The
Black
Love
Experience
in Anacostia FEBRUARY 2017 | VOL 3, ISSUE 2
FEBRUARY 2017 | VOL 3, ISSUE 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EDITOR’S LETTER If you haven't heard of the Anacostia Arts Center you are truly missing out! The venue offers unique shops, wellness, art and more. Last weekend the center held its original program the Black Love Experience for the fourth year with a sold out crowd. Anika Hobbs, the owner of boutique Nubian Hueman speaks with us about what inspired her to start the affair that brings Black millennials east of the river to Anacostia.
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Around the District: What to do this Weekend Married Couple Brings Coffee and Art to Bloomingdale Neighborhood HBCU Grads Launch Alkaline Water Company
They Will Donate a Portion of Sales to Alma Mater
PUBLISHER Denise Rolark Barnes
PHOTOGRAPHER Dejah Greene
The Black Love Experience Like Nothing Else in DC
Anacostia Arts Center Celebrates African Diaspora
The Black Love Experience 2017
ON THE COVER LAYOUT
Get to know the supreme hair braider and artist Shani Crowe from Chicago, responsible for Solange’s coiled hairstyles who performed a live artist talk at the Experience.
Dominiqua S. Eldridge
In the name of Black Love check out two couples striving to make a difference in their community using two everyday staples coffee and water. Don't miss our Around the District feature with fun things to do this weekend featuring music, comedy and Black history. Keep up with us on social media! If you’re a writer/photographer and you want to be a part of the Bridge team email me at swright@washingtoninformer.com. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Sarafinasaid.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Interdisciplinary artist Shani Crowe performs a live artist talk at the Black Love Experience on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Anacostia Arts Center in Southeast. /Photo by Mayowa Ojo.
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Sarafina Wright Jade James-Gist WI Bridge Staff
FEBRUARY 2017 | VOL 3, ISSUE 2
Around the District: What to do this Weekend By WI Bridge Staff
DC Black History Film Festival 2017 Macy’s Celebrates Black Brandon T. Jackson: Live History Month Comedy Show Thursday, February 23 at 5:30 p.m. Macy’s Metro Center, 4th Floor, Intimates Department 1201 G Street NW
Join host Crissle West - writer and co-host of the podcast, The Read - for a celebration of Black Art and Expression, featuring a panel discussion with Pages Matam - international writer, performer and Director of Poetry Events for Busboys and Poets, Desiree Venn Frederic - writer, installation artist and founder of Nomad Yard, and Christoph Jenkins - founder and CEO of Fighting Cancer with Poetry, Inc.
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 26 at 7:30 p.m. DC Improv 1140 Connecticut Ave NW Two item minimum General admission $20. 18 & over
Sunday, February 26 at 2:00 p.m. The Lincoln Theatre 1215 U St NW The DC Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs, Urban Film Review & Lamman Rucker Present the annual 2017 DC Black History Film Festival. The event is a day-long viewing of independent features, shorts and documentaries of the African diaspora past and present. The festival offers a short film and essay contest for Washington, DC area high school students.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Live at The Fillmore Saturday, February 25 at 9:00 p.m. The Fillmore Silver Spring 8656 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910 $30
After the discussion, enjoy light refreshments, live performance by Black Alley and haiku poets. Plus, twin artists Rachel and Rebecca Crouch will paint live. RSVP at www.macys.com/celebrate.
The St. Gregory Hotel Celebrates the 89th Academy Awards: Hollywood Glamour Night Sunday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m. The St. Gregory Hotel 2033 M Street NW The St. Gregory Hotel will be rolling out the red carpet for a night of glitz and Hollywood glamour to celebrate the 89th annual Academy Awards, which honors the best actors and films of 2016. Guests will be able to watch the awards ceremony on large projector screens in the hotel ballroom, while sipping Hollywood-inspired cocktails and enjoying passed hors d’oeuvres courtesy of Tredici Enoteca. This black-tie affair also includes a step-and-repeat, door prizes for “best dressed” and a live jazz band that will be preforming an eclectic mix of covers in the newly renovated Lobby Lounge. Additionally, the first 150 guests will receive a complimentary glass of Champagne upon arrival. For tickets visit www.stgregoryhotelwdc.com.
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FEBRUARY 2017 | VOL 3, ISSUE 2
Married Couple Brings Coffee and Art to Bloomingdale Neighborhood
By Jade James-Gist WI Bridge Contributor
The home of Creative Grounds DC located at 1822 N. Capitol St. NW in the Bloomingdale neighborhood. / Courtesy photo.
This Spring, a husband and wife duo will open Creative Grounds DC, a space for art education, community collaboration and coffee in their Northwest neighborhood of Bloomingdale.
The program includes pioneering artists and art educators like Sam Gilliam and Alma Thomas who lived and worked in the District. In Sium’s opinion, the Bloomingle neighborhood has pockets of wonderful cultural communities that have yet to coalesce.
Asmara Sium and Kenn Blagburn said their hoped for success in this venture goes beyond serving customers – “it is for our children, for a dream realized and for all that is yet to come.” As a real estate professional, Blagburn handles all Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs related issues and as a former nonprofit professional, Sium brokers deals with vendors, oversees staffing and will manage the day to day operations. “We have our ‘lanes’ so to speak, and we know that progress in one area, is progress for all areas,” Sium said. Adding to the family business dynamic, the couple’s children are intimately involved in every step of Creative Grounds DC from the art classes, to the name of the coffee bar itself – every aspect of the venture is created by and geared for family, art, and community. “Bloomingdale has been a great place
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“We are all ships that pass in the night,” she said. Owners of Creative Grounds DC, Asmara Sium and Kenn Blagburn with their children Khalab and Samra. / Photo courtesy of Asmara Sium.
to raise our kids,” Sium said. “The only missing piece has been indoor organized activities for children.” The family strongly believes in the healing and transformative power of art, especially in the lives of children. The vision was in part born to satisfy the community’s need for enriching activities for children, something dear to Sium, who is currently drafting an arts education curriculum that celebrates famous art movements throughout history.
Sium, a first-generation Eritrean and Blagburn, an eighth-generation Washingtonian believes in forging a collective identity to build stronger, healthier and more viable communities. Ultimately, they hope to encourage a larger cultural community of Bloomingdale businesses and families. “Ken and I are excited to open our space to the public in the Spring,” she said. “Art is healing, transformative and for children, the developmental benefits of arts practice serves as the basis for all learning.”
FEBRUARY 2017 | VOL 3, ISSUE 2
HBCU Grads Launch Alkaline Water Company They Will Donate a Portion of Sales to Alma Mater By Sarafina Wright
WI Bridge Editor-in-Chief Married couple and proud HBCU [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] graduates who have seen success in the grocery retail industry doesn't want to forget the schools that gave them their start. Allen and Subriana Pierce, co-founders of PhURE Water, an electrolyte enhanced, 9.5 Ph alkaline water bottle line will give a portion of the earnings to their respective HBCUs. “Always, but especially in these economic times, it is important for every HBCU alumni to find ways to support their alma maters,” Allen, North Carolina Central University alum said.
Subriana Pierce Photo courtesy of Navigator Sales.
“We are very pleased that the launch of PhURE Water includes a pledge to donate a portion of each bottle sold.” On Thursday, Feb. 16, the company announced its deal with Albertsons, a grocer with stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia. Adding to their resume that includes retailer Walmart, PhURE Water will be available on the shelves this month in 16.9oz, 1 Liter and 1.5 Liter bottles. The founders tout that PhURE is one of the fastest growing alkaline waters on the market, deriving the name from “Ph,” which characterizes the balance and purity of their water. “Our passion and vision is for a world where clean, safe and affordable drinking water is readily available to everyone,” Subriana, Spelman College alumna said. “We want to impact lives by helping to improve their health and build strong, safe communities while maintaining our core values. One body, one bottle at a time.” Along with their venture into the grocery business, the couple launched Navigator Sales and Marketing, a Los Angeles based, national retail broker. The Pierce’s started this family owned business to consult and represent companies in navigating the retail and consumer package goods industry. Navigator claims that they aim to bring healthy alternatives to the marketplace.
Allen Pierce Photo courtesy of Navigator Sales.
They currently represent over 20 brands like Renpure Hair Care, American Cleaning Supply, Sugar 2.0, The Real Co., Deep River Snacks and Obrigado, a premium coconut water company. Most recently they’ve has success in expanding Old Trapper Beef Jerky, and Hallmark’s Cards multi-cultural lines including VIDA and Mahogany. “We are excited to provide full-service integrated solutions: sales, marketing, merchandising and distribution to our portfolio of clients,” Allen, co-managing partner, Navigator Sales and Marketing said. “We are a one-stop shop.” PhURE Water bottle Photo courtesy of Navigator Sales.
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FEBRUARY 2017 | VOL 3, ISSUE 2
The Black Love Experience Like Nothing Else in DC
Anacostia Arts Center Celebrates African Diaspora By Sarafina Wright
WI Bridge Editor-in-Chief Young, Black entrepreneurs, artists and creatives took over the best hidden secret in Southeast for a night of Black excellence. The Anacostia Arts Center transformed into the Black Love Experience on Saturday, Feb. 18 to celebrate the beauty of people in the African diaspora with workshops, live performances and a live artist talk featuring Shani Crowe. Anika Hobbs, owner of Nubian Hueman, a boutique located inside the center and the brain-child behind the event said in it’s fourth year it continues to get bigger and better. “In the beginning, four years ago, I knew that February is one of the slowest months in retail, so I thought why don't we have something to bring people in,” Hobbs said. “I kept thinking that there are so many creatives of color in D.C. and if we all get together how exciting that would be.”
Boutique owner Anika Hobbs, and visionary behind the Black Love Experience speaks with the WI Bridge about her involvement in the event. /Photo by Roy Lewis.
“Each year it got bigger,” she said. Hobbs characterizes the Black Love Experience as a conglomerate of things like live art, live music, commerce, panels and workshops that she believes is good for the local community. “It’s exciting to see the sold out crowd being introduced to Anacostia.” “We wanted to take the Blackest part of D.C. and bring folks over east of the river to see that there are really cool things happening over here.” Hobbs invited interdisciplinary artist Shani Crowe for a live artist talk given her success and popularity, most notably for being the hands behind singer Solange Knowles’s creative braids in her recent Saturday Night Live performance. “My most popular work is photographic, which depicts braids that I’ve done. I also do collages, drawings, paintings and visual work, which is what I studied in undergrad at Howard,” Crowe said. Crowe, who started getting clients at age 12 said that even though braiding is not her full-time job, she always maintains her gift because of the connection she has made with women. “For anybody that is an outsider and they want a peak into Black hair culture, they have to understand that hair is a lot deeper
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Interdisciplinary artist Shani Crowe shows off her craft braiding a model's hair for her live artist talk at the Black Love Experience on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Anacostia Arts Center in Southeast. /Photo by Roy Lewis.
than the superficial for Black people,” she said. “Hair is an outward expression of who we are.”
FEBRUARY 2017 | VOL 3, ISSUE 2
The Black Love Experience 2017
The Anacostia Arts Center in Southeast. /Photo by Sarafina Wright.
A visual artist freestyle paints the store front of Nubian Hueman boutique at the Black Love Experience on Saturday, Feb. 18. /Photo courtesy of the Black Love Experience.
Partygoers enjoy the vibe at the Black Love Experience on Saturday, Feb. 18. /Photo by Roy Lewis.
The Black Love Experience on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Anacostia Arts Center. /Photo by Roy Lewis.
The Black Love Experience on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Anacostia Arts Center. /Photo by Mayowa Ojo.
The Black Love Experience on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Anacostia Arts Center. /Photo courtesy of the Black Love Experience.
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