It took me 4 years to write 4 sentences

My name is Sierra King and I am in pursuit of Building Archives for Black Women Artist.
Building archives for Black Women Artist has historically been a task for archivist of many institutions and organizations long after the artist has completed the work.
It is my aim to further eradicate the narrative that Black Women Artists do not exist within the historical canon of American Art.
By continuing to document, preserve and archive their artistic journeys I am taking up the responsibility of the collectors, archivists and caretakers before me.

In two weeks, I'll be in my first residency as an artist in my career and those 4 sentences + the 4 years of work got me here.

Four particular instances have stuck with me and drive me to get up in the morning.

The first:
I went to the home of Angela Davis Johnson and sat with her for an afternoon. I brought my camera but what I most enjoyed was the conversation. We spoke about her recent exhibition but more about her work / home / life balance.

As I listened to her I imagined, the visuals of her traveling with her children, making meals in between the day and resting when she needed.

We continued to talk and she cooked for me. A small warm salad with bread on the side.

She hadn't known I didn't have money to eat that day. Nor did I disclose that I was running low on gas to make the trip into the city.

Much of these intimate parts of her life the I imagined during our conversation will never be seen or documented and since then I have asked myself, why.

The second:
I was on set of Ebony Blanding's film Talk to Plants as a behind the scenes photographer. My focus had been on the set details, crew and overall production.

Until she started directing Danielle Deadwyler in one of the later scenes. It wasn't a direction, like move here, move there. But more of a poetic epilogue of feeling.

Before that day I had never used my camera to record video only photograph.

It was here I found the power of time moving. As I danced around her as she spoke, there was something different about it, I archived this moment when no one else anticipated it for it to happen.

The third:
A few weeks before Jasmine Williams installed her mural on Ponce De Leone adjacent Publix Supermarket and Plaza Theatre, we sat in her home to talk about the design direction.

And 5 minutes in I realized I didn't bring my camera along. In an effort to capture the conversation, we found a solution in voice notes.

What came out of that conversation was her being more confident to speak with the Living Walls team about "I Am" and what installing a larger than life queer woman in the middle of Atlanta would do for the world.

The fourth:
I was watching an interview of Toni Morrison speaking about her day and how being a writer wasn't the center of it but it was at the margins and edges of her day.

She spoke about what her ideal day looked like. To be able to sit down 5 hours in her day to write. And how working since she was 12 years old had made her quite tired.

The same visuals came to mind when I sat with Angela, yet it wasn't included on the interview. The margins and edges of her day had not been documented ( at least not to my knowledge as of yet ) only the formal work transitions to and form those obligations.

And while it took me 4 years to get here, I have so much more work to do.

Because in order to be available for these Black Women Artists,
I have to take care of myself.

I have to know my own practice and document it with care just I would theirs. My interactions with them are just as much a part of their archives as they are mine. I hope that this residency will provide much clarity and direction into how I can document consistently into the next year.

As Toni Cade Bambara, reminds me that we are reflections of each other. And all of it, the margins, the day to day, the work and the rest are of value.