S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. Today's arts and culture show explores queer joy , the art of drag , and the holistic aspect of Afrofuturism. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. We'll talk about the sequel to the best selling fantasy novel , the House in the Cerulean Sea.
S2: This book is a fantasy. This book is meant to be a different kind of world , but it very much reflects the world that we live in right now.
S1: Plus , a conversation with drag artist Amber Saint James. Then find out about the upcoming Afro Future Con. That's ahead on Midday Edition. And. An upcoming sequel takes us back to a magical orphanage on a remote island , and the secrets hidden within somewhere beyond the sea follows Arthur Parnassus , the headmaster of the orphanage. As a former orphan himself , author works hard to protect his kids so they don't experience the same pain and abuse he did. But when he's called to testify about his upbringing on the island , author finds himself in a fight for the future of all magical beings and the well-being of his own family. This is the sequel to the best selling fantasy novel the House in the Cerulean Sea. I'm Here Now with author T.J. Clune. He'll be in San Diego next month to talk about the book itself and TJ. Welcome to midday.
S2: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate being here.
S1: Also with us is audiobook narrator Daniel Henning. He narrated both books in the series and will be joining TJ at the event. Daniel , welcome to you too.
S3: To thank you very much. Proud to be here.
S1: Glad to have you as well. So , JW , I'm sure readers of the House in the Cerulean Sea will be excited to see their favorite found family again. How have things changed ? What's at stake for them this time around ? Absolutely.
S2: So this time around , it was important for me to go deeper than I did before in the first book. The point of view was from Linus Baker , an outsider who worked for the government to come in and inspect the homes that housed magical children. And in this book , we actually switch perspectives and go with his partner , Arthur Parnassus. Arthur is well known in this world , but he is also a victim of the Machiavellian means that which this government operates , and he is ready to fight back. He is ready to stop living passively. He is ready to to show the world what he and his children and all magical beings are made of.
S1: Talk about that and why you wanted to show that through author's perspective. Absolutely.
S2: Absolutely. So in the United States and in the UK , there has been a rising anti-LGBTQ , particularly anti-trans movement. A few years ago , before I wrote , before I started writing the sequel , the United States government invited people to come testify. And by people , I mean transgender people and parents and guardians of transgender youth. But what most of them didn't realize was that this was an ambush of sorts , because instead of actually being heard , the majority of the politicians sat there and questioned trans people and guardians and parents of trans youth about their minds , about their bodies , about their right to exist. And it was extraordinary that people in power , people who we've elected , have decided to take up this cause as if it's some kind of new morality panic akin to the satanic panic of the 80s. And they are accusing parents and guardians of trans children of trans them , as if that how that works. They are accusing trans people of not being in their right minds and being able to make their own choices. And it reminded me of the instance at the very end of the House in the Cerulean Sea , where Arthur is invited to come testify in front of the government. And I wondered what would happen if you finally got your voice , finally were given the opportunity to speak. But it was an ambush by people in power. It is absolutely. This book is a fantasy. This book is meant to be a different kind of world , but it very much reflects the world that we live in right now.
S1: Well , Daniel , you've narrated both books in the series.
S3: Huh ? Uh , because I it's a very complicated answer , but only because I'm so deeply connected to what he writes. When I first read the very first page of House in the Cerulean Sea , when they asked me to narrate it , I immediately felt connected to every word on that page. TJ is telling my story. He's telling his story. He's telling all of our stories , whether , frankly , whether you're queer or not , because there's so little of the actual content in that first book. But it is exactly what that book is about. I saw what he was doing. I could hear the characters. They just leapt out of me on the from the page. So many people ask me about , you know , about Chance's voice or the other voices that I do. And they were easy for me to create because they were just there. I just opened the door and let them out. I love working on all of TJ's stuff , these two books and other things as well , because I am just a little part of the process. I am just a little cog that is part of the story itself , which is bigger than me and I think bigger than TJ , in fact. And it's all of us. It's the millions of people who read that first book. And hopefully we'll read this second one too. Right.
S1: Well , can we have you read an excerpt from Somewhere Beyond the Sea ? Sure.
S3: Um , stepping off the ferry and onto the island for the first time in decades , Arthur Parnassus thought he'd burst into flames right then and there. He did not. But it was a close thing. The fire burning within him felt brighter than it had in years. He itched to break out of his skin and spread his wings , to take to the sky and feel the familiar salt tinged wind in his feathers. But he knew if he did , chances were he'd fly away and leave this place behind forever. And that wouldn't do. He'd come back for a reason.
S1: I love it , I love it.
S3: You know , I try to just read the book and not think about the fact that I have to narrate it , but I do mark the characters when they come into the story. And then I'll go back through this book. I went through three other times completely before I , you know , recorded it. Then I go and I find the characters. I read what T.J. says about Arthur Parnassus or his voice , or how he walks or things about him. And then I literally spend several minutes looking at all that material and living with that character , and then the voice usually just comes for me. I then actually record it , so I have a little snippet of it. So I can always go back to any voices I've done in the past and that's , you know , and then they all , they all just come like that occasionally. I have to really like , what would that voice actually be ? But in general , you know , his descriptions are so clear and precise. It's super easy. Chauncey , he said , speaks Whateley. He has several times in the first book. I was like , oh , well , okay. He's got to be able to spit on people when he talks them. So what does.
S1:
S3: And , you know , he doesn't really understand that he even has the list. So this is where Chauncey lives.
S1:
S2: Chauncey is the reason that that the sequel pretty much exists because I have a tendency to hear characters voices in my head. And when when I finished with the house in the early and see like when I finished with other standalone novels , the characters usually go back to sleep , but in this case Chauncey didn't. Chauncey kept on talking and talking and talking. And then after I heard Daniels Chauncey voice in the original house and the swirling see , that became the voice in my head. So I have Chauncey and Daniel Henning both living inside my head. Wow.
S4: Wow.
S1: So does it ever then inform how you write the characters.
S2: In a way that probably doesn't make me sound very nice , because I want to try to make Daniel have not necessarily a difficult job , but for Daniel to really have to think about how something sounds. For instance , in the sequel , Chauncey voice at one point is described as being sounding like a wet sponge being wrung out over a metal bucket. And then for David , a new character that's being introduced who is a Yeti. His voice is described as being brittle , cracking like ice. So it's these little cues that I try to give my audio narrators , but it also adds a bit of a visual flair for people who don't listen to the audiobooks. They still have some idea of how the character might sound.
S1: Let's talk about the book's motto. Hope is the thing with fire.
S2: And that line has stuck out with me ever since I read the poem when I was in 10th or 11th grade. It's such a beautiful sentence. Hope is the thing with feathers , and I couldn't think of anything more more apt than to have that be Arthur Parnassus , because even in the first book , he is the hope. He is the hope for these children. But when we actually get to meet him and and be in his head in the sequel , we get to see that , yes , hope is a thing with feathers , but also it's a thing of fire because a Arthur is a phoenix. So that's pretty much on the nose right there. But be it's the fires of choice. It's the fires of using your voice. It's the fires of standing up for what's right , even when it's the hardest thing to do. And it's the fires of standing up for your children who don't obviously get to have the same type of voice that the whole big thing for me when talking about this book , when writing this book , is that so many decisions are being made on behalf of the youth , whether it be what classmates they have , whether their trans classmates are being targeted , what books they can read. Why is nobody asking the children what they think ? They are smarter , more worldly than we ever were at their age , and they pay attention. They know what's going on. And so with this , this fire is not just about Arthur. It's about him giving his children a way to stand up for themselves. And that is done with the fires of hope. Wow.
S4: Wow.
S1: Well , a major throughline in these books is queer joy and resistance. Why is that so important , especially in this current moment ? T.J. , I'll start with you on that one.
S2: It's so important because , as I mentioned previously , it's getting worse and worse and worse for so many LGBTQ people. We live in the far flung , futuristic year of 2024 , and this is what we're focused on. Queer joy is so important. I wish I could make everybody understand just how important it is to be able to see yourself in books , in any kind of media. But books , especially queer people , haven't always gotten that. If we were in books , we were the the over the top offensive stereotypes of a sidekick. Or we were there to teach the straight characters a very valuable lesson by getting sick or hurt or killed. It's so important for me that I , I let my community know the LGBTQ community that the best revenge they can get for a life that has been hard up until this point. The best revenge you can get is to live happily and to live successfully , because people don't want that for us. But we're going to do it anyways. All right.
S1: Daniel , what are your thoughts on.
S4:
S3: And so as a young man , I didn't grow up with a lot of queer joy. Uh , but I did see a lot of resistance , and that was the only thing that actually got , you know , Aids talked about by the president , etc.. So I want young people today and all people today to have a different experience. At that time , you couldn't even find joyous things about gay people , except for except for tales of the city. But other than that , it was pretty dark. And our world isn't like that anymore. But it's not done. And so I am thrilled to be able to give my voice to that queer joy. But also , I'm so excited that this book includes the story of resistance , because at least currently , up until today , those things are now hand in hand. You can't have queer joy without resistance to those who want to take it from you. Mhm.
S5: Mhm.
S1: Well , you have this event coming up in San Diego on September 12th.
S2: And finally , that Daniel and other audio narrators get their flowers. I mean , look , at some point people have to realize that I am just one person. Yes , I write the story , but at the same time , there's so many different people who work on it , people who deserve to have their name mentioned as much as I do as mine is , and Daniel is one of them. He is these characters to so many people , and the fact that they get to actually ask him questions about his process , about how he comes up with voices , about how he gets involved with audiobooks , it's the best thing because these books are hand in hand with the audio. It has to be these. These books are while they can be read. I honestly think the better version is to listen to them because of Daniel's talent and his theatricality.
S1:
S3: It's a very strange , odd existence to be an audiobook narrator , because most of the time , like I am right now , I am in a 3.5ft by 3.5ft box with no one near me , and I'm reading books out loud and making myself giggle from characters I'm creating. But to have the experience , to actually talk to people who love what I do and who are moved by what I do , that is a pretty unique experience in my business. I've only had it one other time , and that was a year ago when I did a panel with TJ in Brooklyn , and it was just so happy making for me to see that what I do alone in my house , that literally , I don't know if anyone ever knows about it , to see other human beings who are truly moved by that , and to see in their eyes that I've made a difference in their lives just by reading this wonderful writer's work. That is an overwhelming experience and pretty unique. So I'm thrilled to see the listeners that show up.
S1: That is wonderful. I've been speaking with TJ Clune , author of Somewhere Beyond the Sea. TJ thank you.
S2: Thank you for having me , I appreciate it.
S1: And also , Daniel Henning , audiobook narrator for Somewhere Beyond the Sea. Daniel , thanks to you too.
S3: It's been a pleasure.
S1: You can see both in conversation about the book on September 12th at Solana Pacific School. Mysterious Galaxy is hosting the event. Tickets are still available. Coming up next , Amber Saint James , who's performing in Vellore , talks about the art of drag.
S6: So to be able to be such a beautiful representation of the ways in which drag brings community together and bring so much joy , and to do that for my community is something I couldn't ask better for.
S1: Hear more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. As Transgender History Month comes to a close , we want to continue our coverage of trans and non-binary artist who are driving change in their community. Amber Saint James is a drag performer , event producer and community leader here in San Diego. They are currently performing in valore , a drag spectacular which is running at the La Jolla Playhouse until September 15th. Amber , welcome to the show.
S6: Thank you , thank you. I'm so excited to be here. Share the joy and the heart. Yes.
S1: Well , I'm so glad you're here to do that. You know , it's been two weeks since Vilar premiered at the Playhouse , and I bet it's been a whirlwind. But first , tell us what the show is about.
S6: Oh , my goodness , it is such an amazing show. It really it takes you on this world changing journey and not only through Sassy and Valores own life story , but really taking you through the history of drag and how we as queer folks have always created space and moments where , you know , we felt like we didn't have community , we felt like we didn't have ownership of spaces to be able to find our own and fly and spread our wings. And it's been such , such , such an amazing journey to be able to be a part of that process.
S1: And I know you can't reveal too much , but how would you describe your role in the play ? I hear it's very high tech and involved.
S6: Oh , yes. Uh , so my specific role , not only do I help out , you know , with , uh , props and things of that nature , uh , but I bring my very own Amber Saint James pizzazz to anything that I do. And so , you know , without revealing too much , I will say that it is definitely a great show that people need to come out to , because , I mean , the Queen of reveals is only going to give you the best kinds of reveal , so.
S1: Well , you're one of two local actors in the show.
S6: Um , they had , like , shared it with me , and originally I was like , oh , no , I don't I don't think I should try out , like , you know , I already do so much in community. I didn't want to be greedy. I was like , well , let me let other people try out , you know ? And they were like , no , I think you should really , really try out. And then I even had some of my coworkers from San Diego Pride , um , that were like , girl , I really think you should you should try out. And I eventually was like , okay , since the world and the universe seems to be saying , girl , you need to audition. I auditioned and here we are now. And what's so funny is , um , now that I've been in it , uh , me and Sasha have talked , and she has let me know a couple of times that she was like , you know , girl , when I saw your audition tape , I needed to know who you were. I needed to know more about who is this Amber Saint James ? Like , I need to see her. She needs to be involved in this someway , somehow. So , honestly , it's such a blessing. And I'm really glad that so much of my community really pushed me and encouraged me and uplifted. Need to be able to go out for this role. And here we are now.
S4: Yeah , well , I.
S1:
S6: It's definitely one of the most rewarding because not only do I get to bring my own , you know , pizzazz and love of life to the stage in the way that I do. You know , as Amber , Saint James is always bringing something political. But , um , also just being able to be such this beautiful representation of the many different ways that drag manifests itself in San Diego. Um , and to really , you know , put on for San Diego because I feel like so often unfortunately , um , standing San Diego does get overlooked. And so much of , you know , what we see in mass media through things like Drag Race and , you know , things of that nature. Like , I feel like people don't really always talk about the beautiful drag that there is in San Diego , because there's always so much to talk about what's going on in LA , right ? And so to be able to be such a beautiful representation of the ways in which drag brings community together and bring so much joy , and to do that for my community is something I , I , I couldn't ask better for. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , many people might know Sasha Velour as the season nine winner of RuPaul's Drag Race.
S6: It has been Absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. And what's so funny is , um , Sasha is actually , like , one of , like , maybe 3 to 5 queens that I've ever , like , truly been like , oh , I resonate with this person. Like , this is someone who sees the world the way that I do , that sees the way that drag can really change minds and hearts and souls and movements. And so getting to work with her so closely has been so transformative , but so , so , so empowering to to continue to push me to do the work that I do in my community , to continue to be an advocate and be that voice , to tell people like , we can exist in all spaces and we have every right to.
S1: And you mentioned you've been doing drag for about a decade now. So yeah. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S1:
S6: When I first started drag , uh , back in like 2014 , it really was this space that I kept seeing pop up in my life. And whenever I would see people engaging with it , I was like , oh my God , they seem so happy , they seem so liberated. And so when I eventually was like , well , let me dip a toe. I was like , oh my goodness. Like , this was such a liberatory practice for me. And in wanting to continue to bring that liberatory feeling of when you decide to give yourself permission to exist in your holistic self without without judgement , it it just it changes your worldview. Um , and from there also being involved in so many different political , political movements and stuff as a student activist and taking a lot of ethnic studies courses , I found so much joy and passion and and pride in my own community and my own culture , and wanting to bring that to the stage in every space that I existed in. And so now here we are over a decade later , and now , you know , I am branded as the African bearded queen of San Diego. Right ? And it's so beautiful to be able to bring so much of my culture and so much of my community into everything that I do. And it's it's just always been this space of joy for me.
S1: Well , I'd love to talk more about your style of drag.
S6: So the typical Ambridge Saint James performance , uh , there's almost like a formula to it. Usually there will be a spoken word that is making a political statement or talking about a social issue. Then they'll usually be a bit of a ballad esque performance part that usually is at the start , that will speak more in depth about what the experience of being black and queer is , that then usually transforms to another monologue or spoken piece , um , and then ends with usually a really upbeat performance or song or something of that nature that usually will have a lot of high kicks and acrobatics and things of that nature. I'm very prone to loving a jump split , uh uh , or cartwheel and things of that nature. Um , and so what I love about how I perform is not only is it entertaining and enthralling and like this emotional journey , but it's also a space for education , right ? Uh , a lot of times , what I love to bring through my performance is talking about the social issues that are going on , or talking about what the lived experience is of being black and queer and trans and non-binary , because so often , unfortunately , a lot of the audiences that I engage with , um , don't tend to look like me , unfortunately. Right. And so sometimes this may be their first introduction to seeing a queer person or seeing a black queer person or a trans person or a non-binary person. Right. And so I take them through this really beautiful , entertaining journey where they're almost getting to step into the shoes and experience the world and see like , oh my God , like , life is actually quite tough , right ? Like the world is really unfair. Through that , I've been able to find those moments to push me to advocate for more spaces. Right. Um , to find that community that continues to encourage me and uplift me. And through that , I find my joy. And this is why usually those performances will end in a very joyous manner.
S1: That's excellent. You're also a producer and have put together many shows at San Diego State and other schools.
S6: There was a performer there that later on became my drag mother , Lucy La Bruja , and I had seen her perform , and it was the first time I'd ever really seen drag up close and personal after it popping up here and there in my life , and me not fully understanding it or having the words for it , but knowing like , oh , this seems fun and like really engaging and like something that people are finding a lot of joy from. And uh , when I had seen it , I went to my local pride center on the campus that next day , she was working and I was like , oh my God , you were just in the show yesterday. She , uh , she and I began this beautiful , beautiful relationship. I started working at the Pride Center. And as she then graduated , um , she kind of gave the drag community over to me , uh , because she had been producing some of their shows that they were doing , um , and me being me loving to go big , you know , big and spectacular. Uh , I grew the shows to where they are now , where it started off with , I think like 40 to 50 students. Um , and now we're at a place where , uh , we hit about 1200 students. And it's just been so beautiful because not only am I getting to do something that I love and producing drag shows , but I'm also getting to produce events and spaces that brings community together. And I think that is so important. And one of the things that I think has been such a throughline in my drag , um , and in my time , you know , as a drag mother , as a producer , as a local activist and leader. Like , it's always for me about bringing communities together.
S1: Well , speaking of drag mothers , you're the drag mother of the House of Saint James.
S6: I mean , to put it very simply , to be a drag mother is really to be a mentor , to be that listening ear , to be that support system , uh , to other fellow artists. Right. And for so much of my drag family , because there's about 18 of us , um , five of us that are currently active and still live in San Diego , the others of us are spread across the nation , um , some that we have better international. Uh , and really , to me , it's always just been about being there for others , right ? Um , not only just in this art form , but just being there as queer folks existing in this world , trying to navigate and understand how to be our best selves. Right. Um , and happening , happening to have , you know , the connection of we all love drag , right. And I think that is such a beautiful , beautiful , powerful art form that has been able to bring us together and not only bring us closer together , but to be able to allow others to bring themselves closer to who they could be , um , and allowing themselves to be their most authentic selves. Mhm.
S4: Mhm. Well , I want to.
S1: Talk more about your activism. You talked earlier about wanting to represent the black , queer and non-binary experience.
S6: If there is nothing in this world that can stop you , right ? Showing folks that we are allowed to exist in spaces that we think we're not allowed to , right ? So , for instance , even just being a part of this process of Laura here at La Jolla Playhouse and showing people like queer stories and queer lives and drag specifically , deserves to be in institutions like this. When you look at a lot of my student activism , it was a lot of speaking up for the most marginalized , right ? Speaking up for those that were low income , speaking up for non-binary and queer folks and bringing them into spaces that we didn't typically see them at , bringing them to the tables that they weren't usually allowed to be at and making decisions. Right. Um , I know in my undergrad , I actually was on the strategic planning committee for San Diego State University. Right. So looking at the ways that I was able to bring in that voice to look at , how are we creating a better future for our queer , nonbinary students , right. How are we creating better spaces for our black and POC communities ? Right ? Um , I was very , very influential in bringing about our black resource center to San Diego State University. Right. Um , so I feel like so much of what I've done in my activism is by being my most authentic self and showing people that their true selves is their power , right ? And being able to harness that and giving folks permission to exchange and and engage in joy. Um , I feel like it's so much of what my activism has been able to enlighten and engage people.
S1: And , well , you mentioned Joy , and I know one of your goals , your biggest goals , is to bring out joy in your productions and performances.
S6: But I also think just in the everyday of engaging with people and showing them that there are moments of joy that we can have , even in the midst of all of the terrible things that are going on politically and socially , that that should not deter us from being able to engage with our joy. Because if we don't have joy , then how are we then ? How are we able to refill ourselves ? How are we able to continue to push forward and be these advocates and be these leaders if we are not refilling of our own cup ? Right. Um , and I feel like that is why Joy is such a giant proponent of who I am , not only in my drag , but in my everyday life. I feel like I strive to want to bring more joy into this world because there is too many. There was. There was too much in this world that seeks to steal our joy.
S4: Yeah , well.
S1:
S6: I mean , what is it that I mean , the the the world , the world truly is my oyster. And I feel like what is so wild to me is that in only ten years , at only the age of 28 , I've been able to do so much already. So I , I really don't know. But I know that it's only it's only bigger and better. And up from here , I feel like what I would love to see in my future is continuing to grow. Not only my drag family , but also continuing to grow. My production company , Sisters of Saint James Productions , um , continuing to work with such amazing artists like Sasha Velour and my other castmates mates and really just continuing to push more and more joy into this world and showing people that they are allowed to give themselves permission to be their most authentic selves. Right. And to never let other folks tell them that they're not allowed to exist in spaces. We , as queer and trans folks , are allowed to exist in every space , in any space. Because most of the times we are the creators of the joy that happens in those spaces.
S1: And it's great. I've been speaking with Amber Saint James , drag performer and producer. You can catch them at velour , a drag spectacular which runs at the La Jolla Playhouse until September 15th. Amber , thank you so much for joining us.
S6: Of course , it has been such a joy and I can't wait to hopefully come back.
S1: We'd love to have you back. Still ahead , the holistic aspect of Afrofuturism.
S7: Afrofuturism is more than just comic books and art. While I love both of those things , I see them as mediums through which we can promote health , wellness , This economic development and growth in improved family situations.
S1: Hear more about that and Afro Future Con when Midday Edition returns. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition I'm Jade Hindman. Afro Future Con is set to return this weekend. It started back in 2021 as a celebration of Afrofuturist art , creativity and thinking. Doctor Luana Richmond created the conference. She's the executive director and founder of Green Veneers , a nonprofit focused on engineering the future through storytelling and learning. Luana , it's great to have you back on the show.
S7: Oh , it's great to be back. It's starting to feel like a regular.
S1: Well , I'm also here with Tony Washington. He's a San Diego based illustrator and 2024 Eisner Award winner. Tony , welcome to you as well.
S8: Oh , thank you so much for having me.
S1: All right. Well , I'm so glad to have you both with us. So , Luana , what does Afro Future Con stand for ? Afrofuturism.
S7: Consciousness convention. And it was , um , initiated , um , largely to help get people to understand that Afrofuturism is more than just comic books and art. While I love both of those things , I see them as mediums through which we can promote health , wellness , economic development and growth and improve family situations. Um.
S4: Um.
S1:
S7: And when I say manifesting , I mean literally reverse engineering what they see in their mind's eye. Um , to identify what actions they need to take in the present , to move in the direction of where they want to go. Hmm.
S4: Hmm.
S1: Well , Tony , you've worked in comics , video games , movies.
S8: It's a it's a great extension of what I do. I mean , being in the industry for almost 30 years now , um , it's it really does help to be able to share in a much more personal level with what I do. I mean , being at Comic-Con , it's a very big show. Uh , and , you know , a lot of , a lot of people are there. It's a difficult sometimes to have a deeper connection and being able to share what I do as a , as a creative and just as a person in general , to be able to share some of the ends that I've had in the industry for so many years with people in the community. So to be able to connect at a show like this is extremely important because I'm able to share what I do with the exact same experience of what I do at Comic-Con. Um , on a great scale that I can actually connect people with so I can share my experience , share my how I create the art , and be able to review art in person , too. There's there's artists from previous shows who have brought me their portfolios , and I'm able to give constructive criticism to. And it really makes it a , a greater experience for me as an artist and a person to be able to , um , have a direct connection with our community here in San Diego.
S1: And you actually designed the poster for this year's con. Could you describe the art we're looking at ? Absolutely.
S8: And I had the honor. I had a great sit down , uh , you know , with Doctor Richmond to go over some of the general concepts I had. Um , Aubrey Rose was the original designer of the. I called it a mascot or the representative for , uh , Afro Future Con. And I really , really , uh , loved her design. And I wanted to be able to create a way of making a world around that same character. So I wanted to the symbolism to show like there's growing community and growing , you know , expansive worlds that , you know , we all can live in. Um , and to be able to reflect that through that visual representation , I know it's the still image , but it's really important for me to be a convey a really , you know , hopefully well thought out poster and concept. I've really got into it and , you know , thank goodness , um , you know , Doctor Richmond in the team , uh , took the idea as well. So I wanted to be able to expand on the great concept that , uh , you know , Aubrey had done , um , it's kind of , you know , build a world right around that same character.
S1:
S8: For me , I mean , I really saw the sunflowers as , as that , as the birthplace for different generations , not only of technology but of just civilization in general. So the field is filled with just thousands of sunflowers. That all that all will contain their own civilization and and world that will be able to grow from. And that was one of the things in the background you can even see with inside the Earth. There's already a , you know , full fledged city that's already been then been built just based off of the the initial sunflower concept. But I thought that'd be a really great way of connecting , uh , connecting just Earth itself into technology and future kind of thought provoking ideas that , you know , we all can talk about at , at After Future Con. So , um , I definitely wanted to find a way of encapsulating everything that we've , you know , that I've personally been a part of and just talking with Doctor Richmond as well. So that was the , you know , the initial plan for for the poster. And thankfully everyone is resonated with it pretty well.
S1:
S7: Like he showed me the concept art and I loved the concept art , but when you filled it all in and added the detail , just the level of detail with the petals falling from the sky or without animation. It still has motion , and the reaction that I get from people when I hand it to them is very different. I've actually , you know , had people ask me if they can use it for something. And , you know , I'll talk to Tony about it later in terms of like what he thinks. What I really appreciated is a lot of , um , a lot of my struggle is people not understanding how holistic the African is and only seeing like a piece of it and thinking that that's the whole thing. I feel like the art and the thought that went into it really let me know and resonated with me and let me know that , you know , if no one else sees what's going on. Tony is very clear on what's happening.
S1:
S7: And while you know , as someone who was grew up coding , I appreciate technology. And I think that it's very important that as we look to the future , that we create an intentional space for our humanity , which includes all of the other things. So , you know , it's great that , you know , we can build robots to do stuff , and it's great that we can call an AI to create some , you know , to do shortcuts to help us do our work. But we still have to remember to honor and support humanity. And a big part of that is health and wellness. And when we talk about health and wellness , we have to make sure we don't overlook mental health , which has been so stigmatized. But a lot of our physical ailments can be traced to our mental ailments. And then , you know , when we look at economics , when we look at the wealth gap , you know , it's easy to just say , oh , that's how it is. That's so sad. But the reality is , if you do want something to change , you have to be intentional about giving it energy , attention , and creating space for people to learn how to create change in their own lives.
S1: Well , the programming really reflects the holistic part of Afrofuturism.
S7: It's less , you know , in terms of the subject matter being unique and more of the focus because every panel is focused on , you know , pouring forward. Like I have a panel of children's book authors who are going to talk about , like , you know what it is , you know , why are they writing these books for our kids ? And , you know , what is it that they hope ? Um , you know , the kids are taken away from it. And then for people who are aspiring to also write children's books , um , how do they get started ? What can they do ? You know , what are some things they can do in order to get themselves published. I have another panel that is of adults who lead programs for young adults , for youth , teenagers and young adults.
S1: How are you passing along , what you've learned to the community and to the next generation ? Absolutely.
S8: I'll be on Saturday at 2:00. I'll be going. My first workshop will be for digital coloring and drawing. So I'll be going through , um , some of the software that I use with Photoshop and Clip Studio paint. There's some of the main , you know , software packages that I use for the art that I do , I'm going to be going through and breaking down a lot of that process. I'm using traditional methods that I've done over the , over the past , uh , I'll say quite a while , um , uh , that I've been using in the field and , but I want to be able to break that down for , for anyone who wants to be able to , to watch that. And I'm also going to have the opportunity to give out some of that same software this weekend too. So very happy to be able to have some great software sponsors to help provide that , um , for people in attendance. And on Sunday , I'm going to be going through more , um , I think it's at 130 , I'm going to be doing more of a digital painting workshop. So it's a little bit different. Um , frame of mind , not , not so panel and uh , comic book based , but it'd be a lot more just painterly. So I'd be able to show what can be done again , using traditional methods , um , from over the years and , but , but but translating it into digital software. So again , I'll be going through a lot of Photoshop , um , painting work and clip studio painting work and process and , and workflow to be able to share a little bit of what I've been able to do over the years and hopefully that will , um , connect with the audience that is in attendance. And again that same day I'll be able to give it more , more software that same day as well.
S4: Well , Luana.
S1: There will also be an inclusive language arts contest.
S7: In this case , we're focusing a lot of attention on the fact that the word black has been stigmatized as negative. The instances in which black is presented as a positive are very , very rare. But you've got like black male , black ball , black list , black sheep , all of these like negatives. And so it's so important that the sponsor who is supporting the contest approached me and said she wanted to give away $10,000 for people to create inclusive art. She wanted to host a $10,000 art contest. And so the art contest is open to adults and children and the contestants. We've got 32 pieces , ranging in age from like four to like 84 , and different levels of skill and different interpretations of the prompt. And language is very important because the words that we use shape the way that we feel , the way that we think , the way that we perceive things. And so if we're constantly using the word black as a negative , then it's very easily psychologically to associate those same negative connotations with black people who , you know , incidentally , are mostly shades of brown.
S1: Very true.
S7: Because I particularly do this in Southeast San Diego , um , with a group of people that ordinarily , you know , the audience that I'm looking at normally doesn't even go to conferences. And the opportunity to expand your thinking and to meet and identify other people who think similarly to you. Collaborations are born like , it's really cool to me when I find out that , like , somebody's granddaughter went to one of my events , met an artist , showed them their portfolio , and now they're doing commissions. It's also exciting to me when people who didn't think they could have a better future than what they have in the present start to like , make choices like get training or go to school or learn a trade or , you know , start that hobby or that art that they thought was just fun and turn it into a full time business. One of the creators that entered our inclusive language art contest , um , have very little confidence that people would even get like , you know , people would see his art and get it. So it's been interesting watching him see how other people react to his art.
S1: I've been speaking with doctor LaWanda Richmond , executive director and founder of Gree owners. Luana , thank you so much.
S7: Thank you for having me.
S1: And Tony Washington , San Diego based illustrator Tony , thank you as well.
S8: Oh thank you.
S1: You can go check out Afro Future Con on August 31st and September 1st at the Educational Cultural Complex. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
