BeYourOwnMuse

Deborah Roberts discusses her latest exhibition, "Deborah Roberts: The Evolution of Mimi," on view at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art January 25 - May 19, 2018.

In part one of this two-part conversation, Deborah Roberts shares how the music of Mariah Carey and Ms. Lauryn Hill influenced her earlier work, the ways in which her Austin, TX roots informed her earliest ideas of Blackness, and why she shifted her focus from painting to collage. She is joined by exhibition curator and Spelman College Museum of Fine Art director, Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Ph.D.

Image: Deborah Roberts by Shannon McCollum

This recording is a collection of audio clips where Beverly Buchanan (1940-2015) reflects on her life, career, and arts practice. She discusses meeting Norman Lewis and Romare Bearden (who later become mentors of hers), recites an original piece of writing about a work of art she created, provides a personal story about her involvement in the Civil Rights movement, and offers advice to student artists, among several other engaging topics.

The audio segments in this podcast were pulled from found video footage from much longer interviews featuring Beverly Buchanan, which are below:

Beverly Buchanan - An interview with Marcia G. Yerman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfBZm2QHzi4

Buchanan part 2 with Prudence Lopp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48nksZx28eI

Image: Beverly Buchanan, Athens, GA, 2000 by Jerry Siegel. Archival inkjet print. 11.3 x 17 inches. (Courtesy the artist and Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.)

Beverly Buchanan passed away in 2015 at the age of 74. In celebration of this remarkable artist, our next two recordings will feature personal and professional reflections. Featured here are author Alice Walker, curators Lowery Stokes Sims and Karen Comer Lowe, and friends Reed McAllister and Mary Porter.

Image courtesy of @brooklynmuseum

In this Community Conversations episode, Spelman College Arts Journalism students take on the role of producers and ask attendees at the "Beverly Buchanan—Ruins and Rituals" opening reception to share thoughts about the artist (1940-2015) and her work. "Beverly Buchanan—Ruins and Rituals," is on display from September 14th through December 2nd, 2017.

Special thanks to Dr. Calaya Stallworth and her student producers:

Clarissa M. Brooks

Donna L. Davidson

Imani N. Dickens

Rakirah A. Fischer

Mo'Esha M. Hicks

Lauryn A. Lawrence

Maia E. McGregory

Rosalind Miller

Rachel A. Moore

Shala L. Murray

Leah M. Proctor-Ford

Destiny Y. Stone

"Beverly Buchanan--Ruins and Rituals" co-curators discuss the exhibition, on view at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art September 14 - December 2, 2017.

A continuation of our Community Conversation series features Danielle Gilmore and Kwajelyn Jackson. As employees of the Feminist Women’s Health Center, Gilmore and Jackson engage in conversation about the supervisor/mentor dynamic, initial impressions of each other, the importance of their work in reproductive justice, and the notion

of the Black Woman’s Body as muse.

This series is inspired by our current exhibition “Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities,” which is on view until May 20, 2017.

This Community Conversation series connects local Black women cultural producers with specific themes in our current exhibition, “Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities.” Today Dr. Collette Hopkins and her mentee Tabitha James, not only discuss the nature of their relationship, but the importance of child advocacy, believing in your dreams in the face of adversity, and intergenerational bonding.

This #BeYourOwnMuse community conversation features interdisciplinary artist Danielle Deadwyler and one of her mentors Joan McCarty.

McCarty discusses her role as an educator in Spelman College’s Department of Theater and Performance, while Deadwyler describes the journey to reconnect with her craft after a few departures during her formative years. Both women reflect on their early impressions of each other and highlight the role that the Spelman community continues to play in informing the work they produce.

In the second part of this two-part conversation, Mickalene Thomas talks about "creating space," what she brings to her craft that a man could not, and why “tete-a-tate” is an important aspect of how she fosters context and dialogue with other artists and their work. Finally, Thomas details her collaboration with singer Solange Knowles, and what motherhood has taught her.

Image: © Lyndsy Welgos

Mickalene Thomas joins the #BeYourOwnMuse podcast to discuss her latest exhibition, "Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities", on view at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art February 9th - May 20th, 2017.

In the first part of this two-part conversation, Mickalene Thomas discusses her earliest muses, her mother as an important source of creative inspiration, and why she reveres female comediennes. She also explains her approaches video versus photography and her thoughts on creating a sense of invitation for the viewer and the subjects of her work.

Image: © Lyndsy Welgos