Curating the End of the World, Part II

Kimberly Marie Ashby is a Black and Native American, queer woman artist and activist who creates hand-cut collages through an Afrofuturist lens. She uses found materials to reflect marginalized people's ability to make marvels out of the scraps they are given.

Sampling through sound is one way lovenloops bridges the Black past with the present and future. It is also a way of building a relationship with old and new archives of Black girlhood and feminist poetic knowledge and practices. "when our worlds change, we change also" was made after listening to a 1979 interview between Audre Lorde and Judy Simmons. From the artist: "Lorde mentions that there are so many distractions that turn us away from the deepness of feeling...and that her art is not separate from her living. During this time...as we also are approaching, living through, and curating the end of the world, I reflect on how we can continue to merge our art and our living, to continue the change as our world changes, to continue to be in coalition with the world."

Inspired by the Black Audio Film Collective's experimental documentary, The Last Angel of History (1996), this piece constructs a visual, textual code using Sankofa, a Ghanaian symbol that translates to "go back and get it" in the Twi language. Sankofa organizes much of black diasporic thought, and artists of African descent have used the symbol to connect the black past to the black present. Departing from the symbol's Ghanain origins and reaching back to the roles and scrolls of debtera magician-healers in early Ethiopia, Sherese Francis sought to create a talismanic art piece that could be transported across the diasporic mind.

“Lean on me” is commercial brand and influencer Shawanna Davis’s celebration of sisterhood. Borne from Black women centering self care, this image and the virtual space the artist cultivates during regular, live Instagram events provides comfort and community during quarantine.

These “Morning Mugshots” relief prints are promotional ads for multimedia artist Delita Martin’s new IG TV program, virtual conversations with artists that take place over a mug of their favorite drinks. A sneak peek into select artists' personal and professional lives in isolation, the program and these placeholders reflect Delita's desire to celebrate artists during quarantine.

Edreys Wajed created this painting during a live virtual demonstration simultaneously hosted on Facebook and Instagram. Lovely Day is a tribute to the incomparable Bill Withers. In looking forward to us eventually making it out of the darkness, the painting echoes some of the eponymous lyrics: “Just one look at you, and I know it’s gonna be, a lovely day.”