JENN NKIRU’S PANAFRICAN IMAGINATION: BLACK STUDIES AS AESTHETIC PRACTICE (2019)
Introduction | liquid blackness in Conversation with Jenn Nkiru | Event Schedule | Black Studies as Aesthetic Practice Research Project | About the Artist | Support
Introduction
The liquid blackness research group hosted Nkiru in April 2019 for an artist talk and masterclass to discuss her artistic inspirations and goals, her aesthetic choices, and the vital role that sound and black music plays in her filmmaking process. During the talk, liquid blackness performed a close analysis of a selected sequence from her film REBIRTH IS NECESSARY. Her work was also previously discussed at an event held at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center in March 2019 titled (A)Black Lineage of the Music Art Video, in the context of other artists from the Black Diaspora who similarly straddle the line between commercial and artistic spaces, such as Arthur Jafa, Bradford Young, and Kahlil Joseph. These same artists are also the subject of the In Focus section in the Journal of Cinema and Media Studies (JCMS vol. 59, no. 2), titled, “Modes of Black Liquidity: Music Video as Black Art” edited by Alessandra Raengo and Lauren McLeod Cramer with contributions from liquid blackness ensemble members Charles P. “Chip” Linscott, Michele Prettyman, James Tobias, and Jenny Gunn. Drawn from the collective research of the liquid blackness group, Gunn’s essay focuses specifically on Nkiru’s intergenerational pedagogical practice.
liquid blackness in Conversation with Jenn Nkiru
Event Schedule
Sunday, April 14, 4:00pm
Screening of selected works by Jenn Nkiru, followed by Q&A with the artist. Kopleff Recital Hall: 10 Peachtree Center Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30303
Support
Film and Media Studies Department, Emory University
School of Film, Media & Theatre, Georgia State University