32…THIRTY-TWO?!!
If you’re reading, it’s after August 14th at 6pm EST and I am on a flight to Ghana for 2 weeks with no social media, iMessage or Whatsapp access. I will only be reachable through email (2x over those 2 weeks) and on the new number I will get after buying a sim card locally and loading it with phone credit. Why are you doing this, Nate? Well the answer lies in the fact that I am quite overwhelmed and need a real break (also I have to go bury my aunt and grandfather and go to their funerals but it’s a celebration of life so please don’t be sad). I have been looking forward to this break for months and now that it’s finally here, I couldn’t be more excited. As usual, I will have 32 images in here for you to look at as you read.
Almost every year, I write a post for my birthday. This started when I turned 28, spending time in Chicago with my dear friend, Adrienne. I was on the phone with her yesterday (writing this on August 13th, Happy birthday to all the Leos) and wondered what I would write about this year. I mean every year I just blab and hope at the end, I can string the thoughts together enough to make an embroidery worth your time. So when I got home from my mini NYC expedition, for a meeting, seeing Tia and going to The MET, I started brainstorming what this should be about. What have I learned? What am I doing and what is next? After the brainstorming exercise, which happened after an edit session with Kodjo and Felix, I came to the conclusion that these are the things I want to talk about. I wanna discuss the grief and love of the year, the successes of the year, my friends who should get some shoutouts, At The Garden, doing things that make me uncomfortable or are unusual, my creative partnership with Avery and finally, my goals/hopes for 33.
This year was hilariously bad at one point. I remember going to therapy one day and my therapist, Sandy, who has abandoned me in my time of need (not really, she just retired), saying “I have never met anyone who has had to deal with a 6 month stretch like you, son. Seriously, are you okay?” and I answered with my usual “it is what it is”. I look back to that session a lot. Thinking about how it was the lowest point and how it felt. And from that moment, things began the journey to the net positive. It’s quite insane to think I had the emotional and psychological dexterity to deal with all those losses and make it out but I have nothing to say but THANK GOD. But the bad parts, although important color to the painting called life, aren’t what we will focus on. This year, I started a production company that focuses on editorial photography, commercials and filmmaking called Kanea.tv with 2 of my closest friends, Felix and Kodjo. My film The Art, The Artist & The Enthusiast played at the Seattle Film Society & was selected for the Seattle Black Film Festival. My production company produced 6 ads, 3 short shorts and now in post production for 2 more short films. I couldn’t be more proud of myself and my friends. WE DID THAT SHIT! The lesson here is to just keep going, it gets horrid sometimes but the light will squeeze itself through the tall buildings of despair. Just trust yourself and the journey.
At The Garden was a 5 day art exhibition and Film Festival that took place in Pioneer Square over the course of 6 days, some of which were parallel to Seattle Art Week. The show was curated by myself and Avery Barnes, renowned gallerist, good friend and little sister, and was with support from 4Culture and marketing support from Seattle Art Fair (still fucking blows my mind). The show was organized by Arrived Creative Collective, Inc and had extreme administrative support from Nate who was in Europe at that time. It is the most successful event I have ever organized (excluding those WVU parties at the green house) and one of my proudest moments not only as a curator but as a community organizer. We had a total of 14 artists, including myself spanning various mediums from photography to fine art to botanical art. We had 5 films play and they were all so insightful and singular. I had 2 images on display at the show and they both meant different things. “do angels pray?” was the one that people had the most conversation with me about. It had me thinking a lot about my work and its place in the current state of not only arts but human relationships. I really want this piece to live in as many homes as possible and I am excited to explore some ideas about that, very soon. Hopefully, I am able to figure it out and with people like Avery, Kodjo and Felix on my side, I truly believe I can make it happen. Speaking of Avery, I wanna give her a huge shout out for pushing the ceiling of what I thought was possible when we started discussing this show. Her ambition and deep need to change the status quo has heavily influenced me and I believe I dream bigger because she dreams even bigger. Thank you, friend! You’re one of a kind!
So, this is a birthday post after all (my actual birthday is August 18), I wanna tell y’all about what I hope 33 (Jesus year, wow) brings. I truly feel like I got closer to God this year, I can finally hear their voice when we talk and even when I am galavanting and I hope for more of that. I hope I’m able to deepen our relationship. I hope to continuously grow the new friendships I have made. The people who showed up for me this year, you deserve endless love and success and if I can make it happen, I will. I hope that we are able to grow Kanea past our wildest dreams and expectations. I hope our success becomes a platform to highlight and spotlight our peers. I hope for more success for Arrived. I hope we are able to actually put on more shows and set up a residency program. I hope for more personal projects. As I mentioned, I will be in Ghana without access and I hope I come back with a brain that’s clear and ready to create. I hope to write more and finally start the ball rolling on my feature. I think it’s almost there and I am truly excited. I hope to experience love and care, even more of that. I have been very lucky to have love in this life and hope for more of it. Last but not the least, I hope all my niggas make it! We deserve that shit!
Before I leave this MacBook, a few things;
- FREE Congo, Sudan, Palestine, West Papua, Tigray, Haiti, Burma/Myanmar, Uyghurs, Syria, Kashmir, Cameroon, Armenia and Kurdistan!
- This excerpt from Into The Blue by Octavia Butler that my friend Ruth shared with me:
“All that you touch
You Change.
All that you Change
Changes you.
The only lasting truth
is Change.
God
is Change.”
Here’s to changing, constantly!
Below is the birthday playlist on the different platforms:
Oh one last thing, saw this in the email signature from Tia and I wanna include it in this post;
Recently read and loved:
The Elegance of Digital Disappearance by Miss Typed (Larissa sent me this)
Recently watched and loved:
For Someone Somewhere Who Isn’t Us by Samm Henshaw
Currently on repeat:
Have A Baby (with me) by Daniel Caesar
Let God Sort Em Out by Clipse
