ADAMA Arts Salon Episode 67
Join us for ADAMA's upcoming Arts Salon. Brea Baker to moderate a conversation with Yvonne Bynoe, Irvin Weatherby, and Johnalynn Holland.
About Moderator: Brea Baker is a writer and activist whose first book, ROOTED: The American Legacy of Land Theft & The Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership, was published with PRH/One World Books. With a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University, Brea believes deeply in political imagination and the need for nuanced storytelling that doubles as ancestral veneration. Brea is currently working on her next book — a biography of Negro Renaissance-era artist and nightclub owner, Bricktop.
Yvonne Bynoe: A curator, art consultant, and cultural commentator whose work bridges access, education, and equity in the art world. She is the founder of @SheLovesBlackArt, where she amplifies the work of artists of African descent and demystifies the art world for emerging collectors. She is the author of the forthcoming book "Art Collecting for Everyday Black Folks: The @SHELOVESBLACKART Guide to Confidently Buying Your First (Or Next) Piece of Art," a practical and empowering book designed to expand art ownership among Black Americans and promote collecting as a tool of cultural preservation and wealth-building.
Bynoe recently curated COVERED IN BLACK: Patron Saints of A Black Boy | RASHAUN RUCKER at the Projective Eye Gallery at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, exploring contemporary Black Southern art. She has spoken on panels at institutions such as the Tanya Weddemire Gallery in Brooklyn and facilitated public programs at the Harvey B. Gantt Center. Her writing has appeared in Black Art in America, and she has been featured on Bloomberg Black Business radio and in Create! Magazine.
A graduate of Howard University and Fordham University School of Law, Bynoe brings a rare combination of legal, cultural, and curatorial experience. A Brooklyn, NY native now based in Charlotte, NC she is committed to helping institutions develop culturally resonant programming and reach new audiences—especially among Black collectors, and underrepresented communities.
Irvin Weathersby: A Brooklyn-based writer and professor from New Orleans. His work has been featured in the LA Times, Elle, LitHub, Guernica, Esquire, The Atlantic, EBONY, BET, and elsewhere. He has earned an MFA from The New School, an MA from Morgan State University, and a BA from Morehouse College and has received fellowships and awards from the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation, the Research Foundation of CUNY, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Mellon Foundation. In Open Contempt is his first book.
Johnalynn Holland: A Nashville-born artist and writer whose creative path was inspired by her mother's collection of art textbooks and her grandmother's ceramic art. Holland earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Electronic Arts from The Atlanta College of Art before pursuing graduate studies at Howard University's Film and Television program.
Holland's career spans two decades in film and television post-production, followed by a successful transition to literature and illustration. Her work has appeared in The New York Times bestseller "Finish the Fight" and was featured by The Guardian for her COVID-19 healthcare worker illustrations. She also founded the e-commerce site Holland House Press.
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ADAMA Arts Salon is a series of conversations featuring contemporary artists, curators, scholars, and more from across the African Diaspora.