Aïdah Aliyah Rasheed, Special Projects Lead at Sapelo Square sits down with Bee Walker, photographer, filmmaker and one-half of Paper Monday. Within this episode, Aïdah and Bee talk about the beginning stages behind the collaborative project between Sapelo Square and Paper Monday, Preserving the Legacy Portraits and Stories Capturing Black Muslim Life.* Bee shares a specific experience that occurred when Aïdah invited her to attend Jumu’ah (Friday prayer service) at Masjid Khalifah in Brooklyn, New York. Additionally the two discuss specifics about the creative process and balancing paying bills while simultaneously honoring their main intentions as creatives in the world, striving to “make art that matters.”
This conversation serves as an encouragement to Black creatives and storytellers who, like most people, have doubts about their abilities, whether they will secure adequate resources for their projects or cultivate an audience who will appreciate their gifts, to continue to push forward when obstacles may seem insurmountable. This episode also touches on the importance of telling our stories with intentionality, having faith and persevering through it all.
You can keep up with Paper Monday on Instagram: @papermonday
*Within the introduction of the podcast episode the website link mentioned was incorrect. The correct link is: https://www.preservinglegacy.online
Bee Walker is a photographer, filmmaker and one-half of Paper Monday, which is operated along with her husband Rog Walker. As multidisciplinary artists based in New York, Rog + Bee produce portraits and craft original in-depth visual stories. Crediting their upbringing in immigrant households with creating the catalyst to inspire their journey as artists, the duo has turned out a portfolio that is both an expression of their personal stories and an homage to their communities.
Through their creative studio, Paper Monday, Rog + Bee specialize in various forms of visual storytelling including editorial photography, studio portraiture, film directing, commercial, and documentary coverage. The duo has worked with an array of celebrity talent, including Solange, Pharrell Williams and LeBron James. As highly sought-after thought-leaders, the duo often takes part in speaking engagements, workshops, and editorial appearances for commercial brands. Their work has been commissioned by global brands and platforms, such as Nike, Sony, Google, Vogue, HBO, The New York Times and CNN. Source: shootonline.com
Credits:
On The Square’s theme music was created by Fanatik OnBeats.
Artwork for On The Square was created by Scheme of Things Graphics.