New Projects, New Projects, New Projects!!!!!

So this is going to be a mega busy semester with many things to see and do. First, I would like to introduce everyone to a new online site that I've launched called, CVAAD Projects (www.cvaad.com) that features contemporary visual art and artists of the African Diaspora. I would blame AIB for pushing so much research in the program, that it actually made me like it! But it's something I'm really passionate about as I really would like to see a greater presence of black artists in galleries, magazines, anthologies etc. The word really needs to get out there. So CVAAD Projects will act as a catalyst and producer for that type of movement. Also, I've finally given in to the "film bug," those of you who know me know that I've done short films in the past, but many of you may perhaps be unfamiliar. After all of the abuse I've experienced at AIB,lol, I was encouraged to have more video and a more tangible look at the issue of colorism. It's taken me awhile to get this all together but I've launched a documentary project that I'm working on, called The Skin Quilt Project. This documentary is largely about the presence of colorism within the African American community, but also the paradox of the things we do to connect to our cultural heritage. It's going to be a challenge to tie these two concepts together, but I'm really passionate about it. Obviously quilting in the African American community has a dialogue of it's own, but one of the things I was facinated about was it's relevance in African American art. So I'm using quilting as a way to enter into this discussion about colorism. They are two opposite outlooks on African American culture, quilting being the pride and joy, and colorism being the shame and guilt. But I'm interested in meeting with quilters of African descent to discuss the complexity of these two emotions: 1) the joy of quilting as a sense of cultural pride 2) the disappointment of ones cultural view on skin complexion. How can pride and insecurity exist in the same framework? This is what The Skin Quilt Project aims to explore. This will be a controversial move, but I feel it's necessary to really get the point across. I'm so excited that I've already begun to recruit interviewees for the project. Check out the website/blog for the project at: www.skinquiltproject.com.