As Africans and descendants, our cultures are traditionally rooted in community, togetherness, and in a great sense of belonging. We all have people around us who inspire us and who, indirectly, have shaped the way our ideas function and the directions they take.

It is therefore important, individually, to learn how to care for and love the people who have shaped—and continue to shape—how our beings experiences art, how we receive it, and how we wish to pass it on. It is through this love and our sense of community that we create art that impacts and touches people deeply—art that we, as artists, resonate with, feel seen by, and feel heard through.

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I remember when I was first starting out as a stylist about two or three years ago, I had a conversation with my older sister, Aminata. She asked me a question that stayed with me deeply: “Marième, where are you running to?”

That question marked me because, at the time—being new to the industry—I felt the need to prove myself and to show as much as possible. Social media and the pressure that comes with it played a large role in shaping the mindset that prevented me from taking the time to appreciate my art and from conducting my research with the depth it deserved.

In an industry that prioritizes fast production, it is important to remember, as artists, to slow down—to take the time to create with intention and with knowledge. To take the time not to perfect our art, but to understand it and allow it to mature.

Because intention defines the impact our art has on others and the ways it brings people together. And without community, it is easy to lose our way, to lose sight of the thread and the source of our identity, which is our cultural heritage. Our connection to tradition, values, and history allows to foster a sense of belonging and selfhood.

It is an intimate bound between the past and the present—an ever-evolving relationship between the history we carry and the one we are trying to build.

We need this kind of art—art created with intention, art that gathers.

Let us take our time to familiarize ourselves with our history and our communities, and let us create with intention.

By taking care of yourself, you take care of me—and by taking care of me, I take care of my community. And together, we create art that resonates, that has impact, and that honours where we come from.

References:

Ritual: Power, Healing and Community; Malidoma Patrice Somé

Weaving Care and Designing for Perseverance; Politics of Care, Aminata Mboup

How Does Cultural Heritage Impact Individual Identity; Sustainably Directory Study

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