lorde knows sometimes we don't want to rise and deal with the work.
sometimes we wanna stay in bed.
catch up on Love Island and eat Haribos.
this year we've spent alotta of time
questioning our life
as a full time artist who got the nerve
to be running a space.
transparently we experience a particular type of fatigue
that comes from generating the majority of our opportunities ourself.
producing and performing.
finding the money. writing the grant.
marketing and mopping
building the thing we crave to see in the world.
and naw
we ain't complaining.
we are grateful
but gratitdue does not replace our tiredness
Talismxn Radio offers an earnest musing on the labor of being creative and the process of becoming oneself. " Click to listen to the episode we're featured on.
in moments like the screening,
we try to drop an emotional pin.
we close our eyes
and allow ourself to feel appreciated. affirmed. seen.
we, try, if only for a moment
to set down our doubt
and trust what is being reflected back to us.
intentionally creating a memory for return.
so that on those mornings when we wake annoyed by the woodpecker outside our window
we can remember
our work has always called us
this practice sustains us
beyond simply the financial
and today is no different
we rise.
we deal with our work.
during our time as a guest on Kamila Rashied's, Talismxn, she spoke across the airways about the courage it takes to choose the life of an aritst.
despite the fact that we love to joke about busting outta retail retirement to become a greeter at wal-mart.
desite the fact that sometimes all we can do is call ra, cry and through the tears say, "it's hard."
for all the self-doubt, what we know to be true is creating calls us back
again and again.
in moments when we have tried to abandon artmaking
grief overwhelemed joy.
tending to our practice is how we survive.
in may, fresh offa turning 41, we are two, a short film chronicling our artist practice, premiered at the Musuem of Contemporary Art Chicago as apart of Pentimenti Production's 4x4 film series.
watching it in a packed auditorium
our head big and projected,
felt surreal.
a past version of ourself.
in full creation mode.
tired and busy
in it.
we sat flush with emotion.
we don't know how to receive our floweers.
how to take in reflections of what others see and experience through us and our work.
got 15 mins?
take a moment to watch we are two.
there are so many special nuggets in this film.
directed by cai thomas who spent much 3 months accompanying on gigs and capturing the making of THICK to driving all the way to my home town of Poplar Bluff to film in my childhood church and attempt to recover some archivlal footage
it was such a memorable time spending time with cai and creating this film.
also major love to the entire team that dedciated over ayear to editing and ensure that the film reflected my practice.
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AUGUST
JULY
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you know it ain't a brown pages if we dn't offer you an oppourtunity to read/list to some blakc feminst text.
we've been sitting with the quote from lorde "rise to deal with work" and returned to this seminar found in dreams of europe where lorde teaches poetry.
beloved!
appreciate you being here and engaging with our artist practice.
as we continue to reckon with history and this present moment my you love fericiously and find your work.
and rise to deal with it daily.
until next time.
as i love to say irl
make it a great one
