The M'Dear Project

M’Dear calls the name of… 🕊️🤍🕊️ Rest in paradise, Nona Faustine, the Brooklyn-bred photographer and visual artist whose work explored womanhood, identity, representation, and inconvenient truths through a deep examination of systemic racism and unacknowledged histories that impact Black lives. In her “White Shoes” series (1st slide), she challenged the burdens placed on Black women by, as the The New York Times puts it, “revisiting locations with histories of enslavement and reimagining the body as a site of power.” By putting herself in their shoes, Faustine’s body of work did the supernatural; it became a vehicle for reclamation and restitution. “The true lives of Black women in the United States, if not in the world, are not seen... I wanted to show our lives and who we are. We are very special. Not just because of our suffering but because of our beauty and strength. The reinvention and the creativity that oozes out. The bravery.” - Nona Faustine, Bomb Magazine Brooklyn and the art world will miss Nona Faustine. Our hearts and prayers are with her daughter, extended family and friends. ❤️🖤💚 #NonaFaustine #restinparadise Repost @mocada_museum

M’Dear Celebrates International Women’s Day! ✨📸✨ We’re celebrating with these 3 iconic women photographers who are continuing to expand the creative industry with their surreal, distinctive & powerful imagery. Showcasing the many realities of those they capture, each one of these photographers use their lens to create an otherworldy feel that only begins to reflect their dedication to craft. Kennedi Carter (@internetbby ) Dana Scruggs (@danascruggs ) who was featured in @thesoundshesawfilm ✨✨ Renell Medrano (@renellmedrano ) Repost @photodom.nyc Head over www.photodom.blog to read more about these amazing trailblazers. #InternationalWomensDay

M’Dear Celebrates International Women’s Day! ✨📸✨ We’re celebrating with these 3 iconic women photographers who are continuing to expand the creative industry with their surreal, distinctive & powerful imagery. Showcasing the many realities of those they capture, each one of these photographers use their lens to create an otherworldy feel that only begins to reflect their dedication to craft. Kennedi Carter (@internetbby ) Dana Scruggs (@danascruggs ) who was featured in @thesoundshesawfilm ✨✨ Renell Medrano (@renellmedrano ) Repost @photodom.nyc Head over www.photodom.blog to read more about these amazing trailblazers. #InternationalWomensDay

M’Dear Celebrates International Women’s Day! ✨📸✨ We’re celebrating with these 3 iconic women photographers who are continuing to expand the creative industry with their surreal, distinctive & powerful imagery. Showcasing the many realities of those they capture, each one of these photographers use their lens to create an otherworldy feel that only begins to reflect their dedication to craft. Kennedi Carter (@internetbby ) Dana Scruggs (@danascruggs ) who was featured in @thesoundshesawfilm ✨✨ Renell Medrano (@renellmedrano ) Repost @photodom.nyc Head over www.photodom.blog to read more about these amazing trailblazers. #InternationalWomensDay

M’Dear Celebrates International Women’s Day! ✨📸✨ We’re celebrating with these 3 iconic women photographers who are continuing to expand the creative industry with their surreal, distinctive & powerful imagery. Showcasing the many realities of those they capture, each one of these photographers use their lens to create an otherworldy feel that only begins to reflect their dedication to craft. Kennedi Carter (@internetbby ) Dana Scruggs (@danascruggs ) who was featured in @thesoundshesawfilm ✨✨ Renell Medrano (@renellmedrano ) Repost @photodom.nyc Head over www.photodom.blog to read more about these amazing trailblazers. #InternationalWomensDay

M’Dear celebrates @danielle_mckinney_ 💕💕~ Black HerStory “Each stitch on this 9th #DiorLadyArt creation embodies the flight of the imagination, as @Danielle_Mckinney_ brings her nuanced exploration of women’s interior lives to the #LadyDior. The artist’s signature contrasts of light and vivid tones invite a deeper look, beyond the needlepoint to the narratives of metamorphosis that lie within.” © Photo: @JoePerri

The Great Alma Thomas - M’Dear’s Black HerStory 🖤

B R O O K L Y N at treat coming to the main library! ✨✨✨ Repost from @nikolehannahjones • Join us for the launch event for the 1619 Project: A Visual Experience Oct. 22 at the @bklynlibrary where I will be in conversations with @thelmagolden and where we will open the exhibit of original art commissioned for the book. The event and exhibit is free and open to the public. That is why I chose the public library, so that anyone in the community can come and experience and join us in dialogue. I will also be signing books, which will be sold by @taylorcobooks . It’s going to be an amazing night. Come through, BROOKLYN. Register at link in bio. 📷 : Thee amazing @iamreginafleming

M’Dear continues to celebrate all Black artists on the 2nd day of Women’s HerStory Month. Deep Deep Bow to the ground-breaking M’Dear Augusta Savage!!! 💐💐💐 A waymaker..Augusta Savage. A great documentary by @pbs about her life. Nice work @drartsculturegirl I enjoyed being a part of your journey. Augusta Savage -I have created nothing really beautiful, really lasting, but if I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent I know they possess, then my monument will be in their work.”—T. R. Poston, “Augusta Savage,” Metropolitan Magazine, Jan. 1935, n.p. The sculptor Augusta Savage was one of the foremost female African-American artists of her generation. Her work played a major role within the Harlem Renaissance during the first half of the twentieth century. Best known for her small portrait sculptures, Savage rendered her subjects in a considered and compassionate way. Her iconic busts helped immortalize key civil rights personalities, while her portrait bust of a Black street kid, (Gamin), was destined to become a career-defining work. Confirmation of her credentials came when she became the first African-American member of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors (in 1934). In addition to her sculptures, Savage is widely respected for her pioneering role as an educator, and especially for her efforts in creating arts education programs within her Harlem community.-The ARt Story #MDearBiz #MDearApproved #MDearDaughters #MDearTaughtMe #MDearLegacy

M’Dear Celebrates Women Artists Today & Everyday! ⭐️✨⭐️ On this 1st day of Women’s HerStory Month, we wanted to highlight our founder’s feature length documentary film (the 1st of its kind) that features contemporary Black women photographers @thesoundshesawfilm using their lens to reclaim their agency by redefining their narratives image by image ~ Starring groundbreaking and amazing photographers and their exquisite work @jeannemoutoussamyashe @danascruggs @waheedpix @nomadsmagazine (Lauri Lyons), @reneecoxstudio and media & publishing maven @mariellebobo 💐💐💐 TSSS is headed to the Brick City!!! ✨✨✨ In Celebration of Woman’s HerStory Month, The Sound She Saw is coming to the prestigious Newark Museum of Art! Please join us for a screening & discussion with the amazing Fabiola Jean-Louis one of the photographers featured in the film and filmmaker, Crystal Whaley ~ on Thursday March 7th / 7p to 9p. Free tix are going Fast! Link in bio! We can’t wait to see you! ✨ @fabiolajeanlouis @tabascofour @newarkmuseumart Repost @thesoundshesawfilm #MDearBiz #MDearDaughters #MDearTaughtMe #MDearLegacy

On the 29th day (A BONUS Day) of Black HerStory Month, M’Dear highlights and celebrates the gorgeous work of artist Tawny Chatmon!!!Gold Stars! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Repost from @friezeofficial In the third and final video of the series ‘Gold in Motion: Contemporary Artists on Klimt’ artist Tawny Chatmon (@tawnychatmon ) reflects on what it felt like to see Klimt’s work for the first time, what it means to adorn a body in gold and how she looks to reinterpret the museum experience for Black families. The series, produced in collaboration with Hall des Lumières (@halldeslumieres ), New York’s permanent digital art center, previously saw contemporary artists Emma Talbot and Osman Yousefzada talk about Klimt and their relationship with his work to celebrate the immersive and multi-sensory exhibition, Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion, dedicated to the Viennese artist.” -Frieze⁠ ⁠ Go to @halldeslumieres for GUSTAV KLIMT: GOLD IN MOTION #MDearBiz #MDearDaughters #MDearTaughtMe #MDearGOLDLegacy @tawnychatmon

On the 28th day of Black HerStory Month, M’Dear celebrates and honors the genius of the amazing Simone Leigh! ✨M’Dear loves @simoneyvetteleigh and how she fiercely loves Us! ✨✨✨ Repost @rhea_combs Simone Leigh’s artwork always astounds me. I never tire spending time with it. In fact, time tends to stand still when I’m “in amongst it.” So it was great revisiting it yesterday as part of the James T. Demetrion Lecture, which included a curatorial walkthrough and a conversation between Simone Leigh and Christina Sharpe. Simone offered guests beautiful, powerful insights into her work and perspectives that motivate her art. “Simone Leigh” is currently on view at The Hirshhorn through March 3. It’s a stunning show and the installation is breathtaking—the space and lighting gives one room to “sit with the works” in beautiful, profound ways. Brava all! 🖤💐✨ #MDearBiz #MDearDaughters #MDearTaughtMe #MDearLegacy