Ciara LeRoy of Pretty Strange Design slid into my DMs one evening and asked if I'd be willing to participate in a photoshoot she was hosting for black creatives who are oft-overlooked in the city (my city/ my hometown) of Lexington. Without hesitation, I replied with an enthusiastic yes and it set into motion what we would be the meeting of minds, ideas, collaborations and unbeknownst to me at the time, the beginning of a movement.
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| Ciara LeRoy - artist and Black Creatives organizer extraordinaire as shot by Amani Nichae of Honey Sage Photo Co |
EVERYTHING about this gathering was black AF. Every creative featured including the photographers, down to the hostess/owner of the event space named Peri Ave which also functions as a space for the NoLi (North Lime) community and city of Lexington at large. All black-owned and black orchestrated.
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| Me pictured with Danielle Meadows-Stinett of Octane Designs and MTG Podcast (co-host), Aisha Nwandu owner of Kentucky Bloggers |
As you know at ANY and EVERY black event there MUST be food. Here is a look at the spread curated by Ciara.
THIS is the type of community I needed when I was 18. This is what I needed to see when I was growing up trying to figure out where my lofty and seemingly odd dreams and aspirations could fit in. I needed to see beautiful, successful, artistic, off-the-beaten-path black people doing things I wanted to do or at the time didn't even know existed.
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| Me in my usual grinning element as shot by Amani Nichae of Honeysage Photo Co. |
Ciara did more than just create a gathering space for some black folk that day, she helped to highlight just a portion of the talented black people that exist, work, thrive, uplift, build, create and contribute to the Lexington community at large. Her goal was to give us visibility in our own city, in a city where the same types of people are usually well represented on the same types of platforms. Lexington is a diverse city and it does a disservice to the people of all colors who have helped to build, grow and contribute positively to our town when we're not acknowledged.
Venue: Peri Ave owned by Maya McCutchen @periavelex (IG)
Organizer: Ciara LeRoy of @prettystrangedesign (IG)
Photographer: Amani Nichae of @honeysagephotoco (IG)
Black creatives (Instagram handles): @csevolutionofstyle @_martibarksdale @porschalynette @what_shayna_say @anonimuss_rose @samanhattanpr @somaisaias @octanedesigns @busticebonez @ky_ambassador @prettystrangedesign @lafetaylor @honeysagephotoco @_forgottenmagic @aishadaobi @geminisrvng @periavelex
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