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Morning Brew: The Story of WE

Join AIGA Colorado for our virtual Morning Brew Series! It is more important than ever to stay connected so join us for a short 30 minute presentation from industry professionals regarding the topics of health, the future of design, or community.

Now the Good Stuff....

A glimpse into the creation of monumental sculpture and the Power of Representation in Public Art.

Our city centers have been very divers for quite some time so public art needs to catch up to the realities of its shifting demographic. Artist Tanda Francis examines the effects of the lack of representation in our public spaces and identified this void as a key element fueling the discontent we are witnessing the public voice in the streets with the Black Lives Matter movement today.

The art typically represented in our shared public spaces depict the heroic white male warrior looming over us all. These communicates a powerful message of white dominance over a public who sense a deliberate oppression by the system these images represent.

Francis’ work counters that narrative.

She will discuss her past work as well as her latest public sculpture proposal “The Story of WE” as powerful alternative to the white dominance subject matter and offers a counter nateitice to which the public can look up to and relate.

Tanda Francis’ The Story of WE

The Story of WE is a public sculpture embodiment of the fantastic tale she calls the lost history of an unknown-black-abolitionist afro-futuristic-superhero-Brooklinite who’s divine consciousness inspires one of the greatest ideals throughout time - liberty and justice for all.

The Story of WE is conceptualized to be a series of monumental 12 ft head. Its blackened bronze silhouette will stand bodily against the backdrop of our cityscapes.

The story of WE serves as a point of strength representing the embodiment of the spirit within many Africans around the world living a life physically removed from the land which we remain spiritually linked.

Speaker Bio:

Tanda Francis is a Brooklyn based artist with a primary focus of creating monumental African heads and masks for public and personal spaces. She is inspired by ancient customs and rituals as a significant means of understanding and addressing our contemporary condition and uses her work to activate a dialog of universal origin which crosses cultural barriers.

Francis explores digital and traditional forms of art while working and exhibiting her art in solo and group exhibitions locally and internationally. Tanda Francis has created several site-specific monumental public art pieces including BIGGIE (2014), New York City; Everyone Breaks, Riverside Park, New York City (2015-2016); And We Breath (collaborative), Van Cortlandt Park, New York City (2015-2016); Take Me With You, Socrates Sculpture Park, New York City, (2017-2018), among others.

Artist Statement:

My work creates a dialogue of personal and collective identity in relation to society and the things we build around us. I am motivated to create figuratively as a direct means of communicating emotionally and physically to a wide range of viewers. I present my work as a moment for viewers to pause and look within and confront face to face what often goes unseen.

My inspirations are found in cultural history, nature and geometry and the tension created by combining these contrasting elements. Living primarily in urban western cultures I seek to create environments incorporating nature and the human form as an opportunity to engage, interpret and learn from the act and outcome of creating.

Speaker Links:

  • Website: TANDAFRANICS.COM
  • Instagram: @TANDAFRANCIS
  • Email: TANDA@TADNAFRANCIS.COM

For This Event

We are asking for a suggested donation of $5.00 and will be donating 50% of the proceeds to our speakers and partners for Morning Brew. The remaining 50% will go to the AIGA Colorado Chapter to help with our overhead costs, future programming, and scholarships for students during this time.

This presentation will be recorded and sent to everyone who has registered in a recap email.

Videos and mics will be muted for all attendees throughout the call. If you have any questions, please add them in the Q & A in Zoom. We’ll stay on the call for about 10 minutes afterward to answer questions.

To keep the conversation going afterwards, please join our AIGA Colorado Slack Channel #morning-brew.

A few house rules:

Given the short time of these presentations, please make sure your camera and microphone are turned off. Q & A’s at the end will be taken via Zoom Chat. Please note, we will be recording this session for our community members later, including Q & A's. If you would rather have a private discussion, feel free to contact us after we’ve ended the recording.

Feel free to sit back, sip your morning brew, and enjoy!

When & Where
Thu, Jun 11, 2020 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM MDT