BLK LOVE opening reception

“BLK LOVE” features the original artworks of local black queer and trans early-career artists Ayana Lance, Chi-Chi X, Miles Jamison, Noah Lawrence-Holder, Qwayed Akuei and Yasmeenah. The cohort members spent nine months exploring multiple artistic mediums that have been used to shape social movements through artist workshops paired with community organizing training. Sessions were led by Black Visions Collective and Nancy Musinguzi. Together with the artists, they have applied lessons, political education and new relationships to create original artworks into an installation to articulate their visions for black liberation in their community. As a result, each artist’s installation responds to the central question “What does the future of black Minnesota look like?” sharing their individual and collective “Black Visions” to address and transform the conditions of our society.

Black Visions Collective (BLVC) is a black-led, queer and trans centering organization whose mission is to organize powerful, connected black communities and dismantle systems of violence. We do this through building strategic campaigns, investing in black leadership, and engaging in cultural and narrative organizing. BLVC believes in a future where all black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.

Nancy Musinguzi (they/them) is a visual artist, freelance photographer, and visual anthropologist. For 14 years, they have dedicated their practice to documenting contemporary American life, culture, community and social movements through a black queer immigrant lens. Collaborating with more local artists and institutions that are committed to using art as a catalyst for social change, their practice seeks to cultivate new strategies for diverse groups of people to collectively respond to a public concern.

Learn more about Black Visions Collective.

Check out artwork by Nancy Musinguzi.