Our society is divided along gender, ethnic, socioeconomic, class, and identity lines, often enforced by our unspoken differences. The documentary, "Divided: A Body Disjointed," is a conceptual project that explores themes of division, both internal (mental/emotional) and external (bias/community-based), through the mediums of music, photography, and film. I’m using my unreleased RnB album, mixed by a Grammy-winning studio, endorsed by the Chicago Grammy committee, and a tentative Guinness World Record-breaker – as the source of inspiration for the conversations that this project will undoubtedly spark.Since the country is as polarized as it's ever been, I wanted to make conversations on division widely accessible through the most digestible forms of media possible. I enlisted 5 Chicago photographers to listen to and digest the album, gather their thoughts on the themes present, and plan their own photo sequences to shoot. From there, my film crew rolls out to the photographer’s chosen location and documents them in action, subsequently capturing their thoughts on what they’ve just created in an on-location interview in accordance with CDC COVID-19 guidelines.After Chicago, I will replicate this project nationwide, in several global cities, and in the ISS via my connection to NASA as a social ambassador, to turn it into a universal, feature-length film incorporating the Chicago footage. The photo sequences will be presented in a digital, interactive, map-style gallery, along with music from the album and emotional intelligence tech donated by STRUT Learning. The film will get an original score by the album's producer, a Platinum producer, and a Golden Reel composer.If we think of the topics examined as the first dimension (1D), my album as the 2D, the photo sequences as the 3D, the film as the 4D, and the resulting conversations as the 5D, then my team and I have created one of the most multidimensional projects ever, with standalone components at every level.
Finding clean, aesthetic interview spaces that fit the moods of these shoots is hard, especially on a self-funded, passion project budget. If I receive sponsorship from Peerspace, I would use these spaces to finish filming the last two photoshoot-interview sessions (which typically take anywhere from two to eight hours based on the shoots we have done so far). Then, once all of the photos are developed and edited by the photographers, I would host a live gallery viewing event in a Peerspace location, complete with the Chicago documentary premiere, music from the album, and a Q&A panel with the photographers! Each photographer falls into a different compartmentalized section of society, based on gender, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, class, and other factors of identity. I feel like the experiences that these photographers share, or may not share but empathize with, will help individual audience members internalize the work we will be presenting, and bridge the divides that ail our society as a whole. In this way, I will use Peerspace's space(s) to champion the artists of my Chicago community and beyond, while publicly celebrating the factors that unite us rather than divide us.
Peerspace is on a mission to bring people together. We believe it is impossible to achieve that goal unless we also fight for equality and access to resources in the communities we serve.
Having a space to gather, create, and exchange ideas is an important part of any movement. In order to magnify voices that are often quieted, Peerspace will sponsor venues for people who challenge prejudice and fight for social justice and equality.
Each quarter, we will sponsor space for three projects that are relevant to our community. These projects can range from fundraisers and educational initiatives to art exhibits and photo series.
