Aphrochic Magazine: Issue No. 7
For our Summer 2021 issue, we have an issue full of color, life and all of the things that make our Diaspora beautiful. For our cover story, we are thrilled to sit down with one of our favorite folks in fashion, the amazing Charles Harbison. After a 5-year hiatus and a cross-country jump from New York to Los Angeles, Charles is back with the much-anticipated return of his eponymous fashion line, HARBISON. We also sit down with the iconic Dyana Williams. A legend of the Philadelphia radio scene that we grew up on, she’s better known outside the city as the mother of Black Music Month. We sat down with Dyana to talk about Black music, the newly opened National Museum of African American Music and the artists on her playlist that she feels are doing the most for the culture. In our Hot Topic, AphroChic contributor Ruby Brown takes an incisive look at Pride, all that the LGBTQIA+ community has accomplished and all that’s left to do. And in response to the growing debate over Critical Race Theory, which in the last months has taken over news feeds and legislative floors alike, we take a break from our ongoing discussion of the African Diaspora to offer a brief exploration of CRT, it’s origins, it’s concepts and why it seems to have everyone so upset. Throw in some amazing art from THE CONSTANT NOW gallery in Antwerp, inspirational words from author Alexandra Elle, and the latest updates from the outdoor spaces at the AphroFarmhouse and we think this issue will have you ready for the summer season.
For our Summer 2021 issue, we have an issue full of color, life and all of the things that make our Diaspora beautiful. For our cover story, we are thrilled to sit down with one of our favorite folks in fashion, the amazing Charles Harbison. After a 5-year hiatus and a cross-country jump from New York to Los Angeles, Charles is back with the much-anticipated return of his eponymous fashion line, HARBISON. We also sit down with the iconic Dyana Williams. A legend of the Philadelphia radio scene that we grew up on, she’s better known outside the city as the mother of Black Music Month. We sat down with Dyana to talk about Black music, the newly opened National Museum of African American Music and the artists on her playlist that she feels are doing the most for the culture.
In our Hot Topic, AphroChic contributor Ruby Brown takes an incisive look at Pride, all that the LGBTQIA+ community has accomplished and all that’s left to do. And in response to the growing debate over Critical Race Theory, which in the last months has taken over news feeds and legislative floors alike, we take a break from our ongoing discussion of the African Diaspora to offer a brief exploration of CRT, it’s origins, it’s concepts and why it seems to have everyone so upset.
Throw in some amazing art from THE CONSTANT NOW gallery in Antwerp, inspirational words from author Alexandra Elle, and the latest updates from the outdoor spaces at the AphroFarmhouse and we think this issue will have you ready for the summer season.
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ARTISTS & ARTISANS<br />
Since then, they have established<br />
KEEN Antwerp, a creative studio that brings<br />
together the couple’s worlds of photography,<br />
graphic design and storytelling. In<br />
March, KEEN launched a new project - THE<br />
CONSTANT NOW.<br />
For Magali and Bart, who are getting<br />
ready for the birth of their second child, THE<br />
CONSTANT NOW is aiming to showcase art<br />
in a way that reflects our diverse world, and<br />
that mission is no small feat.<br />
A multi-billion dollar global industry,<br />
the world of paintings, sculpture, photography<br />
and other fine art is overwhelmingly<br />
white and overwhelming male across<br />
the globe. In every sector, from auctioneers<br />
to gallerists, diversity is an issue. And<br />
it leads to a lack of representation in what<br />
gets shown, what works gain traction, and<br />
who can build a career. But in the last year,<br />
something has been percolating. In some of<br />
the world’s largest art markets, like New York<br />
City, Black-owned galleries are beginning<br />
to pop up and for Magali (who is of African<br />
descent) and Bart, they are working to create<br />
a more diverse art community in their home<br />
of Antwerp.<br />
The gallery’s first show, THE KIDS ARE<br />
ALRIGHT PT1, opened this past spring. “Our<br />
new gallery aims to start a conversation<br />
about diversity, color, and multiple perspectives<br />
within the art world. By curating and<br />
bringing together a fantastic cast of young,<br />
diverse artists, we did just that,” wrote<br />
Magali on social media during the final days<br />
of the exhibition. “I'm very pleased about the<br />
big turnout, the positive reactions, and the<br />
smooth collaboration with Kevin Botongo<br />
Kotahunyi of Please Add Color. This first<br />
group show was a hit on so many levels!”<br />
Over 13 days, the gallery hosted<br />
hundreds of visitors who came to support the<br />
work of local artists, many who were of color.<br />
Showcasing an experimental mix of disciplines,<br />
including paintings, installations,<br />
drawings, and textiles, there was not only<br />
racial diversity present, but artistic diversity<br />
as well. Hosted in the couple’s gallery space,<br />
gallerists, curators, museum directors and<br />
members of the local community flocked<br />
to come see the new work. “Reactions were<br />
highly positive, which we didn’t expect,”<br />
Magali confessed.<br />
This fall, THE CONSTANT NOW will<br />
launch its second exhibition, THE KIDS ARE<br />
ALRIGHT PT2. We’re sure Antwerp and the<br />
rest of the art world will be watching to see<br />
what this blossoming gallery does next as<br />
they continue to make the case that diversity<br />
in the arts matters. AC<br />
Magali Elali and her husband<br />
and creative partner, Bart<br />
Kiggen. Learn more about<br />
upcoming exhibitions at<br />
theconstantnow.com<br />
104 aphrochic issue seven 105
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