Themes
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Current

explores the South’s metaphysical nature as a living archive, existing dually as a spatiotemporal metric: a means of fluid existence and a meteorological pursuit.

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Camouflage

address the ways in which someone or something is visually indistinguishable from its context, specifically speaking to the permeability of the Southern landscape and its inhabitants.

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Conspiracy

interrogates the experiences that construct our lives, systems of relation, and landscapes across the South.

Features
Interview

There’s not enough places in the world where we can learn about the South. That’s the focus, it’s a part of [The Reading Room’s] mission: To ensure that there’s enough evidence, just like Arthur Schomburg intended. That evidence has existed for decades, but it’s vital that it’s in a place where you can access it, and people can come to know for themselves.

Amarie Cemone Gipson Jul 10, 2023

Amarie Cemone Gipson, founder of The Reading Room, sits with Camille Bacon to discuss her journey in creating the Black art reference library and her vision for its future in Houston.

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Mood Ring
a thread, unread
a thread, unread

Through video, gifs, and cinemagraphs, West Virginia artist Ally Christmas meditates on the loss of her grandmother, examining text messages and altering textiles and family photos.

Reader Burnaway Reader
Recents

From the patternmaking of discarded wood to bridge-building diasporas and communities, Amina Daugherty speaks with Atlanta-based artist Ato Ribeiro on his roots and current practice.

Blair LeBlanc speaks with Earthen Clay on the interdependence of connection and feedback between two grounds, along with creating spaces for joy against oppressive odds.

“Place is important to my work, coming from a place that is determined in other people’s imagination,” said Joiri Minaya, a multidisciplinary artist from the Dominican Republic. Minaya’s work engages with Camouflage, one of Burnaway’s 2023 themes.