Be Seen Project Podcast

In today’s show, I get to chat with 5th generation cotton farmer and creative entrepreneur, Julius Tillery of Black Cotton US. Julius is one of the very last Black cotton farmers in the United States due to grueling industry practices, shrinking profit margins and the complex history of cotton in America and the struggles of Black land ownership. We talk about his connection to his family’s farm in North Carolina, how growing up on the farm and leaving to go to college both impacted his world view and fueled his passion to save his family legacy and leave a positive impact the local Black community. Julius walks us through how cotton is produced into goods that we consume and he talks honestly about the industry’s intersection with the crafting world, in the making of yarn, fabric and other high-end goods, and how farmers make such a small percentage of these finished products. It was in trying to close this gap that Julius began to innovate and create other sources of income to support his farming, and really put to work his entrepreneurial spirit. He now uses some of the raw cotton he produces to craft a unique and meaningful line of home decor, jewelry, and art. His land also serves as inspiration for local collaborations and projects, such as storytelling, photography, and the short film “Momentous”, filmed in part in his fields, which you can view at https://www.instagram.com/tv/CEmtTkNnvR3/ To support Julius and his land, shop Black Cotton US products, and learn more about the Tillery Farm visit www.blackcotton.us This was such an important conversation and great example of how structural racism works in our culture, and I really hope it inspires you to think deeply about how we consume and who it impacts. Podcast Music by SHK Productions Produced by Jen Lee Productions

So excited to be talking with Knitter and activist, Darci Kern. Darci was our very first Be Seen Project Artist Micro Grant recipient and was chosen for her ongoing photo recreation series called Knitting While Black - an incredible craftivism project you’ll learn all about in this conversation. We also talk about Darci’s roots as a maker which began with learning to sew, and about her role as an activist, scholar of Black History, and a Black knitter. To see the first 12 photos in Darci’s Knitting While Black series you can head to www.beseenproject.org Follow her work at www.darcidoesit.com

Today I’m sharing with you a conversation I had with artist, illustrator, disability and pleasure activist, and fellow Korean adoptee Kam Radlawsk. Kam creates projects that not only elevate, but celebrate disability and inclusion, while also educating and creating more representation. Kam documents what it’s like living with a very rare and degenerative muscle-wasting disorder, talks about sex and pleasure, and shares her wheelchair travels around the world, all helping dispel cultural myths that people with disabilities are incapable. In this convo, Kam opens up about her work and life at the intersections of race, adoption, disability, and activism. She shares about growing up Asian in a mostly white community, and learning to live and thrive and create with a degenerative disability. We talk about some projects she’s currently working on, like the a and awesome sex toy project she’s helping to create that will bring more pleasure to folx differently abled! The book, “Love, Lust and Disability” is a compilation of 50 creative disabled contributors in writing, art and poetry. It was made to fundraise money for the first accessible sex toy for those with hand weakness, and is currently in pre-production. www.kamredlawsk.com

Midori and I get right down to it and talk about claiming transnational identity, confronting both the white and male gaze in her art, the struggle to separate her two primary roles of artist and sex educator when the world wants to only define her as the latter, the activism that is embedded in her work even though she doesn't necessarily identify as such, and so much more!

In our very first episode, we talk with AddyeB about her creative journey including her family’s history and legacy and the origin story of her nickname, her multi cultural identity and background, what it was like growing up Black in Texas, as well as the middle school origins of her activism. A'Driane also shares openly about her struggles with mental health and how that has impacted her work. She also talks about the joy of building an inspiring creative life from all of these life mixed experiences. For show notes visit http://www.beseenproject.org/p/podcast-episode-1-addyeb.html

The Be Seen Project podcast amplifies BIPOC artists and makers as activists, who are using their creative voice towards social justice and cultural change. We dive deep into intersectional explorations of creativity, identity, race, marginalization and how our work is used to express, educate, heal and create new, more inclusive narratives. For more info goto www.beseenproject.org