Solange Knowles announced last week the launch of her free digital library curated with rare books and art by Black creators. Here are the top 5 most revolutionary books in her collection that haters of “Critical Race Theory” do NOT want you to read. Solange Knowles Books On The Banned List Solange Knowles is expanding the […]
Solange is a woman of many talents, so it’s only right that she was asked to put together a video that shined a light on the finalists for the 2021 International Woolmark Prize. According to the award’s website, The International Woolmark Prize “celebrates outstanding fashion talents from around the globe who showcase the beauty and versatility of Australian Merino wool. It is the world’s most prestigious award for rising fashion stars.” The 2021 finalists for the award include Bethany Williams, Kenneth Ize, LECAVALIER, Matty Bovan, Thebe Magugu, and Casablanca.
The singer’s short film, titled Passage, features a cast of celebrities who wear clothing designed by the finalists for the International Woolmark Prize. Dionne Warwick rocks clothing created by Magugu while Dominique Jackson from FX’s Pose is found in work by Kenneth Ize. Rapper SahBabii and singer KeiyaA also appear in the visual directed by Wu Tsang. In a lengthy statement, Solange spoke about Passage and her inspiration behind the film.
In continuing Saint Heron’s world-making practice, Passage further explores my interest in theatrical production through the translation of identity, spirit, philosophy and creation. Whether it be through album artwork, stage design, or filmmaking, I’ve always sought to create new visual languages that encompass the expressions my other works cannot communicate. I’m inspired to expand these processes through the Saint Heron Agency with a wider scope of collaborations and projects. To reflect on and honor the creative process with the 2021 International Woolmark Prize finalists, Passage aligns with Saint Heron’s mission to reverence creation as life, from abstraction to being. I’ve been a longtime fan of Wu Tsang’s work and to be able to work alongside her, the Saint Heron team, and all of the incredible artists and designers in the film, really fortifies the ethos of collaboration and communal creative exchange that we wish to continue to embody.
You can watch the film in the video above.
Dionne Warwick is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
In 2013, Solange launched her label and website, Saint Huron, to highlight the artists she wanted to bring attention to. Today, she took things a step further, turning Saint Huron into a full-on creative agency. Meanwhile, the Saint Huron website has been updated to function as a sort of digital mood board which will highlight a new artist every week.
In addition to visual stories, the site will also feature interviews with Shala Monroque and artist Cassi Namoda, and conversations between poets, authors, and artists like Helga Davis, Okwui Okpokwasili, Barbara Chase-Riboud, and Ilyasah Shabazz.
As far as physical endeavors, Saint Huron also announced plans to hold a series of gallery exhibitions, an artist-in-residence program, a permanent art collection, a non-profit library, and art films. Saint Records will continue to release music, as well.
In a press release, Solange said: “Worldmaking has been a huge part of my practice. The idea of leaving behind cities, meccas, and universes that were occupied and celebrated by bodies, voices, celebrations, and rituals to be discovered down the line. As we transition to an institution, the answer and the vision become abundantly clear. We are creating a legacy where we not only continue the work we have already built but preserve collections of creators with the urgency they deserve. Together we want to create an archive of stories, and works we deem valuable. We want to open up these works publicly and make them accessible to students, and our communities for research, engagement, and consumption, so that the works are integrated into our collective story and belong and grow with us. We are creating an embodiment of living testaments to the glory of expression, and how that recharges and reaffirms the reverence we hold for our own cultural and artistic worth. We look forward to furthering the pursuit of authenticity that empowers the stories of our people.”
You can find more information here.
This Monday marked exactly two years since Solange surprise-released her acclaimed LP When I Get Home alongside a cinematic short film, which she is sharing a remastered director’s cut of through The Criterion Channel. Both the film and the LP are very personal to Solange, as the singer was undergoing health issues at the time. Her health situation was apparently much more serious than she had previously let on, as the singer has now revealed that she was “quite literally” fighting for her life.
Reflecting on When I Get Home‘s two-year anniversary, Solange took to Instagram to share a lengthy statement about how the project “changed” her life:
“When I first started creating ‘When I Get Home’ I was quite literally fighting for my life…in and out of hospitals (s/out park plaza on Binz! 🙂 with depleting health and broken spirits asking God to send me a sign I would not only survive, but that if he let me make it out alive, I would step into the light whatever that meant. He begin speaking to me. Half the time I didn’t know where it was coming from. I only knew I had to open the door and honor it. I didn’t see naann a thing I imagined. I didn’t know who I was speaking to on ‘I am a witness’. When I listen back, I hear a woman who had only an inkling of what the journey entailed, but didn’t have a clue of why or what the journey would look like. This project has shown me, once you open that door, you can’t go backwards. Believe me I’ve tried saying ‘nah I’m just playing’ so many times, ha. I’m not a big fan of talking about sh*t I don’t know yet. I didn’t do much talking during this time because of that. I’m really down for showing the process, and staying quiet when it hasn’t all yet being revealed. I make work to answer questions within me, for survival. Sometimes I am asking myself that same question many ways. Sometimes it takes me years. I have to honor that time. This Houston ting moves slow y’all. One day, I’ll tell y’all about the days I’ve had since I opened this door. The things I’ve uncovered. The life long healing I’ve begin. The great divine joy and love I’ve experienced. The stories of my past I’ve survived that I had stored all up in my body…. till it said…. no more. The re-learning. The reckoning. This album led me to all of it. Life has now become before WIGH and after WIGH. I’m so grateful for you guys allowing me the space and time.”
This isn’t the first time Solange has addressed her health problems. Back in January 2020, the singer announced she would be canceling a handful of tour dates at the Sydney Opera House due to “the physical demands of the shows.”
Find Solange’s Instagram post below.
Solange’s latest album, When I Get Home, was a surprise release in 2019, and what fans also didn’t expect was the film that accompanied it. Now, the film has been given a new coat of paint in celebration of its two-year anniversary, as Solange is shared a remastered director’s cut of it via The Criterion Channel.
The Criterion Channel describes the film, “Accompanying her acclaimed 2019 album of the same name, the film taps imagery of her hometown’s (Houston, TX) culture with flights of surrealism spotlighting Black cowboys, space, futurist worlds, and ritualistic movements that characterize evolution as a recurring presence. Solange explores concepts of origin, fear, safety, and reclamation through the power of ancestral roots and the creation of one’s own kaleidoscopic universe.” It’s not clear how or if this version of When I Get Home differs from the director’s cut that was released in 2019 aside from having been remastered.
When Solange initially announced the album, she was feeling amped up, tweeting, “Y’all! I’m filled w so much joy right now!!! Wow! I can’t thank y’all enough for this moment and for all the feelings i feel in my body! I’m bringing home w me everywhere I go yalll and I ain’t running from sh*t no more. Your love lifts me up so high. Thank you!”
Y’all! I’m filled w so much joy right now!!! Wow! I can’t thank y’all enough for this moment and for all the feelings i feel in my body!
I’m bringing home w me everywhere I go yalll and I ain’t running from shit no more. Your love lifts me up so high. Thank you!— solange knowles (@solangeknowles) March 1, 2019
Revisit our review of the When I Get Home album here.
