We were lucky to catch up with Sabrina Nelson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sabrina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My Series on ‘Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin’ and ‘Why You Wanna Fly Blackbird’ These two projects I have been in tandem with for over 15 years.They both talk about where we as a nation are and how we got here. When folks value real estate more than they do people, people are easily eliminated. James Baldwin talked about it in his Civil Rights activism and with WYWFBB, Women of Color bury their children daily because others do not value them as their Mothers do. I bring Baldwin back to the Frontline, as we bare witness to Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and other Lands being controlled by those who have Power over those who seem Powerless. I use the corvid bird species the Crow and Raven, to symbolise the Mothers. A group of gathered Crows is called A MURDER OF CROWS and a grouping of Ravens is called AN UNKINDNESS or A CONSPIRACY OF RAVENS. These a works using the birds as a subtle visual poem and taking Baldwin in his portraits with augmented reality to talk about our lives now and how we move together towards our futures.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born during the 67′ Rebellion in Detroit MI so with that power comes the responsibility to tell the truth to those I love. I am an Interdisciplinary Artist/ Activist Artivist. I use marks, and my body to say what needs to be said for the project. I paint, sculpt, collaborate, curate, consult, performa, draw, project and write for over 37 years. I have taught primary school and college level classes on Installation art, art making as medicine, portfolio readiness and the business of art and activism. Educated in MI through Henry Ford Community College and Center for Creative Studies. Received Women’s Caucus of Arts Presidential Lifetime Award for Art and Activism 2022 and Kresge Arts Fellow Award for 2021. Show states and countries include Fl, CA, IL, WI , MI, OH, LA, NY and Paris France and Harare Zimbabwe

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s like fresh air to my lungs. I need it, the making of course is LIFE. I’ve breathed it into my children and their children, as my Father breathed it into me. I get to go to sleep knowing I did the best that day I could. I wake up thinking I get the chance to do over what I did not do well before this new start.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I love listening to Rick Ruben on the creative Journey. I listen to James Baldwin’s old debates and will read and re read his book titled “The Fire Next Time’,opens with a short letter to Baldwin’s fourteen-year-old nephew, James, commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. I love listening to Toni Morrison and Kerry James Marshall talk about Charles White his teacher. I love looking at Frida’s resilience in her life as an artist, woman and wife. I love ‘We Should All Be Feminists”a book-length essay by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. ‘Between the World and Me’ is a letter written in three parts. Coates writes directly to his son Samori. Coates is forty years old, and Samori is fifteen. Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph written by Sheila Johnson, the cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal journey through love and loss, tragedy and triumph—an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true self, and at last finding happiness in her work and life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sabrinanelsonart.com
• Instagram: sabrinanelson67
• Facebook: Sabrina Nelson
• Twitter: nelsonsabrina
• Soundcloud: sabrina nelson
• Other: Apple Music Sabrina Nelson

Image Credits

Portrait of me taken be Bre’Ann White