ABOUT BLACK CREATIVES CIRCLE NL

"If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." - Shirley Chisolm.

We created the Black Creatives Circle of North Louisiana (BCCNL) to link black creatives and increase our visibility in a white-dominant art community in a majority-black region.

BCCNL emphasizes Black talent, teachings, voices, and culture. We are at the forefront of shaping, guiding, and creating a rich culture for the next generation of black creative folk. By sharing the knowledge of seasoned and integrated professional creatives with emerging and novice creatives and art appreciators, we are eliminating the gatekeepers from all spectrums and classes.

BCCNL brings flavor to north Louisiana. We fuel the necessary traits to pursue artistic and professional endeavors: confidence, ambition, passion, patience, discipline, optimism, and courage.

The world wouldn't exist without creatives. BCCNL's presence is vital to push Black Creatives forward -- creating cultural events and community projects exposing black folk to lives, spaces, and places they wouldn't know otherwise.

"It does take a particular group of people to bring out-of-box stuff here. But we can do so much. We can help so many people. One of the things I really believe is that, for this area to move forward, it's going to have to be creative folks that think about what that looks like and make it happen."

- Vitus Shell, BCCNL President.

"It's not just about exposure; BCCNL creates a safe space and a community for us to assemble and talk about our processes or the roadblocks we've faced that only come specific to us as black creatives."

- K'Shana Hall, Vice President.

"The Circle affirms me and my abilities. I have plenty of ideas and plenty of times, I have talked myself out of them. But I have people like K'Shana, Drek, and Vitus who can easily be like, 'Erin, you're tripping. You got this, and you know what you're doing.'

- Erin Davenport, BCCNL Communications Coordinator.

"When I went to certain events in the area, I never really saw anyone that looked like me as the artist. I'm not saying it didn't exist; I'm just saying that wasn't my experience."

- K'Shana Hall, BCCNL Vice President.