Revolutionary Roots

Jordan Seaberry (@jordanseaberry) is a PVD-based artist from Chicago whose “painting work lives alongside his political work.” Jordan is also a grassroots organizer who helped to pass criminal justice reforms such as the Unshackling Pregnant Prisoners Bill and the “Ban the Box” movement in Rhode Island. Jordan’s art reimagines and seeks truth in Black histories and legacies, inspired by his own grandfather’s story within the Great Migration, fleeing racial terror in the South. This interview, highlights the intricacies of activism in art, the erasure of Black history and what inspires his paintings and projects. Checkout Jordan’s main website: http://www.jordanseaberry.com Produced by: Leila Kashani-Sabet ’22 (@leilakashanisabet) and Mako Mendoza ‘21 (@mako_mendoza) #blackartists

We talk with not one but TWO artists, Spocka Summa and Casandra Inez, owners of Public Shop and Gallery based in Providence (@publicnotprivate). As natives and artists of Providence, Spocka and Casandra wanted to create a local space for creators, particularly artists of color to create, connect and experience art. In terms of their own artmaking, while Spocka curates events and showcases for artists all over New England, he also is a musician and visual artist, currently working on the second part of a comic book, The Live Wire. Cassandra is a published poet and storyteller who has also dabbled in visual art. Tune in to learn about the inspirations behind Spocka and Casandra’s artwork and the founding and purpose of the Public- to uplift and support local communities. Produced by: Uwa Ede-Osifo ’22 (@uwaedeosifo), Leila Kashani-Sabet ’22 (@leilakashanisabet) and Mako Mendoza ‘21 (@mako_mendoza)

Leila talks with Valerie Tutson ’87, Co-Founder/ Creative Director of Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS), a non-profit dedicated to “promoting the awareness, appreciation, and application of Black storytelling.”

Produced by: Leila Kashani-Sabet ’22 (@leilakashanisabet), Sonna Obiorah ’22 (@sonna_o) and Mako Mendoza ‘21 (@mako_mendoza) #blackstorytellers #blackart#blackartistso

In our seventh interview of Revolutionary Roots, we talk with Nafis M. White (@nafis_white), a “multi hyphenate” artist, whose range of work spans from sculpture-making to dance to digital media, inspired by her intersectional identities, multicultural background and a family activist legacy that she adds, “comes with the territory” of artistry. White’s current work explores diasporic representations of beauty; she takes Victorian hair weaving customs and re-appropriates them using Black hair techniques and styles, speaking to the historic roots of hair in African traditions. Follow Nafis’ work here: http://www.nafiswhite.com

In our eighth interview of Revolutionary Roots, we meet Jordan Seaberry (@jordanseaberry), a PVD based artist from Chicago whose “painting work lives alongside his political work.” Jordan is also a grassroots organizer who helped to pass criminal justice reforms such as the Unshackling Pregnant Prisoners Bill and the “Ban the Box” movement in Rhode Island. Jordan’s art reimagines and seeks truth in Black histories and legacies, inspired by his own grandfather’s story within the Great Migration, fleeing racial terror in the South. In this episode, Jordan covers the intricacies of activism in art, the erasure of Black history and what inspires his paintings and projects. Checkout Jordan’s main website: http://www.jordanseaberry.com Produced by: Leila Kashani-Sabet ’22 (@leilakashanisabet) and Mako Mendoza ‘21 (@mako_mendoza) #blackartists

In our seventh interview of Revolutionary Roots, we talk with Nafis M. White (@nafis_white), a “multi hyphenate” artist, whose range of work spans from sculpture-making to dance to digital media, inspired by her intersectional identities, multicultural background and a family activist legacy that she adds, “comes with the territory” of artistry. White’s current work explores diasporic representations of beauty; she takes Victorian hair weaving customs and re-appropriates them using Black hair techniques and styles, speaking to the historic roots of hair in African traditions. Follow Nafis’ work here: http://www.nafiswhite.com

In our eighth interview of Revolutionary Roots, we meet Jordan Seaberry (@jordanseaberry), a PVD based artist from Chicago whose “painting work lives alongside his political work.” Jordan is also a grassroots organizer who helped to pass criminal justice reforms such as the Unshackling Pregnant Prisoners Bill and the “Ban the Box” movement in Rhode Island. Jordan’s art reimagines and seeks truth in Black histories and legacies, inspired by his own grandfather’s story within the Great Migration, fleeing racial terror in the South. In this episode, Jordan covers the intricacies of activism in art, the erasure of Black history and what inspires his paintings and projects. Checkout Jordan’s main website: http://www.jordanseaberry.com Produced by: Leila Kashani-Sabet ’22 (@leilakashanisabet) and Mako Mendoza ‘21 (@mako_mendoza) #blackartists

Kelly Taylor Mitchell (@kellytaylormitchell) is an artist and educator at Spelman College with a special interest in oral history and ancestral memory- her own work being inspired by her family history based in Berks County and the Great Dismal Swamp. A master of forms such as papermaking, printmaking, sculpture and textiles, Kelly’s work embraces an immersive and sensorial experience. You can take a look at her website here: https://www.kellytaylormitchellstudio.com Produced by: Mako Mendoza ‘21 (@mako_mendoza) and Tammuz Frankel ’22 (@t_mmuz)

Kelly Taylor Mitchell (@kellytaylormitchell) is an artist and educator at Spelman College with a special interest in oral history and ancestral memory- her own work being inspired by her family history based in Berks County and the Great Dismal Swamp. A master of forms such as papermaking, printmaking, sculpture and textiles, Kelly’s work embraces an immersive and sensorial experience. You can take a look at her website here: https://www.kellytaylormitchellstudio.com Produced by: Mako Mendoza ‘21 (@mako_mendoza) and Tammuz Frankel ’22 (@t_mmuz)

Marlon “Inphynit DaGhost” Carey, who best describes himself as a Poet, Educator, Actor, Communicator and Entertainer, an acronym for PEACE which he adds is his “philosophy on people.” 

There isn’t a medium Carey hasn’t mastered- from his 18+ years as a poetry slam champion to his hip hop music career as “INPHYNIT” to his co-founding of Shakespeare to Hip-Hop, a literary arts enrichment project that travels to schools across the U.S. In this episode: How Marlon’s Black identity informs his work, his journey of “self-discovery” and how he fuses Hip-Hop and history to engagingly teach Shakespeare to hundreds of students.

Listen to Marlon’s music here: https://soundcloud.com/marlon-carey

Checkout Shakespeare to Hip Hop: http://www.shakespearetohiphop.com Produced by: Leila Kashani-Sabet ’22 (@leilakashanisabet), Tammuz Frankel ’22 (@t_mmuz) and Mako Mendoza ‘21 (@mako_mendoza)