TSCHABALALA SELF & BRANDON BLACKWOOD ON BLACK ART,COLLECTING & CULTURAL STEWARDSHIP:

ISE-DA hosted a conversation on art and collecting between artist Tschabalala Self and collector/designer Brandon Blackwood, moderated by curator/writer Jenée Strand. This is the first event in a series this season to introduce Temperature Check, an initiative launched by ISE-DA in 2024 to assess and document the growth of Black cultural stewardship across the diaspora.

With generous support provided by the Black Arts Council of the Museum of Modern Art, all attendees received a complimentary MoMA day pass.

ABOUT OUR PANELISTS:

Tschabalala Self (b.1990 Harlem, New York) lives and works in the Hudson Valley, New York. Self is an artist who builds a singular style from the syncretic use of painting, printmaking and sculpture to explore ideas surrounding the black body. She constructs depictions of predominantly women using a combination of sewn, printed, and painted materials, traversing different artistic and craft traditions. The formal and conceptual aspects of Self’s work seek to expand her critical inquiry into selfhood and human flourishing. Recent solo exhibitions and performances include Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland (2024); Kunstmuseum, St. Gallen (2023); Le Consortium, Dijon (2022); Performa 2021 Biennial, New York City (2021); Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore (2021); ICA, Boston (2020); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2019); Art Omi, Ghent (2019); Frye Art Museum, Seattle (2019) and Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2018).

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Brandon Blackwood is the Founder, Creative Director, and CEO of his namesake brand. He is a first generation American and was born to Jamaican and Chinese parents.
While studying neuroscience at Bard College, he secretly pursued a career in fashion, interning at magazines such as Elle and Nylon.
In 2015, while working at a consignment shop, he created a bag for himself (The Portmore) which garnered the attention of an editor at Essence and led to the creation of the brand.
His first collection contained only three styles and the brand has since expanded into over thirty designs which also includes eyewear, swimwear, outerwear and footwear. Every item is influenced by Brandon's personal life named and inspired after his close friends, family or places he lived.
Brandon Blackwood has been featured in NY Times, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Instyle, WWD and Marie Claire and is currently found in department stores such as Saks, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, KITH and Selfridges.
Most recently, the brand has moved into custom and has created looks for Serena Williams, Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallion as well as become a member of the CFDA.

ABOUT OUR MODERATOR:

Jenée-Daria Strand is a curator, writer, and native Brooklynite. In 2022, she was appointed as the Assistant Curator at Public Art. Prior to she was a Curatorial Associate at the Brooklyn Museum. She has curated independent projects for NADA Miami/TD Bank, ISCP, White Columns, amongst others, and has contributed written work to publications by the Studio Museum in Harlem, Brooklyn Museum, SEEN Journal, and more. Jenée received a Masters Degree in Museum Studies from NYU, where her research centered on Black feminist scholarship and she also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance/Performance Studies from Florida State University. She is currently an inaugural member of the Studio Museum's curatorial fellowship, Arts Leadership Praxis.