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

Design for the Just City

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 

UrbanAC.city

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 

Alma Thomas

Eizabeth Catlett 

Jacob Lawrence 

Henry Tanner 

Edmonia Lewis 

Gordon Parks 

James VanDerZee

The beauty and genius of El Anatsui 

Episode Playlist and Film List 

A short film (aka video) about time travel as it appeared on Yo! MTV Raps: Here Comes the Hammer by MC Hammer 

Jason’s Lyric 

I’m so Into you by SWV

Ordinary People by John legend 

Bisa Butler on Instagram

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  

Black in Design at Harvard

Theory of General Relativity 

Decolonizing the Gaze: An interview with Dario Calmese  

Cognitive Dissonance 

Spotlight Consciousness

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) 

www.bethannhardison.com 

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.

Alexis De Veaux 

M Jacqui Alexander 

Farah Jasmine Griffin 

A favorite writer.

Sharon Bridgforth 

A noted singer. 

Solange 

An Academician without Institution .

Anna Julia Cooper 

A spiritual experience.

Mobile Homecoming

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 

Alexis De Veaux 

M Jacqui Alexander 

Farah Jasmine Griffin 

A favorite writer 

Sharon Bridgforth 

A noted singer 

Solange 

An Academician without Institution 

Anna Julia Cooper 

A spiritual experience 

Mobile Homecoming

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 

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

Omar Tate 

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

The Prep School Negro  

Down for My Niggas by C Murder featuring Snoop Dogg 

Carolyn Lazard 

Alice Shepherd 

Disability Visibility Project Alice Wong

Christine Sun Kim 

@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