CARRYIN’ ON … creative practice for sustaining black life
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FEATURED ARTISTS
JAMIE GRACE ALEXANDER
DEIRDRE DARDEN
What are the key points your creative practice draws from that connect to the existence, survival, and future of Black lives?
Carryin’ On… is a timely collection of interviews, literary works, and visual art from 15 national and international Black artists, activists, and creatives. Black Artist Research Space asked each individual the following question in 2020 during the height of racial unrest and a global health pandemic: What are the key points your creative practice draws from that connect to the existence, survival, and future of Black lives? For Black Artist Research Space, the guiding intention was to unearth and directly document how the creative work of Black people centers the individual and/or communities to which they belong and furthermore show how one’s work supports the perseverance of Black lives. Posing a question that centers Black individuals and communities automatically creates space for honoring and autonomy, however this turned out to not be the sole function of the question.
The responses, akin to individual puzzle pieces, began to converge in a manner that constructed a larger blueprint (that is by no means exhaustive) on the ways in which Black people, universally, carry on. The collection outlines a journey that reveals the methods Black creatives employ to reconcile trauma, upend oppressive structures, and experience freedom. What became evident is the significant connection between Black creative practice and how creative practice facilitates the act of carrying on.
Carrying on can be defined as the act of persevering in spite of hindering or oppressive circumstances. Yet, there is also an understanding that to be regarded as “carryin’ on” means for one to behave in an “improper” manner as defined by the social standards of a specific space and time. The key is understanding that social standards are often defined and measured against dominant culture expectations regarding how individuals should behave and show up in spaces. These expectations do not necessarily exist to serve those who fall outside the dominant cultural category. On the contrary, dominant cultural norms often keep marginalized people under control, oppressed, and of the most beneficial use to those dictating dominant culture. With this understanding, “carryin’ on” in this context becomes an active and empowering statement of resistance.
Carryin’ On… looks at Black contemporary creativity in relationship to the time and social climate Black people are navigating. Black activists, artists, and creatives are making amidst the continuation of ever prevalent trauma to and surrounding Black bodies - the original question commenced at the height of unrest resulting from the 2020 deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. It is critical to define the time in which Black people are making because this context serves as insight into the variables impacting and informing one’s existence. The times are just as relevant as the work being produced. In an age of state sanctioned violence against Black bodies, capitalization of Black labor, and a global health pandemic, assessing how our work manifests to actively preserve the existence, survival and future of Black life is paramount.