#taja lindley

[newsmutproject]

But I also really appreciate beauty because, for me, beauty and pleasure are freedom rituals. Sexual and sensual self-expression is a part of it, but taking my body and telling my own story with it, especially inside of a state, a nation that is concerned with writing my histories and writing my body as legible in certain kinds of ways or illegible in certain kinds of ways, it’s powerful. I get so much joy from doing it. And I’ve actually made more space for just doing straight-up burlesque in my work because I like doing it.

-Taja Lindley, “Adornment and Burlesque” in Pleasure Activism

[herstory5]

Shout out to: "Taja Lindley" for this beautiful, creative, captivating, visual imagery!!! This image speaks VOLUMES! Stay WOKE folks! https://www.tajalindley.com/thebagladymanifesta

“Bag Lady”

A song that is currently resonating in my mental space is by Erykah Badu, “Bag Lady”. There’s a section of the chorus that goes, “Bag lady, you gone hurt your back draggin’ all them bags like that.” Where oh where do I begin to unpack all of this mental and emotional baggage? Last week was the first week of my new African American studies course titled, “Sunken Place: Racism, Survival, and Black Horror Aesthetic.”

Films I've seen previously, like "Get Out," are being seen from a fresh perspective. The "rose-colored glasses" are no longer being worn. Professor Due gives us some insight on the origins of Black Horror, explaining that "it was a means to transfer real life traumas — fear and anger into a fictitious drama." I've always found it odd that I just cannot get enough of watching horror, even if it makes me cringe, squirm, increase my heartbeat, and stay awake at night with nightmares. Where does it come from? Professor Due made a statement claiming, "those who watch horror did better during the pandemic." As much as I'd want to, I just don't have time to fully unpack this statement. Yeah right, who am I am kidding, I can't wait to unpack this! 

My mother abandoned my sister and me when I was just 5-years old. She left me and my sister in the care of our abusive, emotionally unstable, and often absentee father. My paternal grandmother took majority care of me and my sister until her health began to decline. She had adopted my father and his siblings from Germany, but that's a subject for another day. My sister and I were heading to school one day when we heard our grandmother's voice from a distance; upon turning around, we saw our disoriented and undressed grandmother (Nana) making her way up the street. Nana was exhibiting symptoms of dementia; I would learn later.  When I was 11 years old, Nana passed. Those 6 years in-between the time of her death were very emotionally and mentally taxing on me and my sister.  That was the beginning of the end for us. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2019, less than a year before the pandemic. Fast forward to the pandemic, and my mother succumbs to cancer. I felt abandoned once again. I have endured much trauma in my life.

A major part of my childhood from a young age I recall watching horror and thrillers with my mother, father, paternal grandmother, cousins, siblings etc. Television shows and films like, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock’s – The Birds, Psycho (all of them) and Rear Window, Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, The Shinning, Poltergeist, many…many Stephen King films; Carrie, The Shining, It (I’m still freaked out by clowns), Christine, Pet Cemetery, Misery, Cujo and soooooo many more. Every person in my family I listed above had experienced trauma. Due to the brain's inability to differentiate between fiction and reality, when I watch a horror movie, a component of my mind believes that "Freddy Krueger (for example)" is after me in real life. So, how exactly can watching horror help you decompress? Specifically, those of us with anxiety and trauma. It makes me think of my ancestors and how they were able to survive such inhumanity, such brutality. Once the mind has gone through several traumatic experiences, it strengthens and realizes that it is capable of surviving. Regardless how it may seem, horror films inform us that fear is not fatal. Therefore, those who watch horror and/or have endured traumatic events may have done much better during the pandemic. Without this course, I highly doubt I would have been able to conceptualize this.

When so much of life seems out our control, horror may help us recover and get control over our feelings. Black men are being executed unjustly, and no one is being held accountable, eerily similar to the Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras. Women's rights to their bodies are being violated, with the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Black Horror is more than a cinematic feature; it is a daily lived reality for Blacks in AmeriKKKa.

[tarotresearchresidency]

tarot reading 25-11-20

Cards: Two of Cups, The Star, The Empress

Deck: Movie Tarot

My first reading of my thirties and it couldn’t be nicer, or more apt. The Two of Cups signals a relationship (the one I’m in with my partner, and the one I have with myself - both of which relationships are nourishing and loving in a way I couldn’t have expected before I committed to them). The Star–represented by Judy Garland as Esther in A Star is Born–is hope, and particularly given the character, a hope that hard work and talent will be recognised. And The Empress–Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra–lies in the future position. I think of the Empress as sensual feminine power, a woman who lives life to the full, who rules through pleasure. 

Leaving aside Cleopatra’s terrible end for the moment, I relish the idea of experiencing pleasure for the decade to come. Since I was in my early twenties, I have looked forward to being in my thirties, having decided my thirties will be my Nigella years. Nigella Lawson is a much beloved food personality, both for her sensuality but also her inviting approach to life. Nigella (having received the honour of becoming mononymic) has, throughout her career, developed a reputation for truly enjoying food - not scrimping on butter or cream, but neither wallowing in it. One of my group chats sung her praises last week for her announcement that she butters her toast twice; the first immediately, while the toast is hot, and then the second layer so that the butter forms pools on top. I like this idea of finding a simple pleasure (buttered toast) and making it just how you like it, no expense spared. 

Cleopatra, whose first lover, Caesar, is assassinated, finds love again with Mark Anthony. Cleopatra, a lover queen, is called a harlot by Caesar’s killers for taking more than one man to bed in her life. She helps herself to what she wants, even if others might disapprove. We often feel like pleasure is not something we can allow ourselves; that it’s immoral or selfish for us to take it. Society tells us that all the time. It’s possible that people don’t want to see you have joy because you’d throw their joy-starved lives into question.

adrienne maree brown’s Pleasure Activism applies Audre Lorde’s Uses of the Erotic to many real-life situations: she speaks to Taja Lindley, a fashion designer, comedian, rapper and burlesque performer, about how adorning and unveiling one’s body can be a source of power and pleasure, and also Dallas Goldtooth, an Indigenous comedian and Standing Rock activist about the power to ‘make light’ of situations; using comedy for political purposes. Each of the people brown speaks to in her book have experienced difficulty, from racism to illness to abuse. And yet all of them have managed to find pleasure afterwards, in spite of it all. 

We can make time for enjoyable experiences in our lives; it takes very little effort to turn a simple meal into something that dignifies you, as queen/king/ruler of your life. Likewise, it takes very little effort to spread pleasure to others. Remembering birthdays is one way; sending a beautiful picture or funny moment is another. While Empress Nigella would put effort into whatever she cooked for you, Empress Cleopatra would perhaps treat you to a feast prepared by someone else (a takeaway perhaps?). 

This deck, the Movie Tarot deck, was a gift for my birthday, and I thought I might play around with it, get to know it a little. I have a number of decks that I have been given, or bought for myself over the years, but until now I have largely stuck to reading with the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, as it is the most commonly used, and the basis for a lot of other tarot decks. I had previously thought I had better get a grounding in tarot with a foundational deck before branching out, but having been reading tarot for three years now, I feel like now I’m ready to explore. 

[tajalindley]

One year ago today I released my film This Ain't A Eulogy: A Ritual for Re-Membering. It began as a live performance ritual at La Mama’s Squirts in 2015, and has since been shared dozens of times in classrooms, living rooms, conferences, public spaces, theater stages, galleries, and fairs in iterations of film, live performance, and site-specific installation. This work has deepened my commitment and creative rigor to do ritual performance with integrity. It is my love letter for hearts that ache over the incessant incidents of state sanctioned violence; it is my balm to help process the grief that comes from irreversible loss; and it is my offering for how we transform and heal from the conditions that make a culture of disposability possible.

To honor this milestone occasion I am selling high resolution still images of the film. These are limited edition archival pigment prints and can be exclusively viewed on Curatious. A portion of the profits will be donated to resource organizations and groups that provide support to Black families that have been directly impacted by state-sanctioned violence.

[coloredgirlshustle]

Colored Girls Hustle founder and managing member @tajalindley rocking her Expansion Earrings in her photoshoot with @elle! Read the article about her and other members of Harriet’s Apothecary on Elle.com/squadcare. Get your earrings on ColoredGirlsHustle.com/shop.

[blackqueercharacters]

Taja Lindley as Sierra

The actress portrays a pansexual business manager in Chanelle Aponte Pearson’s 195 Lewis.

[blackcontemporaryart]

This Ain’t A Eulogy: A Ritual for Re-Membering

Based on Taja Lindley's solo healing performance ritual that debuted at La Mama's SQUIRTS in 2015, "This Ain't A Eulogy" is drawing parallels between discarded materials and the violent treatment of Black people in the United States. People in the African Diaspora have a long history of repurposing, remixing, and transforming oppressive systems into valuable cultural practices. In this post-Ferguson moment, Lindley is calling on this legacy to imagine how we can recycle the energy of protest, rage, and grief into creating a world where, indeed, Black Lives Matter.

Special thanks to Ellen Maynard of The Fleet NYC (thefleetnyc.com) for her cinematography and creativity.

TajaLindley.com

[healingtheblackbody]

Links for the Community Ritual! full description in previous posts below.

Moe, The H.o.e.listic Health Coach

Friday, January 29th - 3:00 - 5:00pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAscu-hpjwpG9C7KMNoqxQmHLPAx8ly9Oqi

Taja Lindley

Friday, January 29th - 6:00-8:00pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpf-uorT0sGNJWYUTrs5S2-r8__o58bx87

LINDA LA

Friday, January 29th - 8:30 - 9:30pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUuf-6vqjsuG9S7rz4bxjhaggDsCzphuHN3

Shanel Edwards

Saturday, January 30th - 12:00pm - 1:00pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvduCrqTIiHtDeOtB01iKGqHQTiizP4vnV

Olaiya Olayemi

Saturday, January 30th - 2:00pm - 3:30pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqfuGppjsoH9FWtBGZQTWe__e07N0k7s_v

Brother(hood) Dance!

January 30th - 5:00pm-6:00pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUocOqvrTMuEtaEM6QX8kLd9ItaiUregeQP

Sasha Schaafe

January 30th - 7:00pm-8:30pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvd-qsrDsqHtzkR93WGC3sl2wurizVcTsJ

Kiyan Williams

Sunday, January 31st - 1:00pm-2:00pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpde-srT0qE9McUbutgFApjaqUmAWvHZ25

Ni’Ja Whitson

Sunday, January 31st - 3:00pm-4:00pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUsdOyupzIjE9yVi1l6_ne6nOdaRQKOeKzh

Ọmọlólù / Ma’at Works Dance Collective / Ricky

Sunday, January 31st, 5:00pm - 6:30pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqf--vrzwqEtxieIjv_kakBkwjK8c9YoYP

[anniekoh]

art as social practice and with/in public policy

Antigone in Ferguson: A modern tragedy is now a Greek tragedy David Freedlander (Daily Beast, 2017)

A body, killed dead by the state, lies unburied in full public view. The authorities say that the corpse deserves to be punished, that the body is that of an invader’s, someone who is a danger and a threat to the community. Chaos ensues, as the community grapples with notions of justice and fairness.

This is the brief story of Antigone. And it is the story of Michael Brown, too, the unarmed African-American teenager who was shot by police on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, setting off days of clashes between protesters and police.

Reading about Antigone in Ferguson (and now I forget why I was chasing the idea of modern day remakes through an internet wormhole) and the article above sent me in multiple directions

Besides Theater of War, the [NYC’s New York City Department of Cultural Affairs called Public Artists in Residence] program has brought the Cuban artist Tania Bruguera into work with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs on a project called CycleNews that involves immigrant women cycling through their neighborhoods with handcrafted pamphlets letting residents know of services available to them, and taking the residents’ concerns back to governmental agencies.

It also brought artist Mary Miss to work alongside the city’s Department of Design and Construction on a project that gets artists to collaborate further on city planning projects.

“It’s about bringing the creativity of artists into the public sector to see how these artists can be problem solvers and creatively envision different ways of looking at some of the issues we face,” said Tom Finkelpearl, commissioner of cultural affairs. “There is something an artist can do that is like therapy without calling it therapy. It has a different angle on it.”

[Photo of CycleNews featuring Mujeres en Movimiento; a project developed by Tania Bruguera]

For her PAIR residency, Tania asked the question: how can immigrant communities begin to trust the government and how, in turn, will the government demonstrate that it trusts immigrant communities? To address this question, Bruguera joined forces with long-time collaborators Mujeres en Movimiento, who use tactics from art and community organizing to advocate for neighborhood improvements, as well as Kollektiv Migrantas, a participatory design collective specializing in migrant rights. Together, the group created CycleNews, a two-way bike messenger service to communicate trusted, first-hand information between city agencies and immigrant communities.

For CycleNews, the Mujeres trained with MOIA to develop strategies to educate and engage immigrant residents about rights and services available to them through MOIA. Working with the Kollektiv Migrantas, Bruguera, the Mujeres, MOIA, and DCLA co-created picture-based materials outlining critical MOIA services to share with the Corona community. Every weekend for the duration of CycleNews, the Mujeres became creative bike messengers, delivering this specially-crafted information on acid yellow CycleNews bicycles. As messengers, the Mujeres served as direct points of contact between immigrant communities and government institutions and bring first-hand feedback, ideas, hopes, and fears to City officials.

Public Artists in Residence at NYC’s Dept of Cultural Affairs

PAIR is based on the premise that artists are creative problem-solvers. They are able to create long-term and lasting impact by working collaboratively and in open-ended processes to build community bonds, open channels for two-way dialogue, and reimagine realities to create new possibilities for those who experience and participate in the work.

Through a series of conversations, DCLA and a partner City Agency decide on a broad population, challenge, and/or goal the partner agency wishes to focus on. With Commissioner-level support, DCLA issues an open call for artists or recommends artists based on artistic excellence and demonstrated knowledge of the particular social issues addressed in the residency. The final artist selection is made in partnership with both agencies.

Each PAIR is a minimum of one year. The residency begins with a research phase, during which the artist spends time at the agency meeting staff and learning about its operations and initiatives while also introducing their art practice and process to agency staff. The research phase concludes with a proposal from the artist outlining one or more public-facing participatory projects that will be implemented in partnership with the agency. Artists receive a fee, as well as in-kind resources such as desk space with the partner agency, an access to DCLA’s Materials for the Arts.

Current Public Artists in Residence (PAIRs) - 2019: Taja Lindley; Laura Nova; Julia Weist; Janet Zweig

Past Public Artists in Residence (PAIRs): Rachel Barnard; Tania Bruguera; Onyedika Chuke; Bryan Doerries; Tatyana Fazlalizadeh; Ebony Noelle Golden; The Lost Collective; Mary Miss; Social Design Collective and Christine Tinsley

[thenoticeblog]

Feeling Good: Pleasure as Ritual Resistance

#Canon80D #jazz #judsonmemorialchurch

[afutureancient]

M.G. Recap: The Bag Lady Manifesta

M.G. Recap: The Bag Lady Manifesta

https://vimeo.com/204480107 Based on Taja Lindley’s solo healing performance ritual that debuted at La Mama’s SQUIRTS in 2015, “This Ain’t A Eulogy” is drawing parallels between discarded materials and the violent treatment of Black people in the United States. People in the African Diaspora have a long history of repurposing, remixing, and transforming oppressive systems into valuable cultural…

[thedustyrebel]

Taja Lindley: Brooklyn Museum First Saturday

Taja Lindley performing a remixed excerpt of her one-woman show "The Bag Lady Manifesta" at Brooklyn Museum for First Saturday: Queer Continuums. The full performance can be seen at Dixon Place Theater this September.

More photos: Taja Lindley, Brooklyn Museum, Performance Art

Full album of Taja Lindley performing at the Brooklyn Museum on TheDustyRebel Facebook page.

[outandaboutnycmag]

5/1/17 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: This Ain’t A Eulogy: A Ritual for Re-Membering

5/1/17 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: This Ain’t A Eulogy: A Ritual for Re-Membering

Taja Lindley’s This Ain’t A Eulogy: A Ritual for Re-Membering draws parallels between discarded materials and the violent treatment of Black people in the United States. (more…)

[brooklynmuseum]

We’re excited to announce our film series Black Queer Brooklyn on Film! For the entire month of June, we’re showing new shorts by young, black, queer female-identified, and gender-nonconforming video artists and filmmakers working in Brooklyn.  

On view in the Elizabeth A Sackler Center for Feminist Art Forum, adjacent to our special exhibition We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85, this series brings conversations initiated by artists in this historic period of second-wave feminism around race, gender, feminism, and political action to the present. By showcasing the latest work coming out of Brooklyn today, 30 years after the span of the exhibition, this series expands on the legacy of groundbreaking cultural production on view in the galleries.

Scheduled to run throughout June (pride month!), we honor the contributions of the Combahee River Collective, a black lesbian feminist organization formed in 1974, and their Black Feminist Statement which frames We Wanted A Revolution. The shorts in Black Queer Brooklyn on Film represent the diverse range of material being produced in the medium in Brooklyn right now across, between, and beyond genres. Artists and filmmakers in the series utilize narrative, montage, documentary, web series, and animation to imagine new possibilities for art making and storytelling.

Featuring new releases by Frances Bodomo, Dyani Douze, Ja’Tovia Gary, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Chanelle Aponte Pearson and Stefani Saintonge—members of film collective New Negress Film Society— and Reina Gossett, Lindsay Catherine Harris, Carrie Hawks, Taja Lindley, Tiona Nekkia McClodden, D’hana Perry, Naima Ramos-Chapman, and Isabella Reyes.

The series kicks off at June’s Target First Saturday and continues on subsequent Thursdays throughout the month. On June 29, the series culminates with a special screening of the influential classic The Watermelon Woman with director Cheryl Dunye and poet-activist Cheryl Clarke in person. See here for the full schedule and join us for the kick off on First Saturday!

Posted by Lauren A. Zelaya

[tajalindley]

The Bag Lady Manifesta 9.9.2017 📷 Jennifer Coard TajaLindley.com

[coloredgirlshustle]

We just dropped our new earring collection! Audacious earrings designed for intentional living featuring fun colors and funky designs. Today’s featured design is TRIPLE THREAT: gorgeous, gifted, and on the grind. 💅🏾 Shop this and other earrings in the collection at ColoredGirlsHustle.com/shop

We'll be selling these and more at our upcoming Colored Girls Hustle Marketplace this Saturday in Brooklyn! Click here to learn more and RSVP.

Designed by Taja Lindley

Model: Badila Moon

Photographer: JD Urban