#blacqurl

[blacqurl]

First order of business.

[blacqurl]

It’s Our Birthday!

“BlacQurl.com launched on 09.01.2015, and we've been evolving ever since. We appreciate you, our subscribers, for riding with us. BlacQurl truly reflects how we engage art and media for work, play, and freedom.”

Read the rest of our bday newsletter here 

[blacqurl]

How to Rebuke Burnout

+ Know that you are worth more than your work

+ Slow down

+ Actively seek rest. Then sit with it

+ Respect your mood and what it’s telling you. Then listen

+ Be intentional

+ Ask yourself what you need

+ Take a day

+ or two

+ or seven

+ Pace yourself. 

from BQ

[blacqurl]

PLAYLIST: Midweek Mixes

by Naiya Taylor, @naiyataylor 

Finishing finals? Need a midweek release? These mixes revamp songs from some of our favorite BlacQurl artists. Enjoy!

[blacqurl]

WISHLIST: Elegant Prints from Pardon My Fro

by Jovonna J.

This month, self-taught graphic designer Dana offers her fans a print sale that we just can't refuse! Mixing graphic elements and watercolors, her funky and elegant designs match the contemporary #BlackGirlMagic moment, bringing the collective celebration to your own space. 

Prints range from $5-$10, with sizes ranging from 12"x18" to 24"x36". Hand-crafted and affordable, Dana's illustrations are truly labor of love.

Visit "Pardon My Fro" to explore the collection...

[blacqurl]

by Sammie S.

Today is an exceptionally good day.

It's Friday, I'm working from home, I have new denim on the way and most important of all, it is Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter's birthday.

Traditionally, I'm not one to stan but I do have a burning passion for black girls who kill it and to my knowledge, Beyoncé has slain since I discovered Destiny's Child at the tender age of six. Maybe one day I'll write about the importance of Destiny's Child during my formative years, but I digress. I know that King B deserved more than a tweet in celebration so I opted to curate a list of my favorite Beyoncé songs ~*of all time*~. 

To provide some context: most, if not all, of these songs are severely underrated, many come from B'Day (and are therefore central to my middle school years), and a few were discovered during my short career as a hip-hop dancer. If you're into Beyoncé and even if you're not (tbh how dare you), take a listen; I'm sure it will be more worth your time than the tired and terrible, "Beyoncé is overrated" thinkpieces that will be churned out today. Happy B'Day!

[blackgirlartworld]

With her most recent body of work, the Atlanta-native artist delves into persistent pains of what it means to be Black in America--always political, always personal, and for Gay, always painted. In this two-part series, Gay and I discuss intersectionality, professional artistry, and the multi-layered canvas of her political verse.

[lostinurbanism]

Storyteller. Director. Founder of 3 pivotal platforms for black creativity and archive (Lost In Urbanism, Sunday Kinfolk, and Blvck Vrchives).

​​Through visual media, Renata Cherlise curates narratives of black life and local movements in the U.S. The artist teamed up with BlacQurl to workshop/reflect on her most recent project, "Atlanta: Darker Than Blue" ----

For the first 12 narratives, all of the collaborators were silent and by silent, I mean these contributions included photographs that spanned 50-60 years, at least. These narratives referenced secondary records such as articles, academic papers, essays, and reviews that have already been published. These stories included personal accounts that have already been told, they sing songs already sung, and lives, many of which, have already been lived...

... so my role as curator is unique in this context.This platform becomes my digital gallery space, allowing me to (re)present the work to render new meaning. I had something very specific in mind for Atlanta: Darker Than Blue. 

This became the first story within the series that allowed enough room to build a stage and hand over a microphone to allow the collaborator to step out of that silence and project their voice to whomever came out to the gallery to listen & let me tell you, it’s so amazing because when our voices are amplified in that manner, it really fills up any empty spaces within the room. These are creatives where there's a mutual understanding and belief in the work, belief in the process, and share a belief in the journey. 

Read more of my Artist Workshop/Reflections via BlaqCurl