pieces exploring ‘what is the ideal scenario and how do we get there?’
Over the last year and a half the Mz.Icar collective has spent time working on studies, manifestations, and visual messages that are prayers for what we’d like to see and feel in the future. Given the intersectional history of oppression, inequity, and violence that makes up the legacy of America, It can be challenging to truly envision our society in an ideal way. This collection of work embodies a vision board that does just that. This group of work focuses on an alternative centricity, It’s a celebration of our voice, a lesson in play, and a focus in joy. It draws from the traditions of church banners, propaganda and flags as symbols of things we believe in and have cultural relevance.
Thematically this group of work is an experiment in world-building. It is set out to be a foundational vision board for what could be.
Featuring Rielle Love and digital effects by The Kinardist
SEE ME MURAL
SEE ME MURAL
Stay Up. Get right. Love up on yerself and each other.
just a lil reminder located in a city I love.
This piece came together quickly, which is usually a sign of being in flow / frequency with things/ people / energy combined. The goal is to ride that.
Thanks @at1ba for pulling this together and providing snacks. Thanks @myrtleavebklyn for your dedication to the Ave. Thank Bravo market for letting us get up on this gate and letting me go pee…bathrooms + ny + pandemics will leave alot of trees watered. Thanks all my peeps who came by and kept the hydration and vibrations up.
Enjoy!
📸 By @erinpatriceobrien
THE VISIONARY IN YOU MURAL
THE VISIONARY IN YOU MURAL
Let’s wrap about having work supported. It’s been an astonishing past couple of months being able to share these visions with various cities and connect with the local communities. We are feeling very supported and have alot of gratitude around that.
Scale context and content is so important in the work that we do.
Our intention with all of these murals is to create large love letters that encourage people to connect, unite, feel empowered and seen.
The way folks connect with spaces is very important. These spaces are/were designed. they are/were intentionally created for various uses and when they fall into decay ruin or abandonment it’s important that we understand that these can be repurposed. It’s also imperative to know that the same applies in our own personal communities and spaces.
We know that there is alot of BS and inequity around that. we are not blind to where we are at in the world, but we know what we want to focus on and what direction we’d like to go.
We want you to feel welcomed where you are, We want you to feel accepted seen and supported. We want to remind people to be welcoming and be supportive and to see each other. We don’t take public works lightly at all. We see them as a ever-moving evolving representation of the places and people that we are encountering.
Our latest, piece
‘Visionary in You’ was commissioned by @Doritos for there #solidblack initiative, and coordinated and installed by @pearlmedia.
2020 chestnut st. Philly
ART AUCTION
BLACK ART AUCTION
Hello, my people! So many of you have requested a way to purchase artwork. To be honest we’ve been spending so much time working on these big public pieces that we haven’t been in the studio very much building up our inventory of artwork.
We are welcoming this winter and enjoying this time to work on new pieces. In the meantime and in-between time, we have the honor of partnering with Calabar Gallery and currently have two large pieces available for auction on their platform. Both Fame and fly could be all yours. Bidding is currently open and will be until December 14th
ABOUT THE AUCTION
“Homesick Philly” Black Art Auction Curated By Chill Moody And Atim Annette Oton Is The First Auction To Celebrate Philadelphia Black Artists Whose Work Speaks To The Creative, Vibrant Stories, Street, Fashion And Visual Culture Of The City. The Auction Will Amplify And Increase Awareness Of Black Artists, Sales For These Emerging Black Artists And Expand The Number Of Buyers And Collectors For Their Work. Working With Visit Philly’s Initiative “Homesick Philly”, The Art Auction Will Be Facilitated By Calabar Gallery’s Web Platform Who Began Art Auctions In 2020 In Response To The Need For Artists To Create Income During The Pandemic. The Auction Will Begin November 29 And Run 15 Days
ROADMAP TO JOY EXHIBITION
ROADMAP TO JOY
(Philadelphia, PA – June 2021) – “Roadmap to Joy” is a public-art exhibition curated by Atiba T. Edwards and Mz. Icar Collective in partnership with The Culture Rooms, FOKUS and Arts and Crafts Holdings. This exhibition features a collection of artists answering the question of what is joy, how do we get there and what does it look like?
“Roadmap to Joy” is a multi-location public art exhibition. “Roadmap to Joy” runs through the summer of 2021 and is on display at 1004 Spring Garden St., and 1124 Spring Garden St. in the Spring Garden area of Philadelphia, PA. Featured artists include Paul Ayihawu; Sa’Diyya Dunkley; Gina Giles; Joelle St. Julien and Andre Walls.
“Joy is the journey we take – knowing, like with any road traveled there will be speedbumps, potholes and smooth roads – as well as the place we find ourselves during and at the end of each day. Joy is a combination of making peace with where and who you are and having a sense of where and who you want to be in your life. The four artists featured truly capture this and help to suggest paths to joy for all!” – Atiba
About Atiba T. Edwards
Atiba is the co-founder of FOKUS and the COO of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, he grew up in Brownsville and studied engineering and liberal arts at the University of Michigan.
About Mz. Icar
Mz. Icar is an anonymous interdisciplinary art collective. Their colorful mixed-media, visual narratives celebrate Women, Global Blackness, and Play.
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Andrea Walls
See Andrea’s work in person at 915 Spring Garden St (and Green St)
Gina Giles
See Gina’s work in person at 1124 Spring Garden (Ridge Street Side)
Joelle St. Julien
See Joelle’s work in person at 1124 Spring Garden (Ridge Street Side)
Paul Ayihawu
See Paul’s work in person at 1004 Spring Garden
Sa’Diyya Dunkley
See Sa’Diyya‘s work in person at 1124 Spring Garden (Ridge Street Side)
The Culture Rooms
The Culture Rooms is a multi-room experience under one roof that taps into the multiplicity and value of Black Culture today and our hopes for tomorrow. Through multi-sensory installations, performances, and workshops, we present you with a new way to connect Blackness, creativity, culture, and community.
FOKUS
FOKUS uses the arts to educate, empower and unite communities. This is accomplished through community-based events, arts education curriculum and programming, publishing INSIGHT magazine. By increasing the public's access to the arts, the importance and need of the arts is further realized and supported.
Arts + Crafts Holdings
Arts + Crafts Holdings is an active investor and the leading developer on the northern edge of Center City Philadelphia. Affiliates of Arts + Crafts Holdings currently own in excess of 2,000,000 SF of commercial, industrial & mixeduse real estate.