The Black Media Club wrapped up its first year of cultivating creativity and building community with a showcase on April 17 in the Wool Ballrooms.
The club became a Chartered Student Organization this fall after hosting its first events last academic year. Club president and senior theater major Martha Kamau said she and co-founders Madison McQueen and Bobbylynne Zinnah started the club to highlight and celebrate art that often goes unnoticed.
“We kind of realized that there’s a lot of niche clubs on campus, but the niche clubs don’t always showcase Black art or Black creativity,” Kamau said. “So, we just decided to make that club for ourselves and create that safe space.”
The showcase acted as a culmination of the year’s efforts. It featured a talk from guest speaker Brock Seals, a local musician, painter and muralist. Seals spoke about his career and its uses as a form of activism.
“I think that’s the beautiful thing with art, is [that] you can speak loudly,” Seals said when reflecting on his painting that reads “vote = voice” on the street outside of Mayor Tishuara Jones’s office. “If you see a big mural like this in the middle of the street, you have to see it. You know? You can’t close your eyes to that.”
Seals has painted cleats for the Cardinals’ Harrison Bader and the Chiefs’ Tershawn Woods, whose shoes appeared in Super Bowl LIX. He has also painted murals in the City Foundry and the Delmar Loop, collaborated with Marc Jacobs on a series of painted purses and hosted the first art fair at Busch Stadium for Black Heritage Month.
In an interview, he encouraged students to pursue the arts despite any challenges.
“There’s a possibility in being a successful artist, and you don’t have to starve,” Seals said. “There’s always gonna be some type of opposing force, but it’s always up to you to really follow your heart and what it is that you wanna do.”
The showcase also featured a screening of “Insurrection,” a short film by SLU film group Cinemangoes. Made for the “48 Hour Film Project,” the work was written, directed, acted and edited within two days.
The event ended with a dance from SLU Vogue. Kamau said the showcase was always at the heart of the club’s formation.
“This is a way for us to commemorate students taking their time to do creative things and just giving them the space to showcase that,” Kamau said.
Junior psychology and African American studies major Triston Ivory said he enjoyed seeing what the showcase indicated for the club.
“It was great being able to see the improvement from last year’s showcase to this one,” Ivory said.
The Black Media Club previously hosted events such as a Grammy Awards watch party and an outdoor thrift pop-up. It has also hosted a series of workshops, including zine making, poster creating and tote bag painting.
Ivory encouraged others to get involved in the club and said their variety of activities offers access points for all students.
“If you enjoy music, you could go to one of their listening parties. If you want a space to watch and discuss different award shows and events, go to their watch parties,” Ivory said. “The possibilities are endless.”
The Black Media club posts events on its Instagram, @slu.blackmedia.
