Hello Podfriend!

How’ve you been? The last time we connected I was lamenting the hesitant summer, and now the heat is here, stronger than ever. It’s been unbearably hot. Actually, the temperature (37*C on some days) I can deal with, the humidity is another thing all together. Can’t have it all I guess, and I’ll take this over two meters of snow and sub-zero temperatures. Shout out to all of you in the Southern Hemisphere, I know the winter has been pretty harsh this time around. How are you keeping warm?

I’m in Massachusetts for the summer, so that means I have to be a tourist in my own city. It’s been fun attending exhibitions with my boys. One of the most memorable stops so far was an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on Juneteenth. Entry was free so that meant a super long wait in the line to get in, but oh so worth it when we saw an exhibition for local artist, John Wilson (1922-2015). I was so moved by the exhibition, I was pretty damn near tears. Aptly named, Witnessing Humanity: The Work of John Wilson his work portrays Black people in all our humanity, and in doing that captures our common humanity. It doesn’t matter where you come from, you’d have to have a heart of stone not to see yourself in John Wilson’s subjects. Here’s more about the Roxbury-born artist and his significance not only to Roxbury, but in the African American art landscape.

That’s my life update, shall we get to what’s happening in the SAL studio? Oh, remember to share with your friends and as them to join in the fun at SAL.

Here’s what’s coming up :

-Studio Update

-Also This Month

-On My Mind This Month

Alright pod friends, let’s get to business!

STUDIO UPDATE

Physical media is still a thing. Just like vinyl – for people of a certain age - everything we thought was dying is finding new ways to come back. My guest this week, Isha Gaye believes this is true for print publications and so, she created the recently-launched Afrique Noire Magazine: @afriquenoiremagazine

BUT WHY?! 🤓 Isha did a large part of her schooling in the United States and found that there was still a lot of misinformation about the African continent among members of the diaspora. Being from The Gambia 🇬🇲 and still very connected to her culture back home, she made it her mission to change these perceptions.

Isha graduated from college in 2020 and her plans to go to law school got upended by the pandemic. With a little nudging from her beloved aunt, she did some introspection and decided that law school was not what she wanted to do but instead started working on an idea to showcase the creativity and energy of African designers, artists and other cultural visionaries on social media.

PAIR IT WITH

NOUNOUCHE ONLINE

Bonnie Meslane is the Founder of the online lifestyle and culture magazine, Nounouche Online. The Johannesburg-based publisher is also the force behind the A-list Public Relations and Communications company,  Azania Public, and like all multi-hyphenates, she has another gig as a marketing specialist at one of the iconic and legendary music radio station in Johannesburg, Kaya FM.

Bonnie and her team at Nounouche Online are story driven and dedicated to amplifying the voices that truly shape our world and culture - in their world, that means staying away from scandals and telling the stories of change makers, even if they are not celebrities.

In our conversation we cover a lot of ground, from leadership to readership, as well as how to thrive with grace and determination as a multi-hyphenate. We reflect on the shift from hard to soft skills in modern leadership and dissect the complexities that come with being in a position of authority. We discuss the role of a fitness routing in cultivating discipline, building resilience, and having fortitude. 

Bonnie Meslane  exemplifies what it means to lead with inspiration, and how to leave a legacy through the impact of your work.

ON MY MIND THIS MONTH