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Blacks of Are.na

@blacksofaredotna

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*connects in ebonics*
pls share your channels + findings with us.
we’re intrigued by what matters to you.

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Join us in two hours as we come together to watch 5x Favela, Agora por Nós Mesmos (2010) via zoom.

RSVP in bio 💻🍿 by @blacksofaredotna

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2 months ago

This month, BoA Cinema Club presents 5x Favela, Agora por Nós Mesmos (2010), a landmark anthology that hands the camera to filmmakers from Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, offering stories shaped by the people who know these communities from the inside.

Across five short films, the collection challenges familiar narratives with humor, tenderness, and complexity, inviting us to consider who gets to tell a place’s story.

Join us on July 27 via Zoom for a virtual screening and conversation hosted by Paris Vincent.

Drop “RSVP” in the comments for the RSVP link.
See you then! by @blacksofaredotna

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3 months ago

“Solèy: Process Story” (https://www.are.na/od-agne/soley-process-story) a channel by OD AGNE of @soley.world (https://www.are.na/od-agne/channels)

“’A world in which Haitian culture thrives globally’” 
Every world begins somewhere.

Before an idea becomes iteration, there are fragments. Questions. References. Memories. Images gathered in search of something not yet fully formed.

For the first installment of In Process, our behind-the-scenes series exploring the ideas, blocks, and channels behind projects born out of the diaspora and built on Are.na, we’re spending time with Soléy, a forward-thinking initiative centered on Haitian culture and identity.

The blocks of this channel offer a glimpse into the foundations of that vision. They trace a process of worldbuilding, revealing how Are.na became common ground for gathering references, shaping a shared language, and discovering Haiti in more places than not. In architecture, album covers, silhouettes, signs. In the stories we inherit and the futures we choose to imagine.

From this foundation, Soléy took shape. A platform committed to amplifying Haitian culture by reconnecting the diaspora to its land, history, and each other while envisioning a world where Haitian culture thrives globally.

This year, Soléy presents Nou Ayiti: A Reimagining of Haiti’s Future. Bringing together more than 40 artists, storytellers, and changemakers from across the globe, the virtual exhibition invites each contributor to envision their own definition of a new Ayiti (Haiti). Their works draw strength from Haiti’s revolutionary past while illuminating the boundless possibilities of its future.

We urge you to connect with Soléy across platforms as their journey continues to unfold. by @blacksofaredotna

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3 months ago

The portal is officially open.

Today, we are proud to launch SLATROP, the inaugural exhibition of BoA Gallery (BoAG), a new virtual exhibition series by Blacks of Are.na.

Over the past several months, artists, curators, writers, and collaborators have come together to consider the portal not as a destination, but as a site of transformation—a threshold where memory, imagination, history, and possibility converge.

The result is a collection of works spanning collage, sculpture, video, photography, digital media, and mixed media. Some portals transport us through memory. Others through grief, imagination, intimacy, conflict, ancestry, or possibility. Together, they invite us to reconsider how we move between worlds, identities, and ways of knowing.
Thank you to every artist who trusted us with their work and to every community member who helped bring this vision to life.
The gallery is now live. 
Visit the exhibition through the link in bio. 
Displayed in this post are works that you can find on display in the gallery by our featured artists. 
Credits:
1. Halina Edwards, The Teacher, 2025. Cellophane, bamboo, string, nylon. @halina___edwards
2. Justin Jenkins, Knuckle Up, Buckle Up, 2026. @mistadeadhead
3. Dylan Fragnière Akono, Untitled, 2025. Analog collage on paper, oil stick, and oil pastel on paper. @dada_okafor
4. Moustafa Hassan, C.O.W. (Cost of War), 2023. Mixed media, archival print, digital. @muemuto
5. Baaba Andrews, for y(our) loved ones, 2025. Digital collage. @sun.sonics
6. Alice Otieno, Album Art for “Meu lugar é seu lugar”, 2025. Photography shot on iPhone @aliceeo_
7. Chris Osagie, In Praise of Opacity IV, 2026. Single-channel video (excerpt); TouchDesigner, Insta360 X5, 360° capture. @chrisosagie_

Curated by Makéila NéVette @makeilanevette and Cody “Loc” Lockyear @codylockyear by @blacksofaredotna

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4 months ago

If you’re not tapped into our editorial space on Substack yet, the girls have been pressing publish!

This week, we’re celebrating the work of our editor, @jazzijayog, resident artist @sun.sonics, and guest writer and curator @makeilanevette. Together, they’ve contributed two thoughtful pieces exploring the relationship between time, place, and the portals that emerge where they intersect.

In “On Alternative Time,” Jasmine Lewis, accompanied by artwork from Baaba Andrews, closes our first 2026 chapter, Time, with a communal reflection while opening the door to our next chapter, Place.

In “SLATROP: Understanding the Creative Process as a Method of Portal Opening (BoAG),” Makéila NéVette offers a deeper look into tomorrow’s inaugural virtual gallery and explores how art itself can function as a portal.

Read both pieces on our Substack via the link in our highlights, and subscribe to receive future essays, reflections, and community contributions directly in your inbox. by @blacksofaredotna

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4 months ago

SLATROP. May, 30th, 2026
A new virtual exhibition kicking off the Blacks of Are.na Gallery (BoAG) series
Exploring Black creativity, memory, and cultural preservation through digital space, SLATROP centers the idea of portals as both artistic and spiritual technology. Through photography, painting, music, graphic design, digital media, and more the exhibition reflects on Black art as a site of witnessing, reflection, and preservation.

Featuring works by:
Alice Otieno @aliceeo_
Justin Jenkins @mistadeadhead
Chris Osagie @chrisosagie_
Halina Edwards @halina___edwards
Moustafa Hassan @muemuto
Baaba Andrews @sun.sonics
Dylan Fragnière Akono @dada_okafor

Curated by:
Makéila NéVette @makeilanevette
Cody “Loc” Lockyear @codylockyear

The exhibition goes live May 30th, 2026.

Comment “portal” for the RSVP link.

cc:

1. Dylan Fragnière Akono | “Untitled,” 2025 | Analog collage on paper

2. Chris Osagie | “In Praise of Opacity VII,” 2026 | Digital photograph; TouchDesigner, Insta360 X5, Tonal Inversion by @blacksofaredotna

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4 months ago

For May’s BoA Cinema Club, we’ll be screening Dahomey (2024), directed by @matidiop .

This 68-minute documentary follows the return of 26 looted royal treasures from France to Benin, opening up deeper questions around migration, memory, and what it means to return.

This month’s screening will take place over Zoom, making it our first BoA Cinema Club event open to the public.

Monday, May 25 at 7:00 PM CST

Comment 🗿 below to RSVP by @blacksofaredotna

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5 months ago

Y’all thought we were just going to drop a link to our first ever Gallery today and call it a day? Not quite. 🌀

The launch starts now.

Over the next two weeks, we’re inviting you to move through a portal of our own as we slowly reveal the ideas, images, and artists behind BoA’s first virtual Gallery.

Think of this as the beginning of the journey, not the destination.

The images in this carousel are drawn from our newest Are.na channel, “Streams of Thought: portals” (link in bio), the first installment of our launch and an open invitation to engage with the world you’ll be stepping into over the next two weeks. Explore the channel, add your own references, and share work inspired by how portals manifest and expand in your life.

Follow along across our socials as we catch a serious case of portal fever and share previews of the space we’ve been building ahead of the official opening on May 30th, 2026.

Trust us, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world we’ve curated. by @blacksofaredotna

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5 months ago

We typed “portals” into the void and curated what surfaced from @aredotna’s 10K search results.

A little over two weeks ago, we opened submissions for our inaugural BoA Gallery virtual exhibition. Naturally, the curatorial guide of “portals” has been on our minds.

What comes up when you type “portals” into your own inner search engine?

If you are an artist who explores this theme, or something adjacent, or feel inspired to create something new, we invite you to submit your work.

SUBMISSIONS CLOSE MAY 1st.

Program Manager @codylockyear and Curator @makeilanevette will select a handful of pieces directly from the community. All mediums are welcome, as long as they can be documented and displayed digitally in high quality.

Use the link in our bio to submit before the deadline.

You may submit a minimum of 1 piece and up to 7 total.

For more details, head to our latest Substack article. by @blacksofaredotna

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5 months ago

Don’t forget to secure your spot at tomorrow’s virtual screening of “Keeping Time” (2023) directed by Darol Olu Kae (@darolkae_) who will be joining us for a discussion and Q&A following the film.

Comment to RSVP. by @blacksofaredotna

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5 months ago

The AFROCONNECTION→ 2026 raffle was supposed to end today. However, we figured we’d even things out and give you all until the end of the month to enter yourselves to win some incredible artifacts straight from the community.

We’re officially extending the submission deadline, so you’ve got a little more time to get in on it.

Shown here is just a glimpse of what’s up for grabs. Including our “Written in Our Image” tee, worn by STR33T on the cover, along with other rare pieces from around the world.

To enter, submit your response to the survey linked in our bio. That’s it.

Submissions close at the end of the month. Best of luck to all who enter! by @blacksofaredotna

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5 months ago

We’re trying something new, y’all… Next Monday BoA Cinema Club returns with a new day, time and a very special guest!

Join us and director, Darol Olu Kae, April 27th at 7PM CST for an exclusive screening of Keeping Time (2023). A Q&A and discussion with dir. @darolkae_ will follow the screening. You won’t want to miss this one.

Tap “RSVP” and we’ll dm you the link. by @blacksofaredotna

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5 months ago