Art & Photography
“Dark theme photographs” By Marko Milic
​
Abstract and landscape photography with dark themes that would match the album name.
Art & Photography
“Dark theme photographs” By Marko Milic
​
Abstract and landscape photography with dark themes that would match the album name.
“African Culture” and “Live In Peace” By Chaima Boucherma
​
They are works and paintings of plastic art, whose goal is to live in peace in Africa, despite the multiplicity of ideas, races, cultures, colors and civilizations, but Africa is what unites us.
“Forget Me Not” By Martha Carlisle
​
This field of forget-me-not flowers acknowledges and honors Black Americans who paid the ultimate price of racism, and reminds us not to forget them. Each flower is individually cut from a pattern I created using a photograph of a forget-me-not flower. The flowers feature hand embroidery, machine quilting, and a black button. The unfinished edges of the forget-me-not flowers represent unfinished lives. The purple background color represents sorrow; it also represents the dignity of these individual lives.
“The Circle Will Remain Unbroken” By Deitrah Joye Taylor
​
I am a public historian and dramaturg. This is my narrative of reunion after COVID 19
“Sweet Escape” By Brooklynn Huerta
​
Sweet Escape is a collection based off of my imagination to escape into a candy reality. My vision and aesthetic derive off of those sweet childhood memories that I share with my friends and family. I remember that big pink fluffy cotton candy that I got at every annual carnival, making confetti cake every year for my birthday, walking to the store with my grandpa to get ice cream, getting full off taffy from trick or treating with my friends, or all those wild sleepovers where me and my friends got sugar high! Step into my sugar reality and down memory lane with me. I hope that each piece brings a little bit of joy and nostalgia unleashing your inner child. This is a tiny collection that very much so resembles me as a person! I am very playful and eclectic, and I don’t think enough black designers or models are represented in that field of fashion so I hope to continue to fill in that gap.
“African Culture” and “Live In Peace” By Chaima Boucherma
​
They are works and paintings of plastic art, whose goal is to live in peace in Africa, despite the multiplicity of ideas, races, cultures, colors and civilizations, but Africa is what unites us.
“Forget Me Not” By Martha Carlisle
​
This field of forget-me-not flowers acknowledges and honors Black Americans who paid the ultimate price of racism, and reminds us not to forget them. Each flower is individually cut from a pattern I created using a photograph of a forget-me-not flower. The flowers feature hand embroidery, machine quilting, and a black button. The unfinished edges of the forget-me-not flowers represent unfinished lives. The purple background color represents sorrow; it also represents the dignity of these individual lives.
“The Circle Will Remain Unbroken” By Deitrah Joye Taylor
​
I am a public historian and dramaturg. This is my narrative of reunion after COVID 19
“Sweet Escape” By Brooklynn Huerta
​
Sweet Escape is a collection based off of my imagination to escape into a candy reality. My vision and aesthetic derive off of those sweet childhood memories that I share with my friends and family. I remember that big pink fluffy cotton candy that I got at every annual carnival, making confetti cake every year for my birthday, walking to the store with my grandpa to get ice cream, getting full off taffy from trick or treating with my friends, or all those wild sleepovers where me and my friends got sugar high! Step into my sugar reality and down memory lane with me. I hope that each piece brings a little bit of joy and nostalgia unleashing your inner child. This is a tiny collection that very much so resembles me as a person! I am very playful and eclectic, and I don’t think enough black designers or models are represented in that field of fashion so I hope to continue to fill in that gap.
“Open Letter To The Pegasus Corpse” By Patiance Wiley
​
How can there be so many race issues within a community that was originally created for black people to thrive? My piece is a poem explaining how to move forward past this hump.
“Progression?” By William Moore
​
This is a summation of the forward progress of the black man in the United States as we live in today. The picture showcases a rioter a female cop the black panther and a female protester from the Black Lives Matter movement behind each 2 on either side is a photo of Former President Donald Trump and George Floyd.
“BLM” By Samuel Wu
“Open Letter To The Pegasus Corpse” By Patiance Wiley
​
How can there be so many race issues within a community that was originally created for black people to thrive? My piece is a poem explaining how to move forward past this hump.
“Progression?” By William Moore
​
This is a summation of the forward progress of the black man in the United States as we live in today. The picture showcases a rioter a female cop the black panther and a female protester from the Black Lives Matter movement behind each 2 on either side is a photo of Former President Donald Trump and George Floyd.
“BLM” By Samuel Wu
“Squashed Perception” By Neo Makondo
​
We believe 2020 will be remembered as the year that squashed the perception that climate change is a distant threat: COVID-19 has been a harsh reminder of the frailty of humankind in the face of ‘natural’ forces. The solidarity gained during global lockdown is a valuable foundation for the new narrative: tackle climate change now, not later.Coronavirus Disease 2020 (COVID-19) is the official name of a respiratory infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus that started first in Wuhan, China, and outspread worldwide with an unexpectedly fast speed. Flights have been canceled worldwide and transportation has been closed nationwide and across international borders. As a consequence, the economic activity has been stopped and stock markets have been dropped. The COVID-19 lockdown has several social and economic effects. Additionally, COVID-19 has caused several impacts on global migration. On the other hand, such lockdown, along with minimal human mobility, has impacted the natural environment somewhat positively. Overall carbon emissions have dropped, and the COVID-19 lockdown has led to an improvement in air quality and a reduction in water pollution in many cities around the globe. A summary of the existing reports of the environmental impacts of COVID-19 pandemic are discussed and the important findings are presented focusing on several aspects: air pollution, waste management, air quality improvements, waste fires, wildlife, global migration, and sustainability.
“Let the Sunset on Hate” By Mikaela Brooks
“Squashed Perception” By Neo Makondo
​
We believe 2020 will be remembered as the year that squashed the perception that climate change is a distant threat: COVID-19 has been a harsh reminder of the frailty of humankind in the face of ‘natural’ forces. The solidarity gained during global lockdown is a valuable foundation for the new narrative: tackle climate change now, not later.Coronavirus Disease 2020 (COVID-19) is the official name of a respiratory infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus that started first in Wuhan, China, and outspread worldwide with an unexpectedly fast speed. Flights have been canceled worldwide and transportation has been closed nationwide and across international borders. As a consequence, the economic activity has been stopped and stock markets have been dropped. The COVID-19 lockdown has several social and economic effects. Additionally, COVID-19 has caused several impacts on global migration. On the other hand, such lockdown, along with minimal human mobility, has impacted the natural environment somewhat positively. Overall carbon emissions have dropped, and the COVID-19 lockdown has led to an improvement in air quality and a reduction in water pollution in many cities around the globe. A summary of the existing reports of the environmental impacts of COVID-19 pandemic are discussed and the important findings are presented focusing on several aspects: air pollution, waste management, air quality improvements, waste fires, wildlife, global migration, and sustainability.
“Let the Sunset on Hate” By Mikaela Brooks
“Sisters Bond” & “Warrior Grace” By RaKendra Turner
​
“Warrior Grace” – Myself in tribal like face paint, looking into future showing strength while keeping my femininity
“Sisters Bond” – My sister and I in tribal like look, leaning on each other in support
“Sisters Bond” & “Warrior Grace” By RaKendra Turner
​
“Warrior Grace” – Myself in tribal like face paint, looking into future showing strength while keeping my femininity
“Sisters Bond” – My sister and I in tribal like look, leaning on each other in support
“Sisters from Another Mother” By Iwa
​
The paintings were created under the influence of my travels and meetings with people. They are an expression of admiration and deep respect for other cultures, nationalities and religions.
“Sisters from Another Mother” By Iwa
​
The paintings were created under the influence of my travels and meetings with people. They are an expression of admiration and deep respect for other cultures, nationalities and religions.
“Black Portraiture” By Leandre K Jackson
“Black Portraiture” By Leandre K Jackson
About the black album. mixtape.
honored by the Kennedy Center's Arts, Activism, and Change program
Press Release
Music and Arts: Golden Globe-Winning Actress, Playwright, and Activist Regina Taylor Announces Winners for the black album.mixtape. Project
​
After a 30-day call for entries, winners for the black album.mixtape. were announced during a virtual Block Party event. The black album. mixtape. is an initiative of Regina Taylor – the Golden Globe-winning actress, playwright, and activist – in partnership with Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Meadows School of the Arts.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
The black album.mixtape. submissions were evaluated by an 11-judge panel for the eight $500 cash awards in the youth and adult categories of art, activism, innovation, and STEM. The winning entries can be viewed here and are as follows:
​
YOUTH WINNERS
​
Activist Award: “Through My Mind,” a short film by SMU students Leon Jones, Rhett Goldman, and Caleb Mosley that explores racial injustice, black mental health, and what it means to be black in 2021 through visual art, dance, film, music, and monologues.
​
Artist Award: “In the Dark,” an original song written and performed on guitar by Alexandria Carrington, a senior at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas.
​
Artist Award: “All,” a song by SMU theatre student Ben Woods. The track is about freedom. Finding it. Seizing it. And running with it. Then, eventually passing it on to the next generation.
​
STEM Award: “I Believe,” a spoken word piece presented by sixth-grader Nya Smith from Atlanta, GA.
​
ADULT WINNERS
​
Activist Award: “This Voice,” a song written by Bobby Daye, Sylvia MacCalla, and Yvette Cason, with a video created by Arnetia Walker, New York, NY. The song was created to highlight the importance of voting and having your voice heard.
Artist Award: “Culture Loop,” by Wilfredo Rivera, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Chicago, IL. The work represents a female African American choreographer’s personal response to and meditation on the racial injustice movement explosion following George Floyd’s assassination in 2020.
​
Artist Award: “Make the Change,” a song by John Tyler, Baltimore, MD.
“Make the Change” is the closing song to John Tyler’s EP titled “No Color.” The song was heavily inspired from ’60s and ’70s soul and blues but is relevant today. The lyrics convey that there’s still hope for justice for Black people in America and that soon they won’t have to fight for their lives. The song encourages all listeners to help make a change.
​
Innovation Award: “Portrait of a Nation,” an audio-driven visualization by Mark Hirsch, Santa Barbara, CA.
Other entries can be viewed here – https://blog.smu.edu/theblackalbum/the-mixtape-submissions/
Over the past several months, the black album project has hosted virtual roundtables, dinner discussions, and more than a dozen individual interviews featuring leaders in arts and activism across the country. Videos of the interviews and discussions are posted on the black album website.
​
“Everyone across the globe is going through the same things all at once with different perspectives, each speaking on it in these conversations through their work in various disciplines,” said Ms. Taylor.
​
​
Entries were received from the U.S. and abroad, including Africa and Germany.
​
After a 30-day call for entries, winners for the black album.mixtape. were announced during a virtual Block Party event. The black album. mixtape. is an initiative of Regina Taylor – the Golden Globe-winning actress, playwright, and activist – in partnership with Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Meadows School of the Arts. In response to the historical significance of 2020 defined by COVID-19 and social protest, the black album. mixtape. invited students, professionals, and the community to explore identity, activism, art, and change.
​
“The recipients of the black album mixtape awards represent a myriad of voices in several fields who are shining their transformative light in these difficult times,” said Ms. Taylor. “We received entries from all over the U.S. and abroad. I’m very honored to have hosted this initiative to showcase a shining array of talent on this platform to be a witness and recording this moment as we find our footing towards paths to a better tomorrow.”
About the black album. mixtape.