ON BLACK ART
Orange’s Kimberly
Drew explores and
preserves African-
American creativity
The Obama White House was looking for someone
to handle Instagram during their South by South
Lawn event, and I’d worked as a social media
manager, so there was a level of trust already. They
were familiar with my work and thought I would
be a great voice for the project. I did on-the-ground
interviews and shared my experience of the event.
Common was there, and so was Jillian Mercado, the
model and activist. It was great because I had gone
to visit the White House with my family, and being
able to go back for this very specific occasion was
great.
YOU AND JENNA WORTHAM ARE COLLABORAT-
ING ON A BOOK CELEBRATING THE WORKS OF
BLACK ARTISTS. THAT’S A BIG SUBJECT. HOW WILL
YOU COVER IT? The book is about what it means
to be black and alive right now. It’ll be a mix of
photos and text that takes a screen shot of what’s
going on right now. Social media has created so
many opportunities for connections; in a black
context, how do we archive what’s going on? Black
Lives Matter started as a Facebook post. How do
we build an archive around how that movement
began?
HOW HAS LIVING IN BROOKLYN SHAPED YOUR
PARTICIPATION IN THE ART COMMUNITY? I go to
so many things in Brooklyn, for sure. The Brooklyn
Museum has great public programming, the BRIC
arts center is free and open to the public, I saw a
play at the Shakespeare Center... I write about
artists in the Brooklyn community.
YOU’VE BEEN WRITING ABOUT ARTISTS FOR A
LOT OF NATIONAL MAGAZINES LATELY. DO YOU
ENJOY THE INTERVIEW PROCESS? I love to do
interviews, in writing and in person. I like inviting
audiences to dialogue; it’s my favorite way to inter-
act. I also love to go to talks, and I want to make
the best talks possible. We’ve all been to a bad talk.
I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE A (973) TATTOO
ON THE INSIDE OF YOUR ANKLE. WHEN DID YOU
GET IT, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
I got it as soon as I turned 18; it was one of the
first tattoos I got. I have so much Jersey pride.
Ride or die for 973. ■
MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE HOLIDAY 2019
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