The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Photographer Schaun Champion

Schaun Champion is an international photographer, filmmaker, and instructor who specializes in natural light, portraiture, fine art, and cultural documentary-work.

The Desired EffectKaren SmithSeptember 6, 2021#schaunchampion, #photographer, #BlackWomenArtist, #WeWieldTheHammer, #wwth, #blackwomenartist, #blackphotographer, #ALookingGlassProject, #blackwomanphotographer, #blackartist

In the Studio: We're Listening to Odetta This Week

Get to know folk legend, Odetta, this week.

In the Studio PlaylistsKaren SmithAugust 16, 2021Odetta, BlackMusic, Folk, FolkMusic, Black Women

The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Rhiannon Giddens

Rhiannon Giddens is one of the most vibrant musicians of our time.

The Desired EffectKaren SmithAugust 2, 2021rhiannongiddens, blackwomen, blackwomenartist, TomorrowIsMyTurn, banjomusic, fiddlemusic, CarolinaChocolateDrops, WWTH, We Wield the Hammer, AmericanMusic, OurNativeDaughters

In the Studio: We're Listening to African Spirit This Week

Breathe in the spirit of Africa with this warm and inviting Pan-African sound.

Brittany LubyJuly 19, 2021African Music, Pan-African, African Spirit, Black Music

The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Zanzibar's Hurumzi Henna Art Gallery

The women of Hurumzi Henna Art Gallery transform traditional henna body arts into paintings and prints.

The Desired EffectKaren SmithJuly 5, 2021Zanzibar, HurumziHenna, blackwomenartists, hennaartist, hennaartgallery, SwahiliBodyPainting, traditionaldesigns, wwth, We Wield the Hammer

In the Studio: We're Celebrating James Baldwin This Week

James Baldwin. He was brilliant, passionate and a race man in every sense of the word. He loved a good time especially when it included music.

In the Studio PlaylistsKaren SmithJune 14, 2021chezbaldwin, jamesbaldwin, InTheStudio, We Wield the Hammer, wwth

The Desired Effect: Black "Rosies" Are the Original Women Who Wielded the Torch

For African American women, becoming a Rosie was not only an opportunity to aid in the war effort, but also a chance for economic empowerment.

The Desired EffectKaren SmithJune 1, 2021#rosietheriveter, #blackrosie, #africanamericanwomen, #blackwomen, #BitterFruit, #greatmigration

In the Studio: We're Listening to Questlove's Michelle Obama Tribute This Week

This week’s playlist is Michelle Obama's Musiaqualogy Vol 1 1964-1979 by none other than Questlove because now is always a good time for a Michelle Obama appreciation post.

In the Studio PlaylistsKaren SmithMay 17, 2021MichelleObama, BlackWomenRock, ForeverFirstLady, Questlove

The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Joana Choumali

Joana Choumali is a freelance photographer based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, who investigates the concept of beauty and bodily perfection. What is it to be considered to have a perfect body?

The Desired EffectKaren SmithMay 3, 2021JoanaChoumali, blackphotographer, blackartist, africanartist, africanwomenartist, africanwomanphotographer, wwth, wewieldthehammer, Awoulabi, Nappy, African Photographer

In The Studio: What We're Listening To This Week

It has been a heavy week, and for that matter a heavy 400 years. Here’s a mix of our favorite protest music through the ages to empower and soothe our souls. Rest in power, George Floyd and the many lives lost too soon to state violence.

Karen SmithApril 26, 2021wewieldthehammer, wwth, protestmusic, blackmusic, heavenhelpus

In the Studio: We're Listening to Protest Music This Week

How are YOU coping with the assaults on Black lives today? Whenever I think I can’t take anymore, I remember to breathe. And listen.

In the Studio PlaylistsKaren SmithApril 21, 2021InTheStudio, ProtestMusic, BlackPride, BlackMusic

The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Sokari Douglas Camp CBE, Metal Artist Extraordinaire

Nigerian-born Sokari Douglas Camp belongs to the first generation of African women artists to have attracted the attention of the international market.

Karen SmithApril 20, 2021SokariDouglasCamp, MetalArtist, blackmetalsmithartist, sculpture, blackwomenmetalsmith, blackwomanartist, blindloveandgrace, europesupportedbyafricaandamerica, godschildrengodsgift, blackartist, africanwomanartist, africanwomanscu, CBE

In the Studio: We're Listening to Ebony Love This Week

This week’s favorite playlist was lovingly curated by Adisa Ajamu, scholar, poet, activist and all around lover of all things black and beautiful. What could be more perfect?

In the Studio PlaylistsKaren SmithFebruary 11, 2021EbonyLove, BlackMusic, AdisaAjamu, BlackAndBeautiful, BlackLove

The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Alice Kayibanda, Photographer

Alice Kayibanda calls herself a street photographer and indeed her captures of everyday life in Rwanda are shocking in their everyday beauty.

The Desired EffectKaren SmithDecember 17, 2020blackwomen, blackartist, blackphotographer, AliceKayibanda, Photography, Rwanda, RwandanArtist

In Studio: We're Listening to Fatoumata Diawara This Week

Here’s what we’re listening to in the studio this week! Fatoumata Diawara kicks off this week’s list and we’re already in heaven.

In the Studio PlaylistsKaren SmithDecember 7, 2020FatoumataDiawara, BlackMusic, InTheStudio

The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Cecile McLorin Salvant, Artistic “Genius”

I first heard this extraordinary singer, a 2020 MacArthur Genius winner at a venue in San Francisco and I was so floored by the timbre of her voice, her choice of lyric and her youth, that I immediately purchased her work so I could listen over and over.

The Desired EffectKaren SmithDecember 1, 2020blackwomen, blackmusic, CecileMcLorinSalvant, MacArthurGeniusWinner

The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Guerlande Balan

Guerlande Balan has broken traditions by creating beautiful works in communities dominated by men. And in this pursuit, she was supported by her brother.

The Desired EffectKaren SmithNovember 17, 2020blackmetalsmith, blackwomenmetalsmith, GuerlandeBalan, hatianmetalarts, blackmetalsmithartist, Bosmétal

The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Winifred Mason Chenet

Sometimes we are fortunate to make in pristine and controlled environments with extraordinary tools; sometimes we create in more modest circumstances driven by an unknown force; and sometimes, we are born creatives, unable to ignore the light inside us that must be brought forth.

The Desired EffectKaren SmithNovember 7, 2020blackmetalsmith, blackmetalsmithartist, blackwomenmetalsmith, winifredmasonchenet, veve, hatianmetalarts, haiti Comments

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