ARTE: Daughters Documentary

A beautiful film both in story and cinematically. 

ARTE: MICHELLE JOAN PAPILLION

I have a new website, dedicated to all of my projects.  

https://michellejoanpapillion.com

ARTE: Happy New Year 2024

This fun music history lesson is a great way to vibe into 2024. The song is legendary and the education behind how it all came together is the kind of feel good energy we carrying all through out 2024.

ARTE: KCET SoCal Connected: The Future of Leimert Park

A throwback to 2014, "Garden City" the Noah Davis exhibition was up.  I was interviewed for this story by Nic Cha Kim

Pueblo del Rio: Prelude, oil on canvas 2014 by Noah Davis

ARTE: High on the Hog

Michelle is a part of Netflix's hit show High on the Hog.  She got to hang with Stephen and Dr. J while they explored Louisiana and Creole traditions.   Watch her tell her story and the story of her family and their land on the first episode of season 2.  And be sure to follow Royal Queen Farms @royalqueenfarms on IG

ARTE: Donyale Luna

ARTE: ROOTS TILL INFINITY

A project I have been incubating for sometime will make its debut very soon.  Until then you can listen to the soundtrack were listening to while we work. Listen on shuffle. 

You can also listen to previous summers HERE

DJ AFRICA81 · ROOT$$$$$$$$$$$$ 2023

1. Catching my sun in my window   2. Saying my peace   3. Looking my peace   4. Speaking to my fleeting romance   5. Persimmon Sans 7-Up Cake by my Great Aunt Mary Lou and yes it is the businezz  6. Catching my sun on my Troublemakers quilt handmade in Dehradun, India by Project Purkul art by Waldia and Co 

Photographs by Michelle Joan Papillion

ARTE: MUTULU SHAKUR

I was very fortunate enough to see Dr. Mutulu Shakur do his first in person talk since his release.

Listen to his talk on love HERE, highly recommend

Support the elder and donate through his website mutulushakur.com

ARTE: Ask Julie Ryan

I had a conversation at the end of last year with Julie Ryan.  I'd first come in contact with Julie and her work from another podcast I listen to when she was a guest.  Intrigued by her work as a medical intutive I got in touch with her and booked a session so I could learn more.  During our phone call Julie became very interested in the work that I was doing and the journey I was on.  So she asked me to come on her show and share a little of my story and my inspirations.

One of the things bringing me joy now a days is being able to reemerge in the public space with the work I have always done in private.  My entire career has always been a curation of my intention and aligning my actions and beliefs with that.  With everything I am doing now creatively, artistically and even agriculturally all of the work is centered spirtually.  I have always known that my work is spiritual work.  To be able to speak about my life's work in art, history and culture in this way is a full circle moment I am so happy to be experiencing.

Find it on all podcast platforms Here

ARTE: Harnessing History w/ 3 Giants

The Lyons’ family story is one that centers on land, site and action. Together with their community of allies, they were stalwarts for equity, freedom, social justice and progress in a time when the stakes were at their highest. In Land/Site/Legacy, the work of invited speakers, Dr. Justin Dunnavant, Tomashi Jackson, and Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, is connected to notions of land, site specificity, and community. The conversation will consider each of the panelists’ path-breaking work and strategies in visual art, archaeology, music and their intersections. Curated and hosted by Niama Safia Sandy (curator, artist and educator), this conversation is part of Harnessing History: Tracing the Legacy of the Lyons Family, a series inviting artists, scholars, and community activists to reflect on the Lyons family commitment to justice, civic and political engagement. Each conversation seeks to connect to an element of the Lyons family’s story and tease out the family legacy within the context of the art and history of the contemporary moment. As part of DCLA's (Public Art as Community Engagement) PACE pilot program, these conversations will explore and unpack themes and issues that will inform the proposed monument on the perimeter of Central Park commemorating the Lyons family. The event is part of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ Public Art as Community Engagement (PACE) program and is organized by groove works, founded and led by Niama Safia Sandy. It is supported by the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, and funded by the Ford Foundation, The JPB Foundation, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, and the Mellon Foundation. Learn more: https://on.nyc.gov/HarnessingHistory

ARTE: Reclaiming Our Sisters Everywhere

Artist Janet E. Dandridge is fundraising for the permanent memorial park for the Black women that were slain by the South Central Los Angeles serial killer.  She has been doing this incredibly powerful and important body of work for a decade, along with the Margaret Prescod the founder of Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders.

Since the early 1980s, at least 200 Black women and girls were victims of serial murders of mysteriously disappeared in South Los Angeles.  Many were victims of the multiple serial killers (including the notorious "Grim Sleeper") who preyed on vulnerable and impoverished Black women, including sex workers, homeless women, and those with addiciton issues.  Most media outlets paid little or no attention to these murders due to the marginalized and devalued lives of the victims.  Most city and county officials made little attempt to raise the alarm even as women continued to die.

The South LA community has been traumatized by the violent loss of so many precious lives over such a protracted period.  This loss and trauma must be acknowledged.  We refuse to accept the silence and indifference that often follows these murders.  We say the names of these Black women and girls who are victims of serial murderers in South LA, and etch them in stone.  Each victim is a mother's child, a father's daughter, a sibling's sister, a friend.

Black Women's Lives Count!

The victims deserve a permanent memorial that reclaims their dignity, shows community care, and provides their family members and the community a dignified space for reflection and healing.  The victims are gone but they will never be forgotten.

For more information and to donate to the memorial fund please visit https://rosesouthla.org

ROSE - Reclaiming Our Sisters Everywhere

ARTE: Fashion Research Library Inaugural Symposium

I have been invited by the Fashion Research Library to have a conversation with two very dear friends, Shala Monroque and Micah Tafari.  The talk is being presented at their inaugural Fashion Research Symposium at the Nasjonalmuseet (National Museum of Norway) in Oslo, Norway on September 2nd & 3rd.

Our talk "WORLDWIDE OUTSIDE" is based on the theme for the symposium Decentralizing Fashion.

Worldwide Outside - a conversation between Shala Monroque, Micah Tafari and Michelle Joan Papillion.

Three creative collaborators operating outside of the centralized fashion zones; creative consultant Shala Monroque, Micah Tafari and Michelle Joan Papillion will share their experiences, point of view and key learnings on how this different perspective could contribute to the world moving forward.  Time is a luxury and impacts the creative process going hand-in hand with solitude and leadership.  How do we harness the elements and our nature in the periphery and alchemy to build bridges around the world?  How can brands step outside the traditional model with the use of integrity and risk-taking?  And in what way does care, attention and having a soul play part of our creative processes?

If you are in Oslo it is free to attend.  Register to attend Fashion Research Symposium 2022, a collaboration between @nasjonalmuseet & @fashionresearchlibrary, via this link!

 

Shala Monroque is a creative consultant, content developer and curator. Her early work includes art advising at The Gagosian Gallery and the position of Editor-at-Large of Pop Magazine. Monroque filled the role as Creative Director of Garage Magazine from 2011 to 2014, working closely with artists such as Damien Hirst, Richard Prince, Anna Craycroft and Hedi Slimane. Monroque also served as a consultant with Prada for three years. Through the years, she has contributed to Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, served as a Co-Chair for the New York Public Library Gala Event and graced magazine covers and Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed List. Monroque walked in the Chloé Fashion Week 2020 show, alongside other female creatives.

Micah Tafari is a farmer, artist and sustainable development consultant. At age 17, he co-founded Rastafari Indigenous Village in Montego Bay, a cultural center and sanctuary for artists, musicians, farmers and healers. Micah currently advises a range of initiatives including The Jamaica Social Investment fund, Chronixx Music Group and Renewable Energy Developers. In 2016 working as a farmer and consultant at the University of Technology Jamaica, he created a horticultural model for the Jamaica cannabis industry. He has also trained with Unesco on Intangible Cultural Exchange. Within the arts, he is a publisher at Frontline Books, producing books and newspapers on African culture and spirituality, producing music shows, set creation and construction and as a locations manager scouting for National Geographic, Chronixx and Popcaan, among others.

Update on Monday, September 12, 2022 at 5:00AM by PAPILLION ART

The symposium was a success with the audience enjoying our conversation and finding inspiration with the fluidity and grace with which we live our lives.  World Wide Outside was really about that, being in the natural world, being natural people.  Not going against nature but moving with it.

ARTE: PAPILLION Playlist Summer 2022 WATER MIRROR

Upward and Outward

Bend and Stretch

Move and Expand

Photographs by Michelle Joan Papillion

Sculpture by artist Emma Stern

DJ AFRICA81 · PAPILLION SUMMER 2022 <> WATER MIRROR

 For previous summer playlist listen at this link papillionart.com/dailies/tag/papillion-mixtape 

ARTE: PAPILLION SUMMER 2021 1 1 1 1 $PAPILLIONART

CREATOR BLE$$

i know, its no where near summer yet....but 2021 is not holding back, it feels like we should be in summer by now.  To be continued...

MJP NEW YEAR illustration graphic by Peter Mabeo of MABEO Furniture 

Photographs taken by Michelle Joan Papillion

For the previous summer playlist you can listen here PAPILLION MIXTAPE

ARTE: Shakiah Danielson & The Northwest Tap Connection

In 2016, Seattle-based Northwest Tap Connection hip hop instructor Shakiah Danielson created a protest piece that debuted at the 2016 Groovement at Rainier Beach to speak out against police brutality. Northwest Tap Connection is a race a social justice studio located in the heart of south Seattle and has been committed for years to bridging the gap for children of color under the direction of Miss Melba Ayco.

Seattle Times Articles: https://www.seattletimes.com/entertai...

Keep Northwest Tap Open: https://www.gofundme.com/f/northwest-...

Song: Janelle Monae & Wondaland Music - “Hellyoutalmbout”

Dancers: Northwest Tap Connection - @nwtapconnection

Choreography: Shakiah Danielson - @mzshakiahmc

Featured Instructors: Alex Jackson LaTwon Allen Shaina Proctor Ahmen Taplin Lakema Bell

film, edit, & color: Genki Kawashima

ARTE: Self Isolation

I once said in an interview that I would continue doing what I was doing until it was not fun anymore.  When it stopped being fun that I would stop and do something else.  I kept my word, I just had not realized that the something else would be my bucket list item of being a hermit.  I suppose I should do a post about what I've been up to but that's not what this note is about.  I guess I'm sharing this note to say that as a person who has been self-isolating for several years now I can offer a small bit of my experience.  You will get bored, you will get creative, you will freak out and you will find your composure.  If you allow for all of the things that make up you to be present in real time you'll begin to understand who you are to yourself and others. 

don’t be afraid to let your light glow

  

Photographs taken by Michelle Joan Papillion in Joshua Tree National Park

ARTE: Dear Art World

STORE OPEN papillionart.com/store

ARTE: TEDx Crensahw

Zanetta Smith organized the TEDxCrenshaw event and I was very excited to be apart of it.  

My talk was the "Art of Doing Good"

ARTE: CHAMPION CITY RADIO

Sat down with Champion City Radio for an amazing conversation about art, my other dream job, music and more!

ARTE: SAY HER NAME

Happy to speak to writer Chaedria Labouvier and share my perspective with Elle Magazine about the #SayHerName movement and Black women who are preyed upon by the police.

To say that it's mentally draining would be an understatement. It's a combination of that and being mad as hell. These things are happening so quickly and so frequently there's not enough time to process feelings, thoughts, and emotions. The other day I had a conversation with an artist whose work deals with value and it dawned on me recently after having the police drive behind me for a few blocks this week that the body that I inhabit has no value in this country. They aren't seeing that I am a business owner who employs people who live locally, that we all pay taxes, that I have been referred to as a pillar in the community etc., To see value in me would mean you would have to acknowledge my story first but on first sight these things are not present and what they do acknowledge (my body, my skin) has no value. 

What makes this idea even more frustrating is that once you're murdered they erase your life in the media (history): Who you are, the things that made you a respectable citizen in society, the things that make you human. I hate that when we see these hash tags that we can not mourn the loss of someone that didn't deserve what happened. Instead we have to defend the life, morale, and character of these women and men. So yeah, I'm mad but not defeated and not giving up. The best way I know how to honor the lives of those slain to police terrorism is to continue to live, continue to thrive, continue to be active in the spaces we exist in, and to come up with ways where we are the authors of our own history. 

To read the full article click the screenshot above.