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This project challenges notions that Black artists must portray imagery of sadness, anger, or that which aligns us with a struggle thrust upon us that we did not ask for, yet are often forced to represent in our work. This came on the heels of countless calls sent out by organizations in the aftermath of racial unrest and mass protests whereby these organizations would fund work by Black creatives who centered their pain in that moment.
Requiring Black creators to tap into a painful subject from which to create does not transform change. It is putting a burden on us to translate our pain into fodder for non-Black people to assuage their consciences or for us to bleed so others can learn.
Black people creating authentically, without a critical lens of how much politic is represented in our work is subversive of the dominant gaze. Being Black and creating from that singular space alone is “Black art.” It looks as hard as a rock or soft and ethereal. It is our choice.