It’s a night to celebrate women’s empowerment– Shaquanna Bolden, founder of #CareFreeBlackGirl
In March, women are celebrated all month long to highlight their contributions to history and society. On March 10, the #CareFeeBlackGirl movement presented a celebration of Women’s History Month with music, art, and poetry at The Bakery in Atlanta. Women from all walks of life celebrated the movement to enjoy a night about women and gain inspiration.
Shaquanna Bolden, the founder of #CareFreeBlackGirl, states that the purpose of the event is for people to come in and “feel the feminine energy.“
“You can expect to see pictures of Michelle Obama to color, women’s art on the wall, poetry, and female DJs. We have a few gentlemen here to support us and 9 to 10 women coordinating this event. You can come here and feel free,” Bolden said.
Shanika Simmons was one of the coordinators, an assistant for the event, and helped with promotion.
“We’re just celebrating women and all of their talents,” she said.
Bolden adds that she wants people to learn that “women are poets, artists, musicians. We’re women and dynamic.”
One of the visual artists for the event was Piera Moore, a Spelman student majoring in studio arts and learning film. Moore displayed some of her acrylic paintings and photography.
“One of the main subject matters of my artwork is spirituality and how it relates to people of color. One of my paintings is a self-portrait; it was one of the self-portraits that I took seriously. It took a lot of self-evaluation and taking in my features, which is a spiritual journey for me,” she said.
Moore mentions that her second painting is of Kali, the Hindu goddess of creation as well as the destruction of the universe. She represents the way that life flows and how the world works.
“The film photography shows my day to day photography, but the pieces I’ve chosen happen to be images that I associated with feminine energy. One photo is a marble sculpture that was at the High Museum of Art, and another was from Guo Pei, who designed Rihanna’s dress for the Met Gala last year. I went to one of her exhibits at the SCAD fashion museum and got a picture of one of the dresses in detail,” Moore said.
From her work, Moore encourages other women to take a spiritual journey of self-discovery.
The night didn’t end with just acrylic paintings and photography. Female artist Hadiya George performed three songs, “Hot Flavor,” “Street Bumpin,” and “Soul Week.” “Street Bumpin” has yet to be released but fans of George could check out “Hot Flavor” and “Soul Week” on her EP, Bay View, which debuted July 25, 2017.
“I choose these three songs because the songs are bumpin. I like to get the crowd pumped,” she said.
George wants people to feel good while listening to her music and “understand the artistry behind the music.”
For the #CareFreeBlackGirl movement, George states, “It’s all about women supporting each other and also supporting men, too.”
#TheCareFreeBlackGirl movement plans to continue their purpose of women empowerment with a 10-city tour festival in May celebrating women everywhere.
Check out pics from the #TheCareFreeBlackGirl night of celebration below:
