Aesthetics have long been signifiers of aspiration, identity, and solidarity. In the face of this global pandemic, many have realized the power of intentionally creating dwellings that offer inspiration, respite, and ancestral resonance. Our Homes, Our Stories: we will gather designers, scholars and for a roundtable conversation on the role and transformative power of Black aesthetics in home settings. The conversation is moderated by Jessica Stafford-Davis and features Jae Joseph, General Judd and Michelle Joan Wilkinson.
Jessica Stafford Davis is the founder of The Agora Culture LLC. This arts platform supported emerging artists of color and collectors through educational programming, art salons, and its annual Art On the Vine exhibition in Martha’s Vineyard. One of the only contemporary African-American art fairs presenting critically-acclaimed, institutional-level work in the United States, Art On the Vine also features a four-week residency to pay tribute to acclaimed visual artists Augusta Savage and Norman Lewis. Through the Savage-Lewis residency, AOTV provides select artists with an opportunity to collaborate and create new works as part of an effort to help them grow and explore their creative practices.
Jae Joseph is a cultural producer and entrepreneur, working in visual arts, film and multidisciplinary platforms. He connects the traditional and experimental art worlds through art advising, brand collaboration, events and strategic communication. Joseph commits to representing artists and clients honorably and honestly, refining but not replacing their messages. He caters to private sector clients in art, entertainment, fashion, publishing and real estate.
General Judd is a Brooklyn-based interior designer. Along with his wife Cristina Casanas-Judd, he is the co-founder of Me and General Design. The full-service interior design studio’s work is rooted in minimal essentialism, rich hues and bold textures. The firm strives to develop interior environments that elevate the human spirit, while also creating bold one-of-a-kind products which balance beauty and functionality.
Michelle Joan Wilkinson, Ph.D. is a curator at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), where is working to expand the museum’s collections in architecture and design. In 2018, she served as lead organizer for the museum’s three-day symposium, “Shifting the Landscape: Black Architects and Planners, 1968 to Now.” In 2019-2020, Wilkinson was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Design. Her ongoing research project, “V is for Veranda,” about architectural heritage in the Anglophone Caribbean, has been presented to international audiences in Suriname, England, India, and the United States. Wilkinson’s most recent work explores issues of representation in architectural renderings. She holds a BA from Bryn Mawr College and a PhD from Emory University.