MKAI Designs

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BG9fRS8wv/

Please share with your network in Japan.
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1544212234381117&id=100063770643327&post_id=100063770643327_1544212234381117&mibextid=CDWPTG

It is with delight that I present new work created during my KYOTOGRAPHIE African Artists Residency last year!

During this residency, I immersed myself in Japanese textile craftsmanship, working with masters like Kondaya Genbei who made the kimono used in this particular artwork.

Historically, textiles have been a meeting point for many cultures, with the influence of trade, global events, and the intermingling of traditions woven into their fibres. In More Than Half, I bring together the two worlds of Japan and Kenya to speak about one’s place in a community and present a world where belonging is not granted by resemblance, but expanded by existence.

I cannot wait to share this new work (and some Camo!) with you!

Come and see ‘Camo’, Presented by , at Kondaya Genbei Chikuin-no-Ma opening 18th April.

Photographer:
Kimono:

Sacred geometry in architecture at its finest.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CoXBwgGaE/

Detroiters, we need to come out in droves!

Get Tickets Now May 22 at Diamondback Music Hall | Belleville, MI | 18+ | VIP Meet & Greet Available

How refreshing!

There’s a small island in Norway called Sommarøy—and it doesn’t follow time. No clocks. No schedules. Just freedom. In summer, the sun never sets for 69 days. You’ll find people playing football at 3 AM or swimming under the midnight sky. 🌞🌙 During winter, the island turns into a northern lights paradise. The sky lights up like a dream, every single night. 🌌✨ Here, people live by what they feel—not by what the clock says. No one rushes. No pressure. Just peace. Sommarøy isn’t just a place. It’s a reminder that life doesn’t have to be lived on a schedule. . . . Share this video with someone you’d love to travel with ✈️ . . DM for credit or removal request (no copyright intended for footage video and music) ©️ All rights and credits reserved to the respective owner(s) . #limitlessmiinds #mindset #wisdom #motivation #inspiration #motivational #lifelessons #lifequotes #motivationalspeakers #motivationalspeech #motivationalquotes #motivationalspeaker . Life quotes, rich mindset, valuable content, motivation, success, life management, productivity, inspirational stories, motivational anecdotes, success stories, inspiring lessons, life quotes.

Powerful reflection by Rhiannon Giddens on what the Grammy's value most. That last bit of news shocked me!

My GRAMMY story from 2010.

Back in 2010, the Carolina Chocolate Drops (at that time the original trio, myself, Dom Flemons, and Justin Robinson) were up for a Best Folk Music GRAMMY. It felt like a big deal to us even though I was (and still am) conflicted about the 'industry' part of the music industry - but after years of championing homegrown fiddle and banjo music from the Carolinas this felt like the big leagues! We were working class musicians at that time - I remember when Dom used to drive and I would be literally making CDs in the back seat as we went from gig to gig. We were making enough money to live, but barely - and we were young and healthy and lucky.

People might not know this, but it's expensive to go to the GRAMMYs - if you are nominated, you pay for your flight, hotel, hair makeup, dress, food, what have you, yourself. All nominees receive a plus one to the ceremony and after party, and for a lot of non-mainstream folks, win or lose, it's a moment of a lifetime.

I have lots of feels about awards for art, as I've mentioned before, but I get the need to celebrate an artform, and a lot of good people are trying to make things better.

So we decided to go - I had a nursing toddler by the time the Grammy nomination came, and I brought her and her dad Mike as my plus one.

It was a surreal experience - i bought my gown from somewhere, did my own hair and makeup, and we found a holiday inn in the less glitzy part of Los Angeles. We got a car to drop us off at the red carpet interview spot, and I remember clearly that absolutely zero press was interested in us 😂. I liked to say we were old time music spies that day. We filed into the afternoon ceremony, where 99 percent of the categories go and looked nervously in the program for where our category was. It was parked in the middle of the list, so we settled in for a wait. My daughter Aoife would occasionally want to nurse so i went to the restroom the first couple of times and then just gave up and nursed her in the auditorium - it was dark and i had a shawl on for just that purpose, and strapless gowns for the nursing win!

So we sat there and watched category after category and a pattern quickly became clear. The categories in the more mainstream genres were rarely accepted in person, as those famous people were getting ready for the actual ceremony in the evening; 'podium accepts' was depressingly often. The bright spots came in the less mainstream categories where you could see excited, dressed up people who were having the day of their lives when they won; folks who had come far from small towns, reservations, and close-knit communities, or who wrote liner notes, or were engineers - were having a small slice of the high life and a bit of spotlight, and loving it.

But it was clear to me that to the larger industry this ceremony felt almost like an after thought - it wasn't (and isn't) televised and was often bewildering. There was a constant stream of people going in hopeful and out depressed; there was some really offensive "humor" from presenter Kathy Griffin; and I was getting more and more weirded out by the whole thing. By the time Best Americana Music album came up, the category before ours, I was feeling pretty low. And then Mavis Staples won - somehow her first personal Grammy in her incredibly long and illustrious career - and she set it all right for me. She accepted with charm and humor (saying to the folks trying to play her off, "It took me a long time to get here, so I'm going to take my time" and we all went nuts) and I sat there with my baby in my arms and my partner at my side, and I thought, Ok that's why I'm here! How beautiful. Her graceful acceptance of an accolade that was way overdue, while standing for all that is good and just in the very purpose of music, erased my bitterness and brought me peace. And then we won, and all I could think was, Mavis and Joe Thompson were seen here today. My family got to witness it all. I can let the rest go.

And after the pictures me and Mike and Aoife went back to the hotel, eschewing the big parties, ordered pizza, and watched the Simpsons on TV while Aoife passsed out between us. One of my favorite moments in life.

Why am I telling this story? Because the onslaught on the working class musician was taken up a notch this year. I am not going to the GRAMMYs for various reasons in February but I have just heard that the companion ticket is no longer free but costs 1200 dollars.

For all the big names that's easy, and for middle class musicians like me, its doable, if super annoying. For the folks who are just making ends meet, harder than ever in a world that is systematically erasing every avenue the musician used to have to actually make money from their music, from Spotify to closed venues to digitized orchestras, it's a slap in the face.

There are folks within the GRAMMY ranks who really love music and are trying to change things for the better. I get that. The afternoon ceremony has slowly been upgraded and is now even livestreamed! But honestly, this is a really bad look - and it makes it ever more obvious who is valued, and more specifically what (that would be lots of money, for the folks in the back).

I'm so conflicted even posting about this what with all that is going on but it is a part of life, and so, here it is. This picture wouldn't exist if the policy then was what it is now, and that makes me sad.

Music is art. Family. Empathy. Love. We've made it about money, and that's a tragedy bigger than we know.

Big thanks to Cathy Fink for the heads up.
pic by Getty Images.

Artist: Asha Tyson
Title: It takes a Village

"Knowledge is Power"