"An invisible Redthread already connects us to those we're meant to meet"

In an era where technology and art increasingly intersect, June Redthread stands at the convergence point, weaving traditional Asian symbolism with cutting-edge AI to create work that transcends cultural and temporal boundaries. The self-described "artpreneur" and founder of 528 Lab has developed a distinctive practice that transforms physical red thread sculptures into evolving digital installations, challenging conventional notions of artistic creation and exhibition.

“I explore this concept by intertwining art and technology to create connections across time–past, present and future.”

At the core of June's artistic practice is the ancient Asian belief in the invisible red thread of fate, a mythological connection that links those destined to meet across time and space. This concept serves as both metaphor and material for her work, which spans physical sculptures, virtual installations and AI-generated experiences.

“Using AI, I train my physical works to evolve into digital forms, reimagining them through virtual installations and the metaverse.”

This process, which she has coined “PromThreading” embodies her vision of art as a connector across dimensions–physical and digital, East and West, traditional and innovative.

“4 Seasons of Redthread Vision”

June's recent project, “4 Seasons of Redthread Vision”, exemplifies her distinctive approach to merging physical art with AI. Since 2022, she has been training AI systems on her red thread sculptures to create evolving, site-specific virtual installations. The project culminated in 2024 with a three-minute visual poetry art film that offers “a vivid, surreal vision of the four seasons, connecting the invisible red thread with nature, humanity and technology.”

The project's international recognition reflects its innovative bridging of traditional artistic practices with emerging technologies. Presented at high-profile venues including NFT Paris, the Eiffel Stage, Frieze Seoul 2024 and the AI Action Summit Paris 2025, June’s work has garnered support from technology giants like Meta AI, Meta France and Microsoft France. Most notably, her AI art film was exhibited at the prestigious Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, signalling institutional recognition of her boundary-pushing approach.

“It's a project that embodies the collaboration between human and machine through AI vision” she notes, positioning her work as a case study for the future of creative expression.

“Growing up between Korea and Los Angeles has profoundly shaped my artistic perspective, enabling me to bridge Eastern and Western cultures.”

Redthread's artistic perspective is profoundly shaped by her transnational background, having grown up between South Korea and Los Angeles. This dual cultural identity has allowed her to navigate and integrate Eastern and Western artistic traditions.

This cultural duality informs the very way she positions herself as an artist and communicator. “In Korea, I was taught to be quiet but living in the U.S. empowered me to not only create but also to speak with my own voice and embrace leadership,” she explains, highlighting how her geographical movements have paralleled her personal and artistic growth.

By merging these cultural influences with cutting-edge technologies, June creates work that is simultaneously rooted in tradition and oriented toward the future, offering “fresh perspectives that reflect personal growth and cultural heritage.”

“AI is a space where human imagination and machine intelligence come together.”

For many artists, new technologies represent tools to be mastered and controlled. For June, however, AI represents something more profound: a collaborator with its own creative agency.

Having previously worked as a motion graphics art director creating animations and 3D visuals, she notes that “working with AI is a completely different experience–it feels like collaborating with an advanced machine or team, helping bring my vision to life in the most unexpected ways.”

This collaborative approach to AI transforms the creative process from one of translation to one of conversation. “The process has shifted from merely translating my imagination to a collaboration with data sets and language, where the results are always unique, shaped by my input.”

This perspective on AI as a creative partner rather than a tool offers a nuanced alternative to both techno-utopianism and technophobia. It suggests a future where human creativity is enhanced rather than replaced by machine intelligence.

A PERSONAL THANK YOU

June would like to express gratitude to the women in Web3 who have helped shape her journey as an artist, often from behind the scenes. “Building genuine connections in the art world has been essential, and I truly believe they form naturally as we grow alongside our work.”

Whilst building her own initiative championing women–NFT Asian Women community in 2022– June first met Annelise Stern, who became a champion for her, supporting her to grow her network in the digital art space and leading to her first French collector.

Their collaboration began with an exhibition at the Iham Gallery in 2023, organised by Gxrlsrevolution and deepened at NFT Paris in 2024, where, with Arthemort (Brian Beccafico) and ArtGirls (Annelise Stern). June presented a solo show exploring the fusion of physical and AI-driven art. She recognises Annelise’s impact on her career and the many milestones that followed.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the people who have supported and believed in my work and I look forward to pushing the boundaries of physical and AI-driven art even further”.

“The pandemic pushed her to "evolve my practice and explore digital formats.”

Like many artists, Redthread faced significant challenges during the global COVID-19 pandemic. With physical galleries limited to five visitors per day and her solo exhibition restricted to just three-weekend openings, sharing her large-scale installations and sculptures became nearly impossible.

Yet this limitation became a catalyst for innovation. The result was a hybrid exhibition that existed simultaneously in the metaverse and a physical gallery, a pioneering approach that expanded her audience far beyond what would have been possible in a traditional exhibition format.

This ultimately led to an expansion of her artistic vision, as “the scale of my installations evolved into massive public media art experiences”. The lessons learned during this period of constraint continue to inform her practice: “I learned that difficult times often lead to innovative solutions, driving transformation in unexpected ways.”

BUILDING AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY

Founding “NFT Asian Women” in 2021, an initiative to connect and support underrepresented voices in the Web3 space, laid important groundwork for June’s understanding of digital community formation.

"In the past, I felt compelled to stay in constant touch with those I supported. Now, I realise that it's not about forcing connections but rather allowing them to grow authentically." This organic approach to relationship building extends from her broader artistic philosophy, which prioritises genuine connection over technological spectacle.

“I believe that building a community happens when I remain true to myself. When I am authentic, the engagement becomes more genuine,” she explains. This perspective counters the often metrics-driven approach to online community building, suggesting instead that meaningful connections emerge naturally when artists focus on creating work that genuinely reflects their vision and values.

“It's crucial to recognise artists of colour for their unique visions and individuality, not just their cultural identity.”

As an Asian woman artist working in the digital realm, June is acutely aware of the need for greater inclusivity in the art-tech landscape. She advocates specifically for “more opportunities for Asian women artists, as well as other underrepresented women artists, especially those in Web3 and digital art, whose voices are often overlooked.”

To address this issue, June calls for greater diversity among curators and art world leaders who shape exhibition programming and institutional acquisitions. With “more diverse curators and leaders who can amplify these voices and highlight the full range of work being created,” artists from all backgrounds would be better positioned to “break free from limiting expectations and make meaningful contributions to the art world.”

“Don't wait until you know everything–start now. If you wait for the perfect timing, it might pass you by. Run first and let the learning follow.”

Looking ahead, June's plans include further exploration of the physical-digital art hybrid through case studies and the creation of more red thread sculptures alongside digital pieces. She is also working to archive her past work including sculptures, installations, and early AI explorations, with an eye toward building her own original dataset for AI machine training.

Recent developments suggest that her innovative approach continues to gain institutional recognition. She has been selected as one of the first artists for Transient Labs, which evolved from the MakersPlace Artist Residency and has been invited to present a solo exhibition in the coming year.

For women entering the art-technology space today, June offers advice that reflects her own journey of cultural and creative integration, “Embracing art technology is a powerful advantage–it's a game-changer. Combine it with your unique perspective and emotions, which are among the most powerful tools we have.”

June Redthread's work offers a compelling vision of how art and technology might evolve together as collaborative forces creating new possibilities for human expression and connection.

June Redthread is an artpreneur and founder of 528 Lab. Her work explores the intersection of traditional Asian symbolism and cutting-edge technology, particularly through her concept of "PromThreading." Follow her on Instagram @june_redthread or contact her at info@junekim.work.

“Women are still a minority within this space and many AI models tend to be trained on data that fails to encapsulate the experiences of women, people from the diaspora, and those often considered to be part of minority groups within society.”

Photographer Ayesha Kazim works at the boundary between traditional photography and emerging technologies, creating work that challenges our understanding of images in the digital age.

BRIDGING ANALOG AND DIGITAL

“As a photographer who works with both analogue and digital mediums, technology plays a key role in how I capture the world around me and develop my artistic practice,” Ayesha explains. Her approach spans traditional photography to AI-augmented digital manipulation, allowing her to “stretch the boundaries of the medium and the viewers' imagination.”

AI AS A CREATIVE TOOL

Ayesha has embraced artificial intelligence as an extension of her creative toolkit. “AI software such as Midjourney and Dall•E have been key to pushing the boundaries of my photographic practice,” she notes, “allowing me to experiment with combining authentic imagery and digital art to manipulate our understanding of ‘reality’ and ‘true’ photographs.”

WOMEN’S PERSPECTIVES IN WEB3

Working in Web3, Ayesha brings critical awareness to representation issues within both the community and the technologies themselves. “Women are still a minority within this space and many AI models tend to be trained on data that fails to encapsulate the experiences of women, people from the diaspora, and those often considered to be part of minority groups within society.”

This recognition has “emboldened me to consider how I can best contribute to and encourage other women to join this space and advocate for our creative voices to be seen and understood.”

INFLUENCES AND COMMUNITY

When asked about her inspirations, Ayesha specifically highlights fellow women artists working with technology: “Artists such as Linda Dounia, Lyonna Lyu, Nygilia, Abieyuwa and Rayan Elnayal have shown me how art can transcend mediums and be used to communicate multi-layered narratives.”

Her advice to emerging artists is, “Build community and don't be afraid to reach out to peers within your network for support and guidance. Explore other mediums and experiment, as that is typically when breakthroughs in our practice can emerge.”

THE POTENTIAL OF THE BLOCKCHAIN

Ayesha sees blockchain technology as transformative for photography's relationship with audiences and history. “I believe Web3 and blockchain technology will play a key role in strengthening the relationship between artists and their audiences, given that viewers will be able to trace the provenance and origins of an artist's work in real-time.”

“This is key when it comes to archival preservation and how historical records will be maintained and understood by future generations of digitally-native artists operating on-chain.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Ayesha plans to expand her practice beyond purely digital work. “I plan to begin shifting my work into new mediums including moving image and physical pieces that involve collecting found material so as to explore how shifting material alters how viewers interact with the visual image.”

Ayesha Kazim is a photographer whose work spans analogue and digital mediums. Follow her work on Instagram (@ayeshavkazim), and Twitter (@ayeshachasm) or visit her website at ayeshakazim.com.

“The barrier of visibility and respect as an African creative has been hard, but the emergence of organisations that advocate for African creatives has been important.”

South African painter and digital artist Mpho Jacobs creates work that seamlessly bridges traditional and digital artistic practices. Her journey exemplifies how Web3 technologies can transform an artist's career trajectory, particularly for creators from regions historically underrepresented in global art conversations.

“My work has always been about integrating traditional art with technology through animation and AR.”

Mpho began her artistic practice with traditional mediums before expanding into digital creation during her university studies in 2021. This educational exposure transformed her understanding of art's possibilities, particularly regarding audience engagement.

A pivotal moment came during a 2023 internship where she observed artist David Griessel using the AR app Artivive to animate his ink illustrations. “This made me realise that I can still use technology alongside my traditional art to bring it to life through animation.”

This hybrid approach, which Jacobs calls "tradigital", became possible when she finally acquired an iPad after years of saving. “Before I used to use Photoshop and a mouse,” she recalls. “It was hard manually adjusting opacity etc, but once I got an iPad and Procreate, I took a few tutorials and my style began to emerge.”

“The skills I learned through the space began to apply in every context as an artist and led me to where I am today.”

For Jacobs, the Web3 space provided crucial structural lessons about creating cohesive bodies of work and articulating her artistic vision. “This came from the time in the space where you had to create a collection in order to mint works in 2022,” she explains.

Her first collection, “Love Was Never Enough,” taught her to develop narrative arcs within her series “a beginning to an end”, an approach she continued in subsequent collections like “Purple Bathtub.” Perhaps even more valuable were the communication skills she developed through the platform's social dynamics.

“Because of Twitter spaces, and having to ‘shill’ my work in collector rooms, I learned how to speak about my work,” she notes.

This journey from Web3 to traditional art spaces manifested in her debut solo exhibition at the South African State Theatre.

“My work is heavily inspired by those I don't feel were represented enough in media while I was young.”

As a Black woman artist, Jacobs centres representation in her creative practice. “My work is heavily inspired by those I don't feel were represented enough in media while I was young, particularly Black people and women,” she explains. “That has become an important aspect of the art I make, and a conscious decision.”

This commitment to representation extends to her participation in exhibitions like the Usurpa Gallery x After Paradise Womxn's Month show, which featured 27 women artists during South African Women's Month in August. Jacobs describes this as "an incredible opportunity to be showcased in one of the first digital fine art galleries in the continent."

“The world still has a belief of what African art is and should look like and might not warm up to different perspectives.”

Despite Web3's promise of borderless creative exchange, Jacobs acknowledges that African artists still face significant barriers in the space. “The barrier of visibility and respect as an African creative has been hard,” she shares while noting the importance of organisations specifically supporting artists from the continent.

“Ancurated has been a major aspect within my journey that has aided African and diaspora creatives in being included and heard in the Web3 space,” she explains. “From being involved in some of the major conventions like NFT Paris and NFT NYC, they have been an integral component in ensuring African creatives do have a seat at the Web3 table.”

Jacobs points to persistent stereotypes as a continuing challenge: “We thought Web3 would be a space different from that, but it's hard to shake off stereotypes that have developed over centuries.” She hopes that through “creatives continuing to create work authentic to them, we can bring forth new narratives and perspectives.”

“The hype of the exclusivity of the space was helpful during the earlier stages but isn't sustainable.”

Jacobs highlights how digital art creation and exhibition significantly lowers barriers to participation for artists with limited resources. As “someone who was a full-time student during my beginnings in Web3 in 2022,” she found that “having the ability to digitally send my work and have it showcased made things easy for me, as I wasn't in a space to afford to ship my works overseas all the time.”

This perspective informs her thoughts on how Web3 could evolve to better serve artists and audiences. “We need to find a way for people who aren't in Web3 to have access and easier accessibility to the perks that come with the ecosystem,” she suggests.

She envisions simplified systems for audience support, suggesting something “like those TikTok reward stickers people send to users they support” as an alternative to complicated wallet setups with “12-24 word passcodes.”

“I believe in the power of storytelling.”

Jacobs' approach to audience engagement centres on narrative. “Every piece of mine has a story behind it and I do my best to communicate that story through my audience, especially using social media.”

She particularly emphasises the value of “short video content” as “a great way to give context behind works,” allowing both local and global audiences to “understand and connect to my work.”

This storytelling approach extends beyond individual pieces to encompass broader conversations about digital art exhibitions. Jacobs advocates for more integration of digital showcases beyond conference environments, asking, “Will traditional art galleries increasingly incorporate digital exhibitions as a significant part of their programming?”

“Consistency is key.”

When asked about women in art and technology who have inspired her journey, Jacobs points to several fellow African digital artists, including Juliet Nneka, Lethabo Huma, Zee Feels and Qew Doodle. She highlights how these women of colour demonstrate “the possibilities of where digital art can be in this world,” giving her “hope that my art someday will also find new paths beyond the easel and the screen and inspire others too.”

Her advice to women entering digital art is straightforward but powerful, “Keep going, creating and applying to opportunities. There might be some rejections but the opportunities that do involve you will aid in your journey.”

As Mpho Jacobs continues to develop her “tradigital” practice at the intersection of traditional painting and digital animation, her work represents the exciting possibilities that emerge when artists embrace both technological innovation and cultural heritage, creating pathways for more inclusive and representative visual storytelling.

Mpho Jacobs is a South African painter and digital artist whose work integrates traditional art with technology through animation and AR. Follow her on Instagram @mphojacobsart or explore her links at linktr.ee/mphojacobsart.

“Being a woman is central to my identity, and it naturally permeates all that I do. My work is a direct reflection of who I am and that perspective inherently shapes everything I create.”

Multimedia artist, Lethabo Huma, discusses her journey from traditional painting to 3D technologies, finding balance in the digital age and creating art that transcends mediums.

BETWEEN WORLDS

For Lethabo Huma, the boundary between traditional and digital art isn't a dividing line–it's a creative playground. “I work with various mediums, including traditional painting, digital painting and 3D art,” she explains.

Huma explores themes of identity and emotion across media, whether adding textures that emulate traditional paint strokes or incorporating digital elements like geometric shapes into physical paintings.

The South African artist's trajectory reflects the evolving relationship between art and technology. “I started as a traditional artist and never imagined that technology would open up so many creative possibilities,” she reflects. “This transformation not only expanded my artistic practice but also connected me with a global community that values digital art in many ways, including NFTs.”

CREATING ACCESS THROUGH EDUCATION

Huma's impact extends beyond her personal artistic practice. She recently collaborated with Lenovo to develop a masterclass on 3D technology, providing training on essential tools, workflows and best practices.

This educational initiative aligns with her perspective on inclusivity in the art and technology landscape. “A big part of the challenge right now is that many advanced tools and educational resources require specialised knowledge or there's so much information that it's hard to know how to navigate it,” she observes.

Her solution focuses on demystifying complex tools: "Making these tools more intuitive and accessible–like through offering a simple 3D masterclass, such as the one I did with Lenovo, could help bridge the gap.”

THE CHALLENGE OF DIGITAL CREATION

FINDING INSPIRATION

Huma cites two significant influences on her artistic development: South African illustrator Karabo Poppy and digital artist Alexis Franklin.

“Karabo Poppy is one of the biggest illustrators in South Africa and since I'm from South Africa too, I really looked up to her when I was starting out,” she explains. “She showed me that as an artist, you don't have to stick to just one way of creating; you can explore different methods and still build a strong artistic identity.”

Alexis' work provided technical inspiration: “She was actually one of the first artists I came across when I started researching digital art. What stood out to me was how she managed to make her digital pieces look like traditional paintings.”

EMBRACING IDENTITY IN CREATION

When asked about how her perspective as a woman influences her art, Huma's response is straightforward, “Being a woman is central to my identity and it naturally permeates all that I do. My work is a direct reflection of who I am and that perspective inherently shapes everything I create.”

This integrated view of identity informs her advice to women entering her field, “Follow your creative impulses and don't be afraid to explore different styles, mediums or ideas. Creativity needs space and time to grow so take breaks when you need them. Rest and inspiration go hand in hand–you can't create your best work when you're burnt out.”

She encourages artists to define success on their own terms: “Be brave enough to step into different art spaces and find what feels right for you. Not every space will feel like home but embrace that exploration. And remember that you can redefine yourself as many times as you want.”

LOOKING FORWARD

Huma approaches her future with characteristic openness. “I'm someone who embraces the unknown and stays open to wherever life leads me,” she says. “I hope to be more immersed in the intersection of art and technology, exploring various mediums beyond just digital art and 3D.”

Her curiosity is taking her into new technical territories, “I'm also diving into coding, development and exploring AI and machine learning.” This exploration represents the next evolution of her practice.

When considering the future of Web3 and blockchain for artists, she anticipates both opportunities and challenges: “I think we will still see more people jump in on the Web3 wave, making the space more saturated, making it harder for artists to stand out.” Yet she also envisions “more projects pushing creative boundaries with experimental and immersive experiences that redefine digital art” and greater financial autonomy for creators.

For Huma, the journey between traditional and digital will continue to be one of exploration, education and maintaining balance in an increasingly complex creative landscape.

Lethabo Huma is a South African multimedia artist working across traditional and digital mediums. Find her on Instagram (@lethabohuma_art) and X (@lethabohuma).

"Art is about daring to experiment–play around, take risks and discover what's possible."

At the vibrant intersection of art and technology, Zenavi creates work that transforms static imagery into living, breathing experiences. Her evolution from traditional digital illustration to interactive, motion-based art represents a broader shift in how creators are using technology to forge deeper emotional connections with audiences.

“Animation allowed my art to come alive.”

Zenavi's artistic journey began with digital illustration, exploring “vibrant colours and symbolic narratives,” but she soon felt drawn to something more dynamic. “I always wondered how they might feel if they moved, breathed or changed over time,” she explains about her early illustrations. This curiosity led her toward animation and interactive art, where she discovered new dimensions of creative expression.

“For me, discovering animation software–especially Adobe After Effects–was a transformative turning point in my creative journey,” she shares. “Animation allowed my art to come alive, offering me new ways to express subtle emotions, storytelling depth and dynamic interactions.”

This transition from static to dynamic reflects her vision of technology not merely as a tool but as “a creative partner” that enables her to “transform ordinary moments into extraordinary experiences.” The result is work that evolves alongside technological developments, constantly adapting and experimenting with new possibilities.

“I believe we're heading toward a future where art isn't just made for the masses but becomes increasingly personalised.”

One of Zenavi's most representative projects is her “Weather Jar” collaboration with Vivify Music, an interactive artwork that responds to real-time weather data from Jakarta. The piece visually adapts to current conditions–sunny, rainy, day or night.

“I love this idea because it establishes a deeply personal connection with viewers, evoking memories or emotions tied directly to a place and moment they cherish,” she explains. This approach to environmentally responsive art points toward what Zenavi sees as an exciting future direction: increasingly personalised art experiences.

“With advancements in technology, we'll soon have the capability to create artworks uniquely tailored to individual viewers, resonating deeply with their personal experiences, feelings or surroundings.”

Technology as “a powerful tool for storytelling and emotional connection”

Zenavi brings a distinctive perspective to her work, often exploring “themes of vulnerability, strength, identity and personal growth, especially from a female lens.” Her art frequently incorporates symbolic imagery that represents introspection and emotional resilience, “like flowers blooming from empty heads, transparent figures embracing vulnerability or women holding younger versions of themselves.”

This perspective influences the visual language of her work as well as her approach to technology itself, “with curiosity and empathy, aiming to create immersive experiences that resonate on an emotional, personal level,” she explains.

Her projects, including “Seeds of Sorrow, Blossoms of Joy” and “The Light She Holds,” express “the nuanced complexities of emotional growth and self-discovery” from her unique perspective, using technology as “a powerful tool for storytelling and emotional connection, giving voice to experiences that might otherwise remain unseen.”

“Imagine artworks that respond to your presence, touch or even environmental changes in real-time.”

Looking to the future, Zenavi is focused on bringing her digital interactions into physical forms, a direction often described as “phygital” art. “I'm deeply focused on finding creative ways to blend my physical merch with blockchain technology–creating experiences that bridge digital and real-life interactions,” she explains.

This exploration of the space between virtual and real-world experiences extends to her upcoming projects in interactive art.

“Doing things Scared and Believing deeply in your work and being willing to back it up.”

For Zenavi, the most significant barrier she's faced was personal–learning to believe in her work enough to take financial risks. “When I first started minting my artwork on the blockchain, gas prices were incredibly high. It cost around $200 just to mint and another $200 to set up an auction,” she recalls.

This investment represented a significant commitment, “especially without any certainty of success.” Yet making this leap taught her “the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone, even if it feels intimidating or uncertain at first.”

This philosophy has become central to her advice for others entering the field: “Test, try, explore and experiment as much as you possibly can.”

“Web3 allows me to engage personally with those supporting my art, strengthening the bond between creator and collector.”

Despite the exciting creative possibilities of blockchain technology, Zenavi recognises significant barriers to entry that still limit participation. “Although blockchain promised a more democratic art ecosystem, the reality is there's still a high barrier to entry because of how technically complex it can be to understand and use blockchain technology effectively,” she observes.

If she could change one aspect of the current art-tech landscape, she would focus on “lowering the barriers to entry for people coming from Web2.” She points to platforms like Rodeo as valuable examples that “make it incredibly easy for anyone to start collecting digital art without needing technical knowledge or even a crypto wallet.”

This focus on accessibility reflects her broader vision of Web3's potential to reshape artist-audience relationships. “Web3 has removed geographical and traditional boundaries, enabling artists to connect with collectors and fellow creators from around the world,” she notes. This global environment has “cultivated incredibly diverse artist communities and allowed for cross-cultural collaboration.”

Even more significantly, Web3 has “empowered artists to directly build and nurture their own communities.” Unlike the often anonymous transactions of Web2, “Web3 provides transparency and direct interaction between artists and collectors.”

“Her bold creativity consistently motivates me to experiment and evolve my art.”

When asked about her inspirations, Zenavi points to two Asian women working at the intersection of art and technology: Shavonne Wong and Emi Kusano.

“Shavonne's visionary approach to creating digital 3D models and pushing the boundaries of AI and art has influenced how I think about storytelling and visual innovation,” she explains. “Her bold creativity consistently motivates me to experiment and evolve my own art.”

Similarly, Emi Kusano inspires her “with her vibrant creativity and fearless authenticity.” Kusano's ability to “merge art, technology and self-expression has taught me the importance of staying true to my artistic voice while continuously exploring new technological possibilities.”

For Zenavi, these women represent “the power of innovation, authenticity and courage within the intersection of art and tech”, qualities she embodies in her ever-evolving creative practice.

“I engage and build a community around my work by staying genuinely connected and accessible.”

Zenavi's approach to building community centres on authenticity and transparency. Social media platforms serve as spaces not only for sharing finished work but also “(her) creative process, experiments and personal stories behind the art.”

Beyond sharing, active participation in Web3 communities and collaborations with other creators have helped strengthen the connections around her work. These interactions provide valuable insights into her audience and help her “create artwork that resonates deeply and authentically.”

Her philosophy of community building is straightforward but powerful: “consistently nurturing real, meaningful connections around shared passions and stories.” This approach mirrors her artistic practice. Both are focused on creating authentic experiences that connect people through emotion, memory and shared humanity.

Zenavi is an artist working at the intersection of digital illustration, animation and interactive art. Her work explores themes of vulnerability, identity and emotional growth through dynamic, technology-enhanced experiences. Follow her on Instagram @zenaviart, TikTok @zenaviart or visit her website at zenavi.art.

At the intersection of cultural identity, digital technology and gaming aesthetics, Nygilia creates immersive artwork that invites viewers to form their own interpretations. The artist's multicultural background and passion for storytelling inform a creative practice that constantly evolves alongside technological developments, blending traditional art sensibilities with cutting-edge digital tools.

“My goal every time I make a piece is to have people look at it and have a different perspective towards it.”

Born into a richly diverse household–with a mother of German, Italian and Romanian heritage and a father from the West Indies and Jamaica–Nygilia's artistic perspective was shaped by contrasting cultural influences from an early age.

“I could come home one day to bierKeller music. I can come the other day and it's Vybz Kartel,” she explains. “I grew up with so much sound and vibrancy and stories that as a creator, I love doing that. I love blending identities and creating those stories.”

This multicultural foundation is further enriched by Nygilia's lifelong love of gaming, particularly Japanese role-playing games like Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda. She's drawn to how these games build complex character identities and interweaving narratives where “they all come together for a greater purpose.”

The result is artwork that feels “out of this world or immersive,” deliberately designed to spark conversation and multiple interpretations. Success, for her, comes when viewers discuss what they think a piece might represent before reading any artist statement.

“If they have two different answers, to me, that's a win,” she explains. “Because I like people having perspective on my work versus too literal of an answer. Because I didn't grow up literal.”

“The beauty of being raised by powerful women–they made it work. Now that I look back, I'm glad I am the result of their hard work.”

Nygilia credits the women in her family, particularly her German grandmother (Oma) and mother, with providing both inspiration and support for her artistic journey.

Her Oma's story of immigration, born in South America to German parents, then moving to New York, provided Nygilia with a sense of history and possibility. “There's a lot of historical timelines of like ‘what ifs’,” she reflects. “As a woman, that really inspired me and how much she really built her journey and made the life that she wanted to have.” Similarly, her mother's adventurous spirit and career in fashion helped shape Nygilia's approach.

“It's quite experimental but I enjoy the unknown of what TouchDesigner can produce as an output.”

For Nygilia, technological tools aren't simply means to an end but creative collaborators in their own right. Her practice evolved significantly when she discovered TouchDesigner, a node-based visual programming environment commonly used for creating interactive media installations and visual effects.

“TouchDesigner is a node-based tool that a lot of people use for visual effects, VFX works and you can also create generative art on there as well,” she explains. “You can use it for concerts, map projection on screens. You can use it for virtual reality.”

The tool has become central to her recent work, including her “Echoes of Eden” series and the animation for the Women's History Month cover. What draws her to TouchDesigner is the element of surprise it introduces into her creative process.

ECHOES OF EDEN (2024)

One of Nygilia's most significant projects is her recent “Echoes of Eden” series, which explores both historical theories about the mythological Garden of Eden and her personal connection to spaces that have felt like paradise to her.

“People have been trying to figure out for decades where this place existed in the world,” she explains. “There are theories of it being in Africa, there are theories of it being in Eastern Europe. But then some people think it lived in multiple places, that there was a parallel universe of this place that existed.”

Using TouchDesigner, she created generative artworks based on the geographical coordinates of these theorised locations, along with coordinates of places she has personally lived that felt like “Eden” to her. The result is a series that merges historical research, mythology and personal narrative.

Recently, she donated one of these pieces to the Art Relief LA Auction to support fire relief efforts, illustrating how her conceptual work can also serve practical community needs.

“It’s not sellable work.”

Like many artists, Nygilia has faced rejection and harsh criticism. Early in her career, she submitted her portfolio to a platform called MakersPlace, only to receive a devastating response. “I got a full response from the curator saying my work was ‘crap’ and that ‘it's not sellable work’.”

This rejection came at a particularly challenging time, just months before her work would be selected for exhibitions with Playboy and Roc Nation. The experience taught her an important lesson about trusting her own creative vision despite external criticism.

“I'm glad I kept making what I wanted to make because I could have easily shifted and just done what sold,” she reflects. “But I wanted to still stay true to what I did because I knew long term, this is what I want to be known for.”

“With digital art, we're able to tap into spaces that a painting can't.”

Looking toward the future, Nygilia sees significant potential for digital art to transform how we experience culture and history. She believes that technology enables deeper and more immersive storytelling, similar to how museums have begun incorporating interactive elements to engage visitors.

“When they started adding immersive screens and more touch elements to get people interacting, this massively boosted metrics.”

She's particularly passionate about how digital tools can help broaden cultural representation beyond broad categories. “Why are we not having a curation specifically about Nigeria versus West Africa? Why are we not using tech to tap into those stories a bit deeper?” she asks. “Because then you help break those barriers of what those places mean.”

This perspective extends to her views on AI in art, while recognising concerns, she sees the technology as part of a continuum of artistic evolution rather than a threat. “There have been artists' thieves, people that take copyright of other people's art styles and that's been happening even before this technology, even before Adobe existed.”

Her advice to those concerned about AI mimicry: “You can't steal an artist's next idea.”

“I'm very much a gaming-inspired person and I want (my art) to feel very playful.”

When asked about her goals for the next few years, Nygilia describes an ambitious vision for her first major solo exhibition. “I don't want to be just a gallery space. I actually want to take people on an immersive journey in a ride and then enter into the gallery itself,” she explains.

“So like having a room that gets a map projected and it tells the story of this world I've created.”

Drawing inspiration from immersive Van Gogh exhibitions and the narrative flow of theme park attractions, she wants to create an experience where “the show itself is art alongside the artworks that's in it.”

Currently, she's also working on a PhD project focused on the Blue Lagoon in Portland, Jamaica, where her father is from. The project explores ways to tell stories through visual elements rather than words, incorporating mythological stories like Mami Wata and duppy ghost stories from Jamaican folklore.

“I'm always talking to different artists from different places around the world, trying to understand what their story is and just naturally grow with each other.”

Nygilia's approach to community building in the Web3 space has been rooted in openness and authenticity. “I don't limit myself to one group of people,” she explains.

This approach mirrors her entry into the space, diving in without contacts or connections and finding her way through genuine interactions. “When you come as you are, things come for you in time, in a positive way,” she reflects. “Energy will always reciprocate naturally.”

For women entering the digital art space today, she emphasises the importance of patience and self-expression: “Approach everyone with an open mind and really open your heart to the story and artist you want to be.”

She also highlights the positive changes she's observed since entering the space, noting that “you're starting to see more women in marketing and in curation, which is great.” This evolution, along with women artists running their collectives, helps address visibility issues that have historically affected women creators in the space.

Through her multifaceted practice that blends cultural heritage, technological innovation and gaming aesthetics, Nygilia continues to create work that invites viewers into immersive new worlds while encouraging them to bring their perspectives to the experience. As she puts it, “Adults should always want to play and still have the imagination of a kid. That doesn't die and I don't think we should ever lose that as people.”

Nygilia is an artist whose work explores the intersection of cultural identity, technology and fantasy. Her practice spans digital illustration, generative art and immersive experiences, often incorporating elements from gaming aesthetics and multicultural narratives. Follow her at @nygi_xxv on Instagram and Twitter or visit www.nygilia.xyz.

“You don't need anyone's permission to do the thing you've always dreamed of.”

This ethos has guided Debbie Soon through her career, from co-founding HUG–a platform that helped thousands of artists establish their presence in blockchain to authoring her latest book, Digital Mavericks.

Debbie's work consistently centres on making complex technology accessible and meaningful. “My work sits at the intersection of creativity, community and code,” she explains. Her recently published book breaks down crypto and NFTs through “an artistic, human-centred lens,” designed to welcome creators and tech sceptics alike into the conversation.

STARTING OVER AND CLIMBING “CRINGE MOUNTAIN”

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Debbie's journey is her resilience. During the pandemic, she relocated from Singapore to the United States, leaving behind a decade-long career and established network.

“Starting over in a new industry and country taught me to embrace discomfort,” she reflects. “Sometimes, you have to climb cringe mountain to find your purpose and more importantly, your people.”

This experience shaped her approach to community building. Rather than focusing solely on technology, Debbie emphasises authentic connection. “Community isn't about the tool, it is about showing up consistently and sincerely,” whether on Farcaster (her current favourite platform), traditional social media or in-person meetups.

“On-chain and off-chain can coexist.”

When asked about critical conversations missing in art and technology, Soon points to an imbalance: “We talk a lot about empowering creators but not enough about growing the audience side of the equation.”

She advocates for expanding participation beyond creators to include “collectors, readers and cultural participants in crypto.” Her vision is straightforward: “Crypto should make the internet more fun and not more gated.”

This perspective informs her approach to blockchain technology. Rather than seeing it as a replacement for traditional platforms, she views it as offering unique value in creator-audience relationships. “Blockchain allows artists to connect more directly with a smaller but highly engaged audience and to be paid more fairly for it,” she notes.

“Lead with empathy.”

As a woman in a male-dominated field, Debbie has developed a distinctive leadership approach. “I've learned to lead with empathy and not shy away from my femininity,” she explains. “In a male-dominated industry that often prizes aggression or bravado, I've chosen to show up authentically: with understanding, creativity and emotional intelligence as my edge.”

Her advice to women entering the field reflects this philosophy. “Don't be intimidated. Take up space and be proud of it.” She also encourages an “abundance mindset” where women collaborate to “grow the pie and empower each other” rather than competing for limited opportunities.

“Less virtue signalling, more intention.”

Looking ahead, Debbie plans to expand Digital Mavericks beyond crypto to encompass “AI, the future of social platforms and other frontier technologies.” Her goal transcends education–she wants to help people “not just understand what's next but to allow them to see themselves in it and shape it.”

She challenges the industry to move beyond “checking boxes” toward “creating spaces–through our language, behaviour and actions–that are genuinely welcoming to everyone.”

With her personality quiz (quiz.digitalmavericks.xyz) that matches participants to digital mavericks featured in her book, Debbie demonstrates her commitment to making technology accessible and personal–bringing people into the conversation, one human connection at a time.

Debbie Soon is the author of Digital Mavericks and former co-founder of HUG (acquired by .ART Domain Registry). Find her on X (@debsoon) and Farcaster (@debbie).

“My work exists at the vibrant intersection of art, fashion and technology, blending traditional design techniques with cutting-edge tools.”

As an artist and fashion designer, Wildy has transformed her personal journey with vitiligo into a powerful catalyst for creative exploration and advocacy. Her work challenges conventional beauty standards while leveraging AI and blockchain technologies to amplify marginalised voices.

“I see technology as an extension of my artistic toolkit. It’s a way to amplify creativity, push boundaries and communicate narratives with greater depth and nuance.”

“My perspective as a woman, especially as an Afro-Latina and first-generation Dominican American, deeply informs every aspect of my approach to art and technology,” Wildy explains. “Having navigated the intersections of culture, identity and representation, my experiences naturally guide me to create work that uplifts diverse voices, embraces self-expression and fosters visibility for marginalised communities.”

This mission became even more personal after she was diagnosed with vitiligo. Rather than seeing the condition as a limitation, Wildy embraced it as a unique lens through which to view and transform the creative landscape.

THE MOTHER BLOCKCHAIN

Among Wildy's most significant contributions is her participation in the groundbreaking Visible Violets project, an initiative led by Jeni Pepen, Superama and NFTCLT featuring 20 women artists inscribing their work onto Bitcoin's blockchain. Launched on International Women's Day during Women's History Month, the project carves out a permanent space for women artists on what Wildy calls, "The Mother Blockchain."

Her first child inscription, titled “1965: Our Voice, Our Power,” honours the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, recognising women of colour's hard-fought journey to gain their rightful place at the ballot box. By permanently etching this narrative into Bitcoin, Wildy has created an immutable tribute to their resilience and determination.

“I sought to immortalise their strength, resilience and determination, connecting past struggles to present empowerment,” she explains.

This technical approach reflects Wildy’s broader philosophy about blockchain technology: “Inscribing my art on Bitcoin has been groundbreaking for me as an artist. It allows me to build a lasting legacy, permanently anchoring my voice and narrative into digital history.”

“In generative AI art, many datasets and models have inherent biases.”

Sadly, the absence of representation extends beyond traditional art spaces into emerging technologies. When Wildy began experimenting with generative AI tools, she encountered a frustrating reality–she couldn't see herself or her vitiligo represented in the prompt results.

Rather than accepting this limitation, she transformed it into an opportunity, “This frustration became a catalyst for experimentation, pushing me to train my own AI models and advocate for more diverse representations within technology.” Through digital illustrations, generative AI and immersive Web3 experiences, she's created a body of work that celebrates individuality and champions inclusion within the evolving digital landscape.

This work reflects a broader concern she articulates about the current state of art and technology, “They often lack diversity in representation, culture and identity. This impacts whose stories are told and whose voices remain unheard or unseen.” Her work is actively reshaping these spaces.

“Community is at the heart of everything I do.”

Community is an integral part of Wildy’s creative practice. She belongs to collectives like One Love Art DAO and vibrant Latina artist groups that foster bonds of sisterhood and mutual empowerment.

“I actively engage by staying open, authentic, and accessible–sharing genuine conversations around my work and the stories behind it.”

Her connection to fellow Latina artists holds special significance. “I also want to give a heartfelt shout-out to my Latina artist community, my ‘primas,’ who constantly uplift and empower each other in this space,” Wildy shares. “We've built such a strong bond, creating a powerful sense of belonging and solidarity. Together, we're paving the way for the next generation, demonstrating how collaboration and mutual support amplify our collective strength.”

This supportive environment contrasts sharply with her early experiences navigating the Web3 space. “One of the most significant barriers I've faced is overcoming societal beauty standards and fully embracing the art of self-embrace,” she reflects. “Establishing my creative voice was a journey. It required vulnerability, patience and intentional self-reflection. It was only when I allowed myself to be truly authentic and vulnerable that I discovered clarity in my artistic vision.”

FROM FASHION ROOTS TO DIGITAL FUTURES

Wildy's professional background in fashion design provides a unique foundation for her technological explorations. This experience informs her perspective on how brands can leverage emerging technologies.

She notes, “This technology enables greater accountability by tracking a product's journey from creation to consumer, empowering brands and audiences alike.”

Her fashion expertise has already led to significant opportunities, including serving as the Fashion Creative Director for an immersive fashion show in Colombia in collaboration with Universidad de Medellín, an experience she hopes to bring to major platforms like New York Fashion Week.

Looking ahead, Wildy envisions deeper collaborations with innovative brands in digital art, AI fashion and immersive storytelling. She's also exploring the launch of an IRL clothing brand that merges cutting-edge technology with sustainable, inclusive designs. Most recently, her work was selected for Chromaverse exhibitions in Colombia and Miami, strengthening her international presence and creating new opportunities to connect with diverse audiences.

“Intentionally let women lead.”

For Wildy, providing leadership opportunities for women of colour and those from historically marginalised backgrounds would significantly shift the culture toward greater equity and innovation.

She draws inspiration from several women pioneers in the art and technology space. “Amber Vittoria immediately comes to mind. She's exceptionally talented and versatile, always exploring new mediums and projects while maintaining a strong, recognisable aesthetic,” she says. “Whether her artwork is on a keychain, sweater, or plush toy, you instantly know it's Amber's creation. She beautifully embodies the spirit of being multifaceted—the queen of 'this AND that.’”

She also credits Claire Silver as a major influence, “Her innovative approach encouraged me to dive deeply into AI as a storytelling tool. Claire truly lives in the future, building bridges that invite all of us to explore and embrace new possibilities, from text-to-image narratives to entirely new forms of digital creativity.”

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape that often replicates traditional biases, Wildy Martinez stands as a wildflower, distinctive, resilient and transforming the field around her. Through her art, she is reshaping tech spaces into more inclusive environments where everyone's unique patterns can flourish.

Wildy Martinez is an artist, fashion designer, and founder of Wildflower Fields. Her work explores the intersection of art, fashion and technology while advocating for diversity and inclusion. Follow her journey on Instagram (@thewildflowerfields) and Twitter (@wildy_martinez), or visit her website at https://wildflowerfields.art/.

As Chief of Staff at Atomic Form, Melissa Kapnick has built her career on meaningful relationships with artists rather than social media metrics. Her unique approach to preserving digital art history comes from a deeply personal place and challenges conventional Web3 networking strategies. We spoke with Melissa about how her family history informs her work, why she avoids Twitter, and how she's using AI to enhance–not replace–human connection.

Your path to Web3 wasn't straightforward. How did you end up at Atomic Form?

Melissa: My career path is based on my philosophy of “I just want to have fun with what I'm doing and enjoy my work.” I've done everything–I was a yoga teacher, did door-knocking B2B sales, had my own marketing firm, worked in education with kids, and then moved into ed-tech and startups.

I got involved with Atomic Form through consulting. I was working for a different company doing go-to-market strategy and validating the market for them. We hit it off so well that at a certain point, Atomic Form was like, “You should work for us full-time.” So I followed the dream and now I'm at Atomic Form.

Atomic Form preserves the history of digital art. Why is this mission so important to you personally?

Melissa: My mom is an artist, and that's part of why the mission is so personal and deep for me. She wasn't always an artist but she retired and went back to it. Then she had a devastating stroke and after that, all we had was a list of exhibitions but we didn't have which pieces were at what shows and which awards they won. We kind of lost that history.

When I think about working with artists to tell their stories, it's so personal for me because you don't know what's going to happen. And you want to preserve that history. History is happening now—it only becomes history once we move into the next moment. No one should lose those moments. It's not just about the sale price. It's about the legacy that people are leaving.

You've mentioned you don't personally use Twitter, which is unusual in the Web3 space. How do you approach community building differently?

Melissa: I'm not a Web3 native and I'm also not a social media native. I don't even use Twitter. I think that's probably the most interesting thing about me in Web3. I have our Atomic Form Twitter and I have a pulse on what's going on, but I focus on the interpersonal connections with each artist.

I don't get wrapped up in any of the algorithms, the games, the feed or the posting. I want to know the artists who we're working with and like them as a person. I think that my interest in other people and my empathetic interpersonal skills help artists bring their best, most genuine selves to the conversation.

How do you build community when you're not focused on traditional social media channels?

Melissa: We've done it in a non-traditional way. Traditionally in Web3, you have Telegram groups or Discord or a dedicated place where your community lives.

What we've done at Atomic Form is instead focus on one-on-one interactions with people and now we're starting to do workshops and group onboarding. We've built community by having a really strong message–archiving and preserving history while it's happening on-chain.

As the product updates, we come back to them like, “You had this idea for our company two years ago and now we have this feature built.” Now we have this ecosystem where people talk to each other: “Oh, I did Atomic Form,” “I did it too,” “I have this on there.” For us, building community has been about providing high-quality interactions and services and rolling out the red carpet for every single person we work with.

Women in Web3 face unique challenges. Has your experience been different as a woman in this space?

Melissa: There's such a strong ecosystem of women in Web3 and it feels like an unspoken connection where we're all bringing each other up. Jenny from One Love DAO, at my very first NFT conference in NYC, literally took me by the hand and said, "I'm going to bring you around and introduce you to people." She just took care of me.

That's the other thing about women in Web3—it's this unspoken thing where we're all recognising that we're a bunch of badasses. It definitely feels special and different from other industries I've been in.

You've embraced AI tools in your work. How do you balance technology and human connection?

Melissa: ChatGPT hates to see me coming! I use it for everything. I have custom models built for all sorts of things—basically, every part of my job has some type of GPT for automation. I'm interested in doing high-level strategic work with people and my business, moving things forward in an impactful way. I can't do that if I'm doing minutia and little admin tasks.

I always tell people who are new to AI that you have to build some trust with it. You should fact-check it, and double-check its work in the beginning. That's how you get to know it and train the models.

What's a topic in Web3 that people aren't talking about enough?

Melissa: I'm starting to talk to people behind the scenes about AI agents and the way they're going to consume art. People are going to use them to purchase art, asking questions like, "What's the highest value piece I can get for less than this much in this style?" People don't know where to start when it comes to collecting, and these AI brokers are going to make it easier.

It's a catch-22 because it's happening no matter what. This is the direction things are going. But I think it feels taboo because it's a weird thing for an artist to think about—the concept of an AI bot buying your work or discovering your work.

By adding off-chain history to on-chain identifiers, as we do at Atomic Form, you make yourself more indexable for these AI agents. Because then you have in plain text, not in a string of numbers and letters and transactions, the context and the story. So I want people to know that adding their work on-chain will help them with discovery but I don't want to scare them that AI bots are coming for their artwork–but they are.

What's next for you? Do you have a vision for your future in the space?

Melissa: With Atomic Form, I always want to stay on the cusp of talking to customers and bringing feedback into our product, making sure it's always built on the voice of the artist. If that's who our user is, that's how it should be built. I think that's why people like it so much.

For me personally, I want to do more art. I'm so inspired by talking to and working with all these artists. I can see myself doing some type of collab with my mom bringing her work on-chain. I'd like to work with other artists in her generation to help them bring their art on-chain and digitise their work.

Melissa Kapnick is Chief of Staff at Atomic Form, where she helps preserve the history and context of digital art. Follow Atomic Form at @atomicform or Melissa at @KapnickMelissa.

Melissa Kapnick is Chief of Staff & Go to Market Expert at Atomic Form, a company that attaches off-chain history to on-chain identifiers, preserving the stories behind digital art. Follow Atomic Form at @atomicform or Melissa at @KapnickMelissa.

As a marketer and entrepreneur at Atomic Form, Saima Malik is on a mission to preserve digital art history while bringing her distinctly feminine perspective to the Web3 space. Her approach champions authenticity, work-life balance, and the power of embracing one's strengths rather than conforming to industry norms. We spoke with Saima about the importance of archiving digital culture, her journey as a woman in tech, and why embracing feminine energy is essential to the industry's evolution.

You work at Atomic Form on a platform that archives digital art. Why is this work important?

Saima: I describe my work as extremely important and I say that with so much conviction because I know this is important work–preserving all of the moments, all of the story. That's why museums exist. That's why archivists exist. Because someone has to do the work of recording all this stuff; otherwise, when all is said and done, what a shame that would be.

What I love about the work I do specifically is I'm preserving our culture and art is part of the culture. It's an expression of what's going on, not just in someone's personal life, but really speaking to what's happening on the whole plane of existence. Digital art is perfect for that and the technology piece is where I find our work at Atomic Form to be so critical. We are the go-to de facto archivists of our little niche of NFT and digital art.

Your flagship product is Atomic Lore. How does it serve artists?

Saima: Atomic Lore is the bedrock of our existence as a company. It's the platform where we capture all of the moments, the milestones, the history of what digital artists are doing in this space, and what's happening in culture and community.

My work specifically, since I'm in marketing, is trying to educate artists and other key people in the space about the importance of this product and to solve a pain. There are so many times we come across the timeline talking about how painful it is that they had this viral moment on Twitter and it's gone. Maybe someone famous or well-known retweeted their art but it's not directly attached to their NFT, so there's no way of cryptographically attesting that data and signing it in a decentralised way.

Recently we launched the media upload feature, meaning now people can actually upload PDFs, images, and videos to Atomic Lore and attach them directly to their NFTs. So that could be artist portfolios, process work, or behind-the-scenes content. Now when someone's looking at a piece of art, they can see all this rich contextual data that, in a world where Atomic Lore doesn't exist, would be very difficult to find unless someone had a very well-built website, which many artists just don't have the bandwidth to manage.

How has your perspective as a woman influenced your approach to your work?

Saima: I have spent my whole career, pre-Web3, very much in my masculine energy. Entering my late 20s and realising the kind of work I want to do, I don't need to sacrifice my feminine traits to do good work. To me, my feminine traits are extreme care for people and love for people and I don't want to screw people over.

That's perfect for this industry because the people who do well are the ones who don't want to screw people over.

Being a woman is both exciting and intimidating in this space because there are not many of us. Luckily, I'm at a team and company where my strengths are celebrated and there are many women on my team. We have a globally distributed team of men and women from all different walks of life, races, religions, you name it.

You've talked about the importance of feminine energy in Web3. Can you elaborate on that?

Saima: We don't need to act like men. Let them act like men. They have their strengths. We have our strengths. And the space desperately needs it. It needs that touch of beauty. It needs that touch of elegance. It really does. This space–you look at some stuff and you're just like, “What is this? It looks like a kid put it together.”

We have that eye for things. We have that ability to make things really beautiful, useful, efficient, and elegant and that is our strength as women. So find a place where you can do that.

We are the leaders of so many important aspects of this world. We lead families, we raise children, we do all these things–we're not weak, we're very strong. It took me a while to find my footing in Web3 but I understood that there's power in what I have to offer and you have to be somewhere where that's celebrated.

Don't be afraid to change projects. Don't be afraid to change teams. Don't be afraid to find the right place for you because there is a company here in Web3 that needs someone like you. You just need to find it.

What's been the most significant barrier you've overcome in your career?

Saima: Learning how to say no is the biggest thing for me. I think sometimes when women, especially women of colour, are in such a pivotal role as I am, the people pleaser kicks in.

Now I feel because of my record, because of the things I've done, I feel very confident in the power of the word “no” and saying that something is not a good idea and owning that, then coming up with a solution.

“Every time I thought I wasn't worthy of something, I did it anyway and blew my own mind.”

Saima Malik is a marketer and entrepreneur at Atomic Form, where she leads marketing efforts for Atomic Lore, a platform dedicated to preserving the history and context of digital art. Follow her on Twitter @saimaxsays.

Lara Curran on The Art of Looking Closely

In an NFT landscape often dominated by market dynamics and technological jargon, Lara Curran's voice stands out for its deeply personal approach to digital art criticism. Through her Substack publication Render_output and her work leading content at NFT marketplace Rarible, Curran has developed a distinctive style of engagement that celebrates the emotional resonance of digital art while making the space more accessible to newcomers.

“Digital art has transformed how I see technology.”

Curran's journey to becoming a voice in Web3 culture follows an unexpected trajectory. Growing up in rural Ireland in the 1990s instilled in her a connection to nature and physical reality that initially positioned her at odds with digital technology.

“Honestly, I spent many years feeling pretty suspicious of technology,” she admits. “A lot of how I understand myself and the people and systems around me comes from my relationship with nature, with physical reality, and with art.”

This tension between the natural and digital worlds might seem like a barrier to engaging with NFTs and blockchain technology. For Curran, however, it became the foundation for a unique critical perspective that bridges traditional art theory with emerging digital forms.

Her academic background in art theory provides analytical tools that inform her approach to digital art. "It gives me a strong foundation for spotting themes and historical references in digital art and understanding how an artist's work might fit into different social and historical contexts,” she explains. However, she acknowledges a disconnect between traditional art history and the NFT space, “Many artists are entirely digitally native and don't consciously reference art history, so I have to work harder to understand their work in the correct context. Digital art is woefully under-represented in academia.”

“I want to show how deeply personal and worthwhile connecting with art can be.”

At the heart of Curran's approach to criticism is a rejection of the distanced, authoritative voice often associated with art writing. Instead, her work on Render_output embraces subjectivity and emotional response as valid critical frameworks.

“I document my personal encounters with art that I love, in a style that I hope is honest and engaging,” she says of her Substack.

Her methodology begins with direct engagement, "I always go straight to the artwork. I like to sit with a work and see how it feels, how it behaves, and what kind of thoughts it evokes. I'll pull up the artwork on my screen, grab a pen and paper, and just write everything that comes to mind, stream-of-consciousness style. I'll be taking notes of colours, textures, feelings, memories, associations."

This approach is as political as it is stylistic, Lara argues for a more democratic approach to art criticism, one where authority comes from genuine interest rather than institutional credentials.

“One thing I love about Rarible is that we support some of the biggest names in the space as well as emerging artists.”

In her role at Rarible, Curran occupies a unique position at the intersection of artists, technology, and audiences. This vantage point allows her to observe how blockchain technology is reshaping traditional relationships in the art world.

“Blockchain technology has created an environment where the size of an artist's purchasing audience has increased massively,”

she observes.

“Uncurtailed by their physical location, artists can sell their work globally and don't necessarily need to worry about shipping physical items.”

“Artists who may have been historically excluded from traditional art markets now have access to NFT marketplaces that generally do not discriminate,” Curran points out, highlighting one of the transformative potentials of the technology.

Her dual position as both critic and marketplace content lead gives her writing a pragmatic dimension that balances theoretical exploration with practical insights. At Rarible, she interviews artists at various career stages, from established names to emerging talents, providing a panoramic view of the digital art ecosystem. “It's very inspiring to hear from so many creative people.”

“Being a woman in Web3 is not a singular, monolithic experience–everyone's path is different.”

For those entering the often male-dominated world of crypto and NFTs, Curran offers both practical advice and a vision of community that counters the space's sometimes alienating aspects.

“It can feel like a bit of a boys club,” she acknowledges. Her recommendation is threefold, “Make a plan of action, work hard and find your tribe.”

When asked about being a woman in the space, Curran takes a nuanced view, “Honestly, I think about my work in this space far more than I think about my gender within it. Being a woman in Web3 is not a singular, monolithic experience–everyone's path is different.” She adds, “I do believe that more diverse voices in crypto are essential and I'm excited to be part of that shift. I make an effort to amplify women's work when it resonates with me and my beliefs.”

This emphasis on community-building echoes her own formative experiences in art theory education. “When I did my MA in art theory, it was a class of 16 women, each of them vastly different, immensely talented, and crazy smart,” she recalls. “I highly recommend that everyone finds themselves a coven of creative witches to be part of for a while!”

The metaphor of a “coven” is particularly apt, suggesting a collective power that emerges when creative women gather. In the NFT space, she cites writers like Nina Knaack, curators like Nygilia and Juujuumama, and artists such as Lilyillo and Littlecakes as members of her extended digital coven.

“Consistent storytelling plays a crucial role in building an artist's legacy.”

Curran's approach to community-building centers on a principle of generosity, creating genuine value for the artists she features in her writing. “I want artists to smile when they see their work through my eyes.”

While she's modest about claiming direct impact, she believes in writing's cumulative effect, “Both my personal writing and my work at Rarible contribute to the broader patchwork of an artist's story. Recognition isn't always instant but consistent storytelling plays a crucial role in building an artist's legacy.”

Lara’s approach to art criticism is one of abundance, focused on strengthening relationships between critics, artists, and audiences. “If you care about something, you have to give it your all, and I believe community flows naturally from there.”

For newcomers to the space, she recommends starting a blog or website as a way to document learning and establish a presence. “Having some kind of public-facing expression of who you are is key to making an impact,” she advises, “and while social media platforms are important, they don't grant you as much creative freedom as you have on your blog or website.”

“I intend to create something that deepens the conversation around NFTs and digital art.”

Looking to the future, Curran envisions creating work that elevates the discourse around NFTs and digital art to match its historical significance, despite the challenges of documenting such a rapidly evolving space.

“I would love to see more rigorous research and reflection in this space and I intend to create something that deepens the conversation around NFTs and digital art.”

To combat the fast-paced nature of the digital art world, Lara has developed a focused approach, “Writing about art that resonates with my lived experiences helps me focus. Otherwise, I would be overwhelmed by the pressure to write about everything!”\

By documenting, analysing, and contextualising current creations, she aims to help build a substantive critical framework for understanding this period of rapid innovation. Her emphasis on playfulness and personal connection ensures that even complex analysis remains accessible.

In a digital art landscape often pulled between market hype and technical specifications, Lara Curran's voice offers a reminder that technology serves human expression and that the ultimate value of art–digital or otherwise–lies in its ability to create meaningful connections. Through her writing, she invites readers to slow down, look closely, and discover the joy that comes from truly engaging with the art that moves us.

Lara Curran is a writer and cultural critic focusing on NFT art and online culture. She also leads content at Rarible, an NFT marketplace and infrastructure company. Follow her work on Substack at render_output or on Twitter/X at @Lara_curran_.

THE JOURNEY

Atomic Form began with a fundamental question: Could NFTs be valued alongside traditional fine art? This vision brought together two founders—one from the traditional art world, the other a crypto enthusiast—who built gallery-quality displays for digital art that quickly became the standard for major institutions like Christie's and Sotheby's.

Their stunning 4K displays, including the Wave and Photon, became windows into digital worlds, drawing viewers so close their noses nearly touched the screens. These displays weren't just beautiful—they were functional, allowing collectors and galleries to connect multiple wallets across various chains while providing proof of ownership through their Atomic Form Hub.

EVOLUTION INTO PROVENANCE

As they worked closely with artists and galleries, Atomic Form recognised a critical need in the NFT space: proper documentation of digital art's history and context. This led to the development of Atomic Lore, their comprehensive NFT provenance software designed to:

• Immortalise art by securely documenting its complete history

• Enhance credibility through verified, permanent records of exhibitions and mentions

• Increase value by adding context and story to digital assets

PARTNERING WITH ANCURATED

Now, Atomic Form has partnered with ancurated to support our mission of "preserving culture on-chain." This collaboration leverages Atomic Form's provenance technology to specifically empower Black creators, artists, and innovators by properly documenting and contextualising their work.

Together, we're creating a digital legacy that honors African and diaspora cultures—crafting spaces where history, creativity, and technology intersect. Each artwork doesn't just exist as a digital asset; it carries its full story, cultural significance, and historical context directly on the blockchain.

WHY THIS MATTERS

For our community, this partnership represents a powerful opportunity to ensure our cultural contributions aren't just seen but properly documented and preserved. Atomic Form's technology helps us:

• Create permanent, tamper-proof records of cultural artifacts

• Establish verifiable connections between digital assets and their cultural context

• Build a comprehensive historical record for future generations

• Ensure proper attribution and recognition for Black creators

Through this collaboration, we're not just showcasing art—we're building a cultural archive that will endure long into the future, preserving our stories, our innovations, and our creative legacy in the digital realm.

Join us in shaping a future where our cultures are immortalised and celebrated, one groundbreaking project at a time.

When the histories of great social movements are written, partnerships often go unrecognised. The Garvey movement—perhaps the largest Black nationalist movement in history—has frequently been portrayed as the work of one charismatic man. Yet behind the thunderous oratory of Marcus Garvey stood the brilliant organisational mind and sharp intellectual pen of Amy Jacques Garvey. Together, they formed one of the most consequential partnerships in Pan-African history.

Their stories began separately. Marcus was born in St. Anne's Bay, Jamaica in 1887, and Amy in Kingston, Jamaica in 1895. While Marcus left school at fourteen to apprentice as a printer, Amy received education befitting her middle-class background. These different paths converged in Harlem in 1918 when Amy, recently arrived in the United States, volunteered her services to the rapidly growing Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

Initially serving as Marcus's secretary, Amy quickly demonstrated exceptional capabilities that made her indispensable to the organisation. In 1922, following the dissolution of Marcus's brief first marriage to Amy Ashwood Garvey, Marcus and Amy Jacques married, cementing a partnership that would combine his visionary leadership with her organisational acumen and literary talents.

Complementary Strengths: The Orator and the Writer

The Garveys' partnership functioned through complementary strengths. Marcus excelled as an electrifying speaker, capable of moving thousands to action with his words. As his wife later wrote, "His oratory was spellbinding... When Marcus Garvey spoke, people listened."

Amy, meanwhile, wielded the power of the written word. As associate editor of the Negro World newspaper, she expanded the movement's reach through journalism. While Marcus traveled extensively to build UNIA chapters, Amy ensured that his message—and her own—reached the organisation's global audience through print.

This division of labour proved especially crucial during Marcus's 1925 imprisonment on mail fraud charges. As he languished in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Amy compiled and published the Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey, preserving his ideas and maintaining the movement's intellectual foundation during his absence.

Shared Vision, Different Approaches

While united in their commitment to Black liberation, the Garveys sometimes differed in their approaches. Marcus's rhetoric emphasised racial pride, African redemption and separatism, famously declaring: "I know no national boundary where the Negro is concerned. The whole world is my province until Africa is free."

Amy, while supporting these principles, paid particular attention to gender dynamics within the movement. Through her "Women's Page" in the Negro World, she created space for Black women's perspectives and challenged patriarchal attitudes. She wrote boldly: "The Black woman is demanding a place in the stands beside her men... not just in the home, but wherever brains and initiative are in action."

These complementary focuses strengthened the movement. Marcus's emphasis on African redemption inspired racial pride, while Amy's attention to gender equality ensured that the movement addressed the full spectrum of Black experience. Together, they envisioned not just a liberated Africa but transformed social relations within Black communities worldwide.

Partners in Adversity

The Garveys faced formidable opposition. J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, fearful of Marcus's growing influence, targeted him relentlessly. Meanwhile, rival Black leaders, including W.E.B. Du Bois, criticised his approach. Through these challenges, the Garveys remained steadfast partners.

When Marcus was convicted of mail fraud, charges widely understood as politically motivated, Amy became his most effective advocate. Beyond preserving his writings, she orchestrated an international campaign for his release and maintained the organisation's operations. Marcus acknowledged her contributions, writing from prison: "Were it not for her courage, her intelligence and her loyalty, my work would have been immediately destroyed."

Following Marcus's deportation to Jamaica in 1927, Amy accompanied him, continuing their partnership until his death in 1940. Their final years together saw continued activism despite diminished resources and influence, demonstrating their shared commitment regardless of circumstances.

Preserving and Extending the Legacy

After Marcus's death, Amy emerged not merely as the keeper of his flame but as an intellectual force who extended their shared vision. Her memoir, Garvey and Garveyism (1963), provided crucial historical documentation while correcting misconceptions about the movement.

As African independence movements gained momentum in the 1950s and 60s, Amy corresponded with emergent leaders including Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya—many of whom acknowledged the Garveys' influence on their political development. Through these connections, she ensured that the Garvey philosophy informed postcolonial nation-building.

Just as Marcus had prophesied "Look to Africa for the crowning of a Black King," Amy lived to witness the fulfillment of many of their shared dreams as African nations achieved independence. When she addressed the Sixth Pan-African Congress in Tanzania in 1974, she represented the living link between early Pan-Africanism and contemporary liberation struggles.

Legacy of a Partnership

The Garveys' legacy extends far beyond their lifetimes. Their promotion of Black pride and self-determination profoundly influenced subsequent movements, from Rastafarianism to the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement and beyond.

In Jamaica, Marcus was posthumously declared a National Hero in 1964, his image appearing on currency and his birthday commemorated annually. Amy's contributions received less immediate recognition but have increasingly been acknowledged by scholars who recognise her intellectual and organisational significance.

The enduring power of their partnership lies in its wholeness, combining Marcus's sweeping vision with Amy's practical implementation, his charismatic leadership with her intellectual rigour, and his focus on racial solidarity with her attention to gender equality. Together, they demonstrated how effective social movements require both inspiring rhetoric and sustained organisational work, both visionary goals and practical strategies for achieving them.

As contemporary movements for racial justice continue to evolve, the Garvey partnership offers valuable lessons about the importance of complementary leadership styles, the necessity of addressing intersecting oppressions and the power of coupling bold vision with meticulous implementation. Their legacy reminds us that behind every great movement stand not just individual leaders but partnerships and collectives whose combined strengths create possibilities for transformation.

In the words Amy attributed to Marcus, but which might well describe their shared approach: "Chance has never yet satisfied the hope of a suffering people. Action, self-reliance, the vision of self and the future have been the only means by which the oppressed have seen and realised the light of their own freedom."

Flags are more than mere fabric and colour—they are powerful embodiments of identity, history and aspiration. For Black Americans, whose journey from chattel slavery to citizenship has been marked by both struggle and triumph, flags have served as crucial symbols of self-definition and cultural sovereignty. As the Black identity has evolved over decades, so too have the banners that represent it, each telling a unique story of the Black experience in America.

The First Wave: Foundation and Liberation

The Pan-African Flag (1920)

The story of Black American flags begins with Marcus Garvey's Pan-African flag, created in 1920 as a direct response to the racist song "Every Race Has a Flag but the Coon." Garvey, the Jamaican-born founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA), recognised the importance of symbols in establishing cultural pride and identity.

"Show me the race or the nation without a flag, and I will show you a race of people without any pride," Garvey declared in a 1921 speech published in Negro World. "Aye! In song and mimicry, they have said, 'Every race has a flag but the coon.' How true! Aye! But that was said of us four years ago. They can't say it now."

The flag's three horizontal stripes carry profound symbolic weight: red represents the blood shed for liberation, black honours the noble race itself and green means the abundant vegetation of Africa. This tricolour design transcended the American context, later appearing in the flags of newly independent African nations including Kenya, South Sudan, and Malawi—a testament to its powerful pan-African resonance.

The Black Panther Party Flag (1966)

In 1966, as the civil rights movement evolved into more militant forms of resistance, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland, California. The organisation's iconic flag featured a sleek black panther in mid-stride, a symbol borrowed from the Lowndes County Freedom Organization in Alabama. The panther imagery wasn't chosen arbitrarily.

In Lowndes County, where literacy rates were low, political parties used visual symbols on ballots. White conservatives used a rooster, while Black organisers chose a panther from a local school mascot. Newton and Seale adopted this symbol but commissioned artist Emory Douglas to redesign it with a leaner silhouette, reflecting the Party's mission to serve the undernourished and underserved.

The Black Panther flag became synonymous with revolutionary politics, community service and armed self-defence against police brutality, representing a decisive shift from earlier civil rights approaches.

The Black American Heritage Flag (1967)

Created by Melvin Charles and Gleason T. Jackson in Newark, New Jersey, the Black American Heritage Flag emerged from a deeply personal place. Charles told PBS that his inspiration came from childhood experiences at parades, where he felt no connection to the American flag.

This flag features a gold blunted sword symbolising pride, surrounded by a fig wreath representing peace, prosperity and everlasting life. Like Garvey's design, it incorporates red for bloodshed and black for pride in Black identity. The flag offered a visual alternative for Black Americans seeking symbols that reflected their specific heritage and experiences.

The flag gained prominence during the civil rights era when symbols of Black identity became powerful tools of solidarity. Its creation coincided with the Newark riots of 1967, a pivotal moment in African American history. The designers intended the flag to serve not just as protest, but as a lasting emblem of cultural affirmation.

The Artistic Turn: Reinterpretation and Reclamation

The 13 Stripes Flag (1989)

Emerging from South Central Los Angeles in 1989, the 13 Stripes Flag appears in Louis Cameron's "The African American Flag Project," a 2009 exhibition exploring symbolic representation in the Black community. While its origins remain somewhat mysterious, the flag's design speaks volumes.

Its 13 stripes potentially reference either America's original colonies or the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery. The red, black and green horizontal stripes echo Garvey's Pan-African colours, while yellow stripes may represent either the richness of Black culture or Africa's mineral wealth. This flag exemplifies how Black Americans have continuously reinterpreted national symbols to reflect their dual identity as both American and African-descended.

The flag gained prominence during a pivotal era of hip-hop culture and Black consciousness in Los Angeles, coinciding with rising social justice movements following the 1992 riots. Community activists embraced it as both a symbol of resistance and cultural pride during neighbourhood gatherings and demonstrations.

David Hammons' African-American Flag (1990)

Artist David Hammons created his African-American Flag for the "Black USA" exhibition at an Amsterdam museum in 1990. The design brilliantly fuses the American flag pattern with Garvey's Pan-African colours, replacing the traditional red, white and blue with red, black and green.

"Marcus Garvey designed the African American flag, which looked like the Italian flag except that it is red, black and green," Hammons explained. "But it is so abstract, so pure, that the masses were frightened by it. I made my flag because I felt that they needed one like the U.S. flag but with black stars instead of white ones."

Hammons' flag emerged at a contentious moment, just after the Supreme Court struck down the Flag Protection Act as unconstitutional. His design perfectly embodies W.E.B. Du Bois' concept of "double consciousness"—the sensation of being simultaneously American and Black—and has become one of the most recognisable symbols of Black American identity.

The Harvey African-American Flag (1991)

David and Tonya Harvey created their flag in 1991 after noticing the lack of a visual focal point during a rendition of the Negro National Anthem at a banquet. Their design thoughtfully incorporates elements representing both African heritage and American identity.

Red, white and blue stripes border the top and bottom, acknowledging Black contributions to America. Green, yellow and black stripes on the sides represent Africa's abundance, wealth and people. The purple background embodies the regal history of African Americans, while the central eight-pointed star represents the eight letters in "Africans"—an acronym for Aspirations, Family, Righteousness, Individuality, Community, Ability, Nobility and Scholarship.

Four yellow diamond shapes surrounding the star represent flashes of light symbolizing perseverance, love, knowledge, and spirituality. "He wanted the flag to help pull African Americans together," Harvey's widow told Morgan Magazine, "and to remind us that each one of us can succeed and do well."

The Contemporary Era: Complexity and Nuance

The NuSouth Flag (1993)

Perhaps the most provocative flag in this lineage, the NuSouth Flag directly confronts America's racist history by reimagining the Confederate battle flag with Pan-African colours. Created by Angel Quintero and Sherman Evans of Charleston, South Carolina's NuSouth Apparel, the flag was initially designed as a marketing tool for a local hip-hop group.

The design exists in three variations, each featuring a different background colour—red, black, or green—with the Confederate stars and bars recoloured to match the Pan-African palette. This bold reclamation of a deeply divisive symbol sparked immediate controversy, particularly when a Black teenager was suspended from school for wearing a NuSouth shirt.

"There is a lot of fear in something that is so liberating and free," Evans reflected in 2020. "People say they want freedom but what does that look like?" Though NuSouth Apparel closed in 2003, the flag remains a powerful example of how Black Americans have reclaimed and transformed symbols of oppression.

The African-American Flag House Flag (1995)

Created in Charleston, South Carolina between 1993 and 1994, the African American Flag House flag emerged during a period of renewed interest in Black heritage preservation in the Lowcountry, a region with deep historical connections to enslaved Africans and Gullah Geechee culture. Designer David Wilson created it as part of a broader community initiative to establish visual sovereignty within historically Black neighbourhoods.

The flag features 14 stars, each representing a specific aspect of Black history and identity. From the first star acknowledging humanity's African origins to the fourteenth star pointing toward a hopeful future, this flag tells a complete narrative of the Black experience.

Its elaborate colour scheme is equally meaningful: green stripes represent Earth and African roots; yellow symbolises moral excellence and spiritual wealth; black underscores Black families' contributions to America; white warns of threats to constitutional freedoms; blue illustrates the connection between African Americans and Africa; and red represents passion and sacrificial bloodshed.

The African-American Flag of Inclusion (1999)

New York artist Cecil W. Lee designed this flag in 1999, presenting it at a one-man show at Harlem's Gallery X. Lee's design fuses the American flag with Garvey's Pan-African flag by replacing the top seven stripes of the U.S. flag with the red, black and green pattern.

This intentional blending represents "all African Americans regardless of their individual beliefs or political affiliations," according to Lee's website. The colours maintain their traditional meanings: red for life/blood, family, vitality, and oneness; black for the people, strength, depth, and influence; green for earth, evolution, growth, and progress; while the stars and stripes represent equality and unification.

Lee created his design during a significant cultural moment when Harlem was experiencing an artistic renaissance reminiscent of the 1920s, with galleries and cultural spaces flourishing throughout the neighbourhood. The flag gained wider recognition when it was featured in several Black history curriculum guides and multicultural education resources nationwide.

The Black American Flag (2003)

Emerging around 2003, this minimalist design features a black background with a single white star in the top left corner. The black field represents both the foundation of Black history in America, rooted in slavery and the unity required for social change.

The white star represents the North Star, which guided enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad. This dual symbolism acknowledges both historical trauma and forward movement, suggesting that the same guiding light that led to liberation can continue to illuminate the path toward a better future.

The flag was originally conceptualised by educator Marcus Thompson, during a community workshop at the African American History Museum in Philadelphia. The design intentionally breaks from more complex predecessors to make it accessible for grassroots organising. Contemporary scholars have noted how this flag's emergence coincided with growing digital activism, where simplified imagery proved effective across social media platforms.

The Foundational Black American Flags (2020)

The most recent additions to this lineage are the two Foundational Black American flags, popularised by media personality Tariq Nasheed. These flags represent a movement focused specifically on descendants of enslaved Black people in the United States.

The Maroon Flag emerged as a powerful symbol for descendants of enslaved Black Americans. Its rich maroon background honours the legacy of Maroon communities—independent settlements established by escaped enslaved people who often collaborated with Indigenous groups.

The flag's gold emblem features crossed axes and a torch beneath five stars, each element carrying deep significance. The weapons symbolize tools of resistance used in freedom struggles, while the five stars represent the primary locations where Maroon societies flourished: Virginia, North/South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. This flag specifically commemorates those who escaped bondage and formed independent communities in the swamplands of the Southern United States, creating spaces of freedom during the formal slavery era.

The Foundational Black American Flags (2020)

The second design adopts the American colour scheme while reclaiming this patriotic imagery through a Black American lens. It acknowledges Grace Wisher, a free Black child apprenticed to Mary Pickersgill, who sewed the original Star-Spangled Banner.

Three white stars represent the movement's conception of Black American origins, while the central Black power fist symbolises continued resistance and solidarity. This powerful emblem is flanked by red and blue olive branches, representing unity between Black aboriginals and enslaved Africans in America.

Nine red pillars commemorate significant slave rebellions, with one partially hidden to acknowledge historical narratives that have been suppressed or erased from mainstream accounts.This flag balances recognition of American identity with an unflinching acknowledgement of historical struggles and ongoing resistance.

Cloth and Culture: The Continuing Evolution

The proliferation of Black American flags reflects the complex, multifaceted nature of Black identity in the United States. From Garvey's Pan-African vision to contemporary expressions of cultural specificity, these flags tell a story of continuous self-definition and resistance against erasure.

As a material culture, flags serve vital functions beyond mere decoration. They create visual focal points for community gatherings, offer tangible symbols of abstract concepts like freedom and solidarity and provide visible alternatives to mainstream American iconography that has often excluded Black experiences.

Each flag represents a different moment in the ongoing conversation about what it means to be Black in America. This conversation continues to evolve as new generations reinterpret their heritage and relationship to the broader American experiment. Whether embracing Pan-African solidarity, highlighting specific American contributions, or reclaiming controversial symbols, these flags collectively form a rich tapestry of Black American visual culture.

As we honour Black History Month, these flags remind us that the work of representation is never complete. They stand as colourful testaments to people who have continuously created beauty, meaning, and community despite historical trauma—weaving their own stories into the fabric of American identity while never relinquishing their distinct cultural heritage.

In the fabric of American history, few symbols speak as powerfully to the Black experience as the various flags that have come to represent Black identity, struggle and triumph. These banners, whether Marcus Garvey's red, black, and green Pan-African flag or the more recent Black American flag variations, serve as visual declarations of existence, pride and resistance that have shaped Black American identity for generations.

"Show me the race or the nation without a flag and I will show you a race of people without any pride," Marcus Garvey declared. His words underscore how flags transcend mere cloth and colour, they are declarations of existence and of cultural sovereignty. The Pan-African flag, created by Garvey in 1920, established a chromatic language that continues to resonate today. Red symbolises the blood shed in the struggle for liberation, black represents the people themselves and green embodies the abundant natural wealth of Africa. This tricolour pattern emerged not merely as decoration, but as a statement of unified identity at a time when Black Americans were actively reclaiming their connection to African heritage.

Contemporary artist Kerry James Marshall reflects on this symbolic power: "Flags are totems that command respect and allegiance. When Black Americans create their own flags, they're saying 'we exist on our own terms.'" His 2018 exhibition featuring reimagined flags demonstrates how these symbols continue evolving as expressions of both protest and pride.

More recent iterations, from the black-and-white American flag to Tariq Nasheed's Foundational Black American flag with its maroon background honouring Maroon communities, fly during demonstrations, adorn homes and businesses and inspire artwork.

The Persistence of Memory

These flags wave over a history of remarkable resilience. From the brutal Middle Passage to the systematic oppression of Jim Crow, from redlining to mass incarceration, Black Americans have faced—and continue to face—formidable obstacles. Yet the story of Black America is not merely one of suffering but of extraordinary triumph in the face of adversity.

As Nikole Hannah-Jones observes in "The 1619 Project," "Black Americans have been the perfecters of this democracy." The cultural achievements born from this crucible of experience stand as testaments to an indomitable spirit. From the literary brilliance of Toni Morrison and James Baldwin to the musical innovations of jazz, blues, hip-hop and beyond, Black American culture has not only survived but has fundamentally shaped American identity itself.

This cultural legacy represents what scholar W.E.B. Du Bois called "the spiritual strivings" of a people. A creative force that transformed pain into poetry, struggle into song and restriction into revolutionary art forms. Walk through any neighbourhood flying these flags and you'll find the same resilient creativity expressed in everyday life, in hair salons, barbershops and the communal gatherings where stories and traditions pass between generations.

Bridging Oceans: The African Renaissance Monument

Standing 160 feet tall on the westernmost point of the African continent, the African Renaissance Monument in Dakar, Senegal, serves as a powerful counterpoint to the narrative of separation created by the transatlantic slave trade. Unveiled in 2010, this bronze colossus depicts a man, woman and child emerging from a mountain, facing west—toward the Americas where so many were forcibly taken.

The monument's positioning is deliberate and profound. From this vantage point on the Senegalese coast—a major departure point during the slave trade—the statue gazes across the same waters that carried millions to bondage. But rather than dwelling solely on this traumatic history, the monument embodies forward movement, with the child pointing toward the horizon, suggesting hope and possibility.

For Black Americans seeking connection to their ancestral homelands, the Renaissance Monument offers a physical manifestation of remembrance.

Arts as Testimony, Culture as Resistance

Throughout the Black experience, art has functioned as both witness and weapon. From the coded messages of spirituals that guided escaped enslaved people north to the Harlem Renaissance writers who challenged racist stereotypes through literature, creative expression has been inseparable from the struggle for freedom.

Consider the work of painter Jacob Lawrence, whose "Migration Series" chronicled the Great Migration of Black Americans from the rural South to northern cities. Through sixty panels of tempera paintings, Lawrence transformed historical documentation into visual poetry, capturing both the hardship and hope of this massive population shift.

Or look to the quilts of Gee's Bend, Alabama, where generations of Black women turned necessity into stunning abstract art. These quilts—created from worn clothing and fabric scraps—represent warmth for the body and the soul, preserving family histories and community knowledge through textile traditions passed from mother to daughter.

The revolutionary poets of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s understood this power intimately. Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez and others embraced the idea that "Black Art is the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept." Their work rejected white aesthetic standards, instead celebrating Black language, rhythms and experiences as inherently valuable.

This tradition continues today across multiple mediums. Filmmakers like Ava DuVernay and Barry Jenkins create visual narratives that centre Black perspectives. Musicians like Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monáe craft sound landscapes that engage with both historical trauma and contemporary Black life. Visual artists like Kara Walker and Kehinde Wiley confront historical representations of Blackness while creating new iconographies.

The Continuing Renaissance

The flags we fly, the monuments we build, and the art we create all speak to a fundamental truth: Black history is not confined to a single month but is an ongoing renaissance. Each generation adds new chapters to this living narrative, drawing strength from ancestral wisdom while creating fresh expressions of identity and resilience.

What flags will emerge in the coming decades? How might current symbols transform to reflect new understandings of identity and justice? Throughout this issue, you'll find visual representations of the flags discussed here, each pictured in settings where they actively shape community life and collective memory.

As we Highlight Black History Month, we recognise that these symbols and artistic traditions are not mere artefacts of the past but living forces that continue to shape our present and future. They remind us that the story of Black America is one of unparalleled resilience—a testament to the power of a people who have consistently transformed struggle into strength and pain into profound beauty.

In the words of poet Maya Angelou, "You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I'll rise." The flags wave, the monuments stand, and the art endures as a testimony to this eternal rising.