Kenturah Davis an illustrator, painter, and sculptor based between L.A., New Haven, and Accra, has approached her relationship to artmaking in pandemic time by offering literature and storytelling. The event series “Black Voices, Black Joy,” in partnership with the Hammer Museum and the Felipe de Neve Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, features Davis reading from her favorite children’s books in a format akin to a fireside chat. While Davis was in talks to begin the series before the pandemic, the lockdown and the open structure aided the project to continue online as both live virtual events and an archival object. Davis’s work in education (she is also an assistant professor at Occidental College) and her drive to do something for “younger folks” guided her decision to participate in the program.
“Resisting the problems dumped on Black people allows me more time and space to do the work I want to do, the work I am already doing,” Davis said, noting that inequities faced by Black people within COVID-19 are yet another of those problems. “Despite all that’s going on, I feel like it’s a beautiful moment where mutual aid is a top priority. I’m inspired by the landscape of my peers doing the work to make a change in a tangible way.”
This excerpt was part of a longer article, which can be found below.