>>> ON THE NEXT "ABLE TO RAISE", JOIN US AS WE SPEAK WITH LAVON GEL.

SHE SHARES HER EVOLUTION AS AN ARTIST AND THE UNSPOKEN NARRATIVES OF THE PAST.

>> I REJECTED BEING AN ARTIST BECAUSE MY VIEW OF BEING A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST WAS JUST THAT YOU KNOW, I WOULD REJECT THAT.

>> IT IS ONE THING TO BE MAKING IT WORK BUT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE VISIBILITY AND NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT , IT´S ABOUT MAKING AND NARRATIVE ABOUT YOURSELF THAT´S AUTHENTIC TO YOU.

>> YOU HAVE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE KILLED IN THIS TERRITORY.

THEY ALL HAVE FAMILIES.

>>> THE UPCOMING PROGRAM WAS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED.

TO MAKE THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS PROGRAM ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF WTJX OR ITS STAFF .

>>> GOOD DAY AND WELCOME TO "ABLE TO RAISE".

I AM YOUR HOST .

TODAY´S GUEST IS A VERY INTERESTING ARTIST , IN OUR COMMUNITY.

LAVON BELL .

IN ADDITION TO BEING AN ARTIST, SHE IS ALSO COLLECTIVE.

GOOD DAY AND WELCOME AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU.

>> BEFORE WE GET INTO YOUR WORK, WHICH IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE, TELLS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.

>> WELL, LET´S SEE, I AM A WOMAN THAT WEARS MANY HATS.

I WAS ORIGINALLY BORN IN THE ISLANDS, BOTH OF MY PARENTS, MY FATHER , MANY PEOPLE MAY REMEMBER HIM AND MY MOTHER WAS A TEACHER AND THEY MARRIED IN TOBAGO AND THEN MOVED TO ST. THOMAS.

I MOVED IT TO ST. THOMAS FOR A FEW MONTHS AND CAME TO ST. CLAIR WHEN I WAS ABOUT SEVEN.

I HAVE BEEN WORKING AS A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST FOR OVER 20 YEARS.

I AM ALSO VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT HISTORIC PROPERTIES , LIKE THE PROPERTIES FROM THE 1700s RENOVATED ALMOST 10 YEARS AGO.

I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT SALSA DANCING, I HAVE THREE WILD LITTLE GIRLS , AND I AM ALSO, OF COURSE, VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THE WORK I DO.

>> WELL, IT SHOWS.

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PIECE BEHIND YOU.

IS THAT ONE OF YOURS?

>> YES.

THIS IS A PIECE THAT I DID AROUND 2017, AFTER THE HURRICANES.

IT´S A SERIES I BEGAN IN 2015 .

IT´S A SERIES CALLED "WE LIVE IN THE FRAGMENTS."

THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT CAME OUT , THAT INSPIRED IT.

FIRST, YOU KNOW, BEING HERE AT MY STUDIO, SOMETIMES I WOULD COME AND I WOULD FIND THESE ON THE GROUND .

COLONIAL ERA POTTERY .

DID YOU COME IN OTHER COLORS.

THIS IS BECAUSE IT´S ABOUT DOING THIS IN THE 1950s .

TO ME, YOU KNOW, I FIND THAT METAPHOR OF TAKING THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE, THOSE PIECES, AS WELL, AND IN THE PAINTINGS, THE IMAGES AND THE PATTERNS THAT COME UP , TO ME IT IS KIND OF ABOUT HOW WE SEE SOMETHING NEW FROM THE FRAGMENTS.

>> OKAY.

SO PIECE BEHIND YOU, IS THAT OIL?

>> AND OIL PAINTING ON WOOD.

>> WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST INTRODUCTION TO ART?

>> MY MOTHER, SHE WAS A FIRST GRADE TEACHER, BUT SHE MADE ALL OF HER MATERIALS FOR HER CLASSROOM.

I THINK OF SOME OF THAT TALENT COMING FROM HER.

I HAD A MENTOR, THE SAME TEACHER FROM THE TIME I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD, A VERY WELL- KNOWN AND BELOVED ARTIST , ORIGINALLY FROM THE STATES BUT LIVED A LONG TIME HERE.

HE IS MY ART TEACHER FROM 7 TO 17.

HE GREATLY IMPACTED ME AND ENCOURAGE ME TO BE AN ARTIST .

ALSO, AN ART TEACHER AT CENTRAL HIGH.

I GOT TO KNOW HIM THROUGH CREATED .

HE WOULD CREATE PROGRAMS THAT ACTUALLY WERE A LOT OF ARTISTS THAT WOULD MENTOR US DURING THE SUMMER.

THAT I GOT A CHANCE TO LEARN AND GET TO KNOW PEOPLE LIKE CHARLES, SIMMONS , PAUL YOUNG, ON MENTORS OF MINE AS A TEENAGER.

I ACTUALLY REJECTED BEING AN ARTIST BECAUSE MY VIEW OF BEING A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST WAS THAT YOU WERE POOR.

I JUST WANTED TO REJECT THAT AS A CHILD , THINKING ABOUT MY FUTURE.

I WANTED TO BE PREMED, ACTUALLY.

VERY, VERY SOON , I STARTED REALLY CONNECTING MORE WITH MY CREATIVE SPIRIT BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY THROUGH WRITING.

I DECIDED I WANTED TO BE A WRITER AND IT WAS IN MY JUNIOR YEAR THAT I HAD TAKEN A PAINTING CLASS AND THAT IS WHEN I REALLY CONNECTED WITH BEING AN ARTIST AND MAKE THAT DECISION BUT IT WAS ALLOTTED TO SWITCH MAJORS .

I GRADUATED, I DID TEACH FOR AMERICA, AND THEN TRIED TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT WOULD BECOME AN ARTIST AND A LOT OF PEOPLE MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY TO BECOME AN ARTIST AND I LEFT TO BECOME AN ARTIST.

I ACTUALLY CAME HOME TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BECOME AN ARTIST.

SHORTLY AFTER I DECIDED TO GO BACK , I DIDN´T WANT TO GO TO THE STATES SO I WENT TO KENYA AND ENDED UP LIVING THERE FOR FOUR YEARS.

THAT , OF COURSE, TRANSFORMED MY VIEWPOINT ABOUT WHAT ART WAS, ABOUT TO THE CARIBBEAN, IT WAS A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE.

A LOT OF THE TOOLS THAT I USED AND WHAT I LEARNED THERE.

IT´S A VERY CULTURALLY RICH PLACE , BUT MOSTLY , ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING ABOUT TRADITIONAL ART , BOTTLES, THE BODY , ALL KINDS OF MATERIALS , COCKROACHES.

I YOU CAN MAKE ART OUT OF ANYTHING.

I USE NOT ONLY THE EXPANSIVENESS IN TERMS OF MATERIAL, BUT REALLY THE TRAINING OF THINKING ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORM AND CONTENT, AND HOW YOU CAN REALLY THINK THROUGH DIFFERENT IDEAS THROUGH THE DIFFERENT FORMS THAT YOU USE AND SO THAT EVENTUALLY BROUGHT ME TO BECOMING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST.

YOU DO SEE A TRADITIONAL LOOKING PAINTING BEHIND ME.

I WORK IN A LOTS OF MEDIA, PHOTOGRAPHY, SCULPTURE, PUBLIC ART, VIDEO , COLLAGE, MANY THINGS.

THERE´S A LOT THAT I´M WORKING WITH.

>> YOU SAID SOMETHING IN YOUR MATERIAL THAT I READ AND ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED WAS THAT THE ROLE OF AN ARTIST OR ART SHOULD BE VIEWED AS THE BEGINNING OF A CONVERSATION.

THAT WAS HER ELEVATION, FOR ME TO HEAR.

I´LL ASK ABOUT THIS BECAUSE ONE OF THE PIECES I SAW I SAID, I´VE GOT TO ASK YOU WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.

I´M SORRY WE CAN´T SEE IT AND WE WILL DELVE INTO THIS.

BUT, YOU HAD, FOR LACK OF A BETTER DESCRIPTION, A BOX , AN ACRYLIC BOX AND INSIDE THE BOX , YOU KNOW WHAT I´M GOING TO SAY, RIGHT?

WHAT I CALL ROCKS.

AND THINKING TO MYSELF, WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?

SO GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE SOME CLARITY.

>> THAT WAS ACTUALLY HALF OF A SCULPTURE THAT WE DID, IT WAS THE BEGINNING.

IN 2014 , JEANETTE EWERS AND MYSELF, A DANISH ARTIST THAT I COLLABORATED WITH TO MAKE THAT, WE GOT TO DO THAT AS THE CENTENNIAL YEAR ON THE VIRGIN ISLANDS .

WE WERE ASKED TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT COMMEMORATE AN OCCASION SUCH AS THAT.

MY INTERPRETATION, BECAUSE I HAD BEEN DOING SO MUCH OF THIS RENOVATION WORK , LEARNING THAT THE STUDIO, NARRATIVE, SPACE, OBJECT, HISTORY, IT STARTED TO BECOME MORE PART OF MY PROCESS, THESE OBJECTS, THIS POTTERY, HOW THEY HAD ALL OF THESE NARRATIVES THAT WE DID NOT KNOW, FORGOT NARRATIVES, UNREMEMBERED NARRATIVES, BUT FOR ME, THAT PIECE IS ABOUT NOTICING THE REMAINS OF AN OUTHOUSE AND I WONDERED, WHY ARE THEY HERE?

WHY?

HOW DID THEY GET HERE?

I HAD A NUMBERED HISTORIAN TALKING TO ME ABOUT HOW THE SOUTH AFRICANS WERE ALSO OFTEN SENT OUT INTO THE OCEAN TO GET STONES OUT FROM THE REEF .

THESE WERE USED FOR THE MORTAR OF ALL OF THE BUILDINGS THAT YOU SEE , USUALLY SOME COMBINATION OF WERE USED AS THE FOUNDATIONS FOR ALMOST ALL THE BUILDINGS .

FOR ME, I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY INTERESTING, BECAUSE IT´S LIKE, YOU ONLY SEE THAT LABOR THROUGH THE RUINS AND THE DANISH BRICKS ON TOP AND WE TENDED TO GET A SENSE OF WHERE THE TRUE LABOR CAME FROM.

IN SOME WAYS, THAT PIECE IS AN ODE TO THAT.

IT´S ABOUT THINKING ABOUT THOSE BONES AS READY-MADE ART OBJECTS THAT ARE BEAUTIFUL .

THEY HAVE VERY SHARP, STRAIGHT EDGES .

YOU CAN SEE THE HAND OF THOSE PEOPLE.

I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT IT´S NOT JUST THEIR HANDS.

IT´S ANYONE WHO HAS EVER MADE ANYTHING.

WITH YOUR HAND COMES TRACES OF YOURSELF, YOUR NARRATIVES, YOUR HISTORY.

WE KNOW THAT, EVEN AS OUR HANDWRITING, OUR HANDWRITING´S WE CAN WRITE THE SAME WORD AND IT WOULD ALL LOOK DIFFERENT.

IT´S THAT IDEA OF HOW, THE HANDWRITING.

SO WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT HOW DID I COMMEMORATE THE CENTENNIAL, I WANTED TO COMMEMORATE THEM AND I WANTED TO COMMEMORATE THEIR LABOR SO WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS AN ACRYLIC BACK , MAYBE A FLINT OR PEDESTAL AND I AM INVERTING THE IDEA BY SAYING USUALLY, WHEN YOU THINK OF A MONUMENT, IT´S THE THING ON TOP THAT GETS THE ATTENTION AND IT´S MORE THE THING THAT IS THE FOUNDATION AND THAT IS WHAT I´M HIGHLIGHTING .

>> YOU DID A GOOD AMOUNT OF WORK IN DENMARK, I IMAGINE FOR THE EXHIBITION, RIGHT?

>> YEAH, WE ARE STILL DOING A LOT OF WORK.

IT´S A MULTIYEAR PROJECT AND WE ARE TRYING TO FINALIZE THAT AND MAKE IT PERMANENT IN BOTH LOCATIONS , DENMARK AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.

WE STARTED WORKING ON THAT SEPARATELY, IN 2014 WITH OUR DIFFERENT PROJECTS AND DECIDED TO WORK TOGETHER AT THE BEGINNING , KIND OF LIKE LATE 2016, THE BINNING OF 2017 AND THEN WE INAUGURATED THE FIRST VERSION IN MARCH OF 2018.

>> OKAY.

AND THAT WAS IN DENMARK OR THE VIRGIN ISLANDS?

>> DENMARK, IN COPENHAGEN.

THE STATUS OF OUR PROJECT IS , YOU KNOW, IT IS , IN SOME WAYS, SCULPTURE .

IT´S ONE OF THE MANY ARTIFACTS OF THE PROJECT.

THE LARGER PROJECT IS A DIALOGUE THAT HAS BEEN CREATED AND THE ENGAGEMENT, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND HOW WE ARE SHIFTING THE NARRATIVE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD .

WE WERE GRANTED PERMISSION , IS ARTIST DRIVEN, WE WERE NOT COMMISSIONED, WE WERE NOT DRIVEN.

THIS IS ARTISTS PUSHING INTO THE PUBLIC SPACE AND THOUGH WE HAD AN INITIAL INVITATION TO THINK ABOUT THE MONUMENT, THAT PERSON WAS NOT IN A POSITION TO HELP SPEARHEAD IT.

ONCE WE WERE ASKED TO THINK ABOUT IT, WE KIND OF TOOK ON THE PROJECT ON OUR OWN AND CARRIED IT THROUGH.

ALL OF THAT TO SAY, WE WERE FIRST GRANTED TEMPORARY PERMISSION, WHICH IS PART OF THE REASON WHY THE MATERIALITY OF THE PROJECT WAS WHAT IT WAS.

WE WERE ABLE TO FIT ONE TON OF STONES THAT FORMED, LIKE I SAID, HALF THE PROJECT, WHICH IS THE BASE AND THE TOP PART WAS DONE IN THIS MATERIAL AS A HIGH DENSITY FOAM.

IN 2020, THERE WAS A WINTER STORM IN DENMARK, SO THAT PART OF THE SCULPTURE WAS DAMAGED SO WE REDESIGNED THE SCULPTURE WHILE WE WERE WAITING THE FUNDING TO DO THE FIGURE IN BRONZE.

WE DESIGNED IT TO BE PART VIRTUAL SO WE WORKED WITH SOFTWARE ENGINEERS TO DESIGN A VIRTUAL COMPONENT OF THE PEACE.

A LOT OF TIMES IF YOU HAVE EVER SEEN OR USED BR, YOU HAVE TO DOWNLOAD AN APP OR SOMETHING.

YOU CAN DO THIS BY HOLDING UP YOUR PHONE AND IT WILL SHOW UP.

WHAT IS VERY UNIQUE IS THAT IT IS NOT AN IMAGE OF THE FIGURE THAT WAS IN THE PUBLIC SPACE.

IT IS AN IMAGE, A VIRTUAL IMAGE , FOR THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE PROJECT, WHO MAY KNOW THAT TO CREATE THE IMAGE OF QUEEN MARY, JEANETTE AND I DID USE BODY SCANS OF OUR BODIES FOR THE ARCHIVES AND WE DID 3-D BODY SCANS AND MERGED THOSE VIRTUALLY.

THAT IS ACTUALLY WHAT YOU SEE.

YOU SEE THE VIRTUAL VERSION OF A NEW FIGURE THAT WAS CREATED.

IT IS STILL QUITE UNIQUE.

I THINK THAT SPEAKS TO A DEGREE OF THE MATERIALITY OF THESE REMNANTS , CORAL STONES, AND TRADE PERSONS CARVED OUT OF THE OCEAN AND HAVING THE TWO OF THEM AS AN INTERESTING NARRATIVE.

THE PROJECT IS IN A NEW STAGE AND WE ALSO WERE COMMISSIONED BY THE FOUNDATION IN NEW YORK TO DO A HUMAN SIZE VERSION BECAUSE THIS ONE IS 24 FEET AND THAT IS NOT AT THE COLLEGE IN A LONG-TERM LOAN IN NEW YORK.

OF COURSE, WE HAVE DONE >> EXCELLENT.

SO YOU HAVE HAD A NUMBER OF EXHIBITS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, CORRECT?

TELL US PLACES YOU BEEN ABLE TO SHOW YOUR WORK.

>> WELL, WE´VE EXHIBITED IN NEW YORK , LET´S SEE, WHERE HAVE I EXHIBITED IN NEW YORK?

I´VE EXHIBITED IN DENMARK , I´VE EXHIBITED IN MILAN .

DIFFERENT PLACES AROUND THE WORLD.

I HAVE SOME EXHIBIT IN THE STATES AND I WILL BE DOING MY FIRST MAJOR EXCEPTION AT THE CARIBBEAN ARTS CENTER.

I JUST FINISHED A MAJOR PROJECT IN PUERTO RICO AT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART AND THAT WAS PART OF THE PROGRAM THAT IS ACTUALLY NOT IN THE MUSEUM, BUT IT DOES EXTEND THE MUSEUM OUT TO THE COMMUNITY .

IT´S ONE OF THE BLACKEST NEIGHBORHOODS IN PUERTO RICO BECAUSE OF THE LONG- TERM MIGRATION BETWEEN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS AND OTHER ISLANDS .

THE PROJECT DEALS WITH THAT , AND HONORS THE PEOPLE IN THIS INTERISLAND CARIBBEAN MIGRATION .

THAT WAS A SCULPTURE OF COCONUTS, MANY OF US MAYBE SEE IMAGES OF RUNAWAY SLAVE ANNOUNCEMENTS, BUT WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THOSE KINDS OF ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT I FOUND IN THE ARCHIVES WAS THAT SOMETIMES IN ADDITION TO THEM DESCRIBING FACE, HER BODY, THE STATUE, THE COLOR OF THEIR EYES, THEY HAVE TO DESCRIBE THE MARKS ON THEIR BODIES, MARKINGS THAT CAME, THAT WERE ETHNIC MARKINGS THAT CAME FROM THE COMMUNITY, PART OF THEIR OWN, PERSONAL ARCHIVES CARRIED ON THEIR BODY AND SCULPTURES IN THE SHAPE OF THOSE.

>> NEAT.

INTERESTING.

I WOULD IMAGINE YOUR LINE OF WORK IS EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE AND CONTENT DRIVEN AND OBVIOUSLY, EVERYONE IS VYING FOR ATTENTION AND RESOURCES.

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU FIND THAT WOULD HELP, IN YOUR MIND, A BUDDING ARTIST OR SOMEONE WHO WAS INTERESTED IN THE KINDS OF WORK YOU ARE DOING?

>> WHEN I STUDIED IN CUBA I HAD A MENTOR WHO WOULD TALK ABOUT THAT BEING AN ARTIST IS REALLY THINKING ABOUT TWO ASPECTS.

SHE WOULD SAY YOUR WORK, YOUR ACTUAL WORK YOU ARE MAKING AND IT REQUIRES DIFFERENT STRATEGIES.

IT IS ONE THING TO BE MAKING YOUR WORK BUT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY VISIBILITY AND NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT IT, THEN YOU´RE NOT GOING TO REALLY HAVE A CAREER.

I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES FOR A LOT OF ARTIST , IS HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE THOSE TWO VERY IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF YOUR WORK AND YOUR CAREER AND I VISUALIZED AND MANY OTHER ARTISTS, MUSICIANS, ET CETERA, IT IS ABOUT HOW YOU GARNER VISIBILITY YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK THAT ARE AUTHENTIC TO YOU.

IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT MEANS, VERY PRACTICALLY, AS OPPOSED TO ONE MUST HAVE A WEBSITE, ONE MUST HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA, ONE MUST CONTINUE TO NOURISH THE RELATIONSHIPS .

I THINK THERE HAS BEEN RESEARCH TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ARTIST IS AND WHAT THEY HAVE NOTICED IS THAT YOUR SUCCESS IS ALSO YOUR RELATIONSHIP AND YOUR NETWORKS.

I WOULD SAY THAT THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT .

THERE IS A CHALLENGE WITH THAT IN THE CARIBBEAN, OR SOME PEOPLE DON´T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE VIRGIN ISLANDS ARE.

I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WILL WORK WITH, WILL DON´T NECESSARILY HAVE A CAREER AND ARE LEARNING HOW TO NAVIGATE THAT POSITION.

IN SOME WAYS YOU CAN KIND OF LIVE ANYWHERE AND YOU DON´T ALWAYS HAVE TO LIVE IN A MAJOR ART CENTER ANYMORE.

BEING ABLE TO TRAVEL AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT PRESENCE.

>> UNDERSTANDABLE.

>> YOU ALSO PROFILED THE VI STUDIES COLLECTIVE.

CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THAT IS?

>> IT IS AN AMAZING COLLECTIVE , WE ARE A GROUP, AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE I AM HONORED TO BE PART OF THE GROUP.

SOME OF THEM I´M SO EXCITED ABOUT .

I AM SUCH A FAN AND HAVE BEEN FOR MANY YEARS.

THERE IS TAMMY NAVARRO, AN ANTHROPOLOGIST, AND THEN WE HAVE DOCTOR SOONER .

SHE´S A PHILOSOPHER AND SHE IS A PHILOSOPHER THAT HAS A MAJOR AND AFRICANA STUDIES AND SHE ASKS A LOT OF EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS .

WE CAME TOGETHER AS A GROUP AROUND THE CENTENNIAL .

THAT IS WHERE PART OF THE DOCUMENTARY GOT PUT TOGETHER WITH VIRGIN ISLANDS WOMEN THINKING ABOUT ISSUES AROUND HISTORY.

IT WAS A DANISH LAWMAKER WHO DID IT AND SHE FOUND ALL THREE OF US INVITED US TO DENMARK FOR THE SCREENING AND AROUND THAT TIME THERE WERE MANY, MANY INSTITUTIONS THAT HAD EXHIBITIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

WE WERE ALL ABLE TO KIND OF COME TOGETHER FOR THESE EXHIBITIONS THAT WERE NARRATING OUR STORY AND THE PERSPECTIVES .

THEY WERE DANISH RESPECT LIVES, SO IMAGINE SEEING THINGS THAT ARE ARCHIVED AND ARTIFACTS AND ALL OF THESE ITEMS THAT WE JUST , IT WAS ALMOST A PAIN , IN OUR BELLIES TO BE HONEST.

THERE WAS A FRUSTRATION, BECAUSE IT´S ABOUT US BUT NOT REALLY ABOUT US.

>> RIGHT.

>> WE LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND WE JUST WANTED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT FEELING SO WE DECIDED TO START WORKING TOGETHER TO CHANGE, TO CREATE NARRATIVES AND TO CHANGE THE WAYS THAT WE CREATE THESE ARCHIVES.

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THIS, IT WAS SO POWERFUL.

WE DECIDED TO DO THEM COLLABORATIVELY AND DO OTHER THINGS AND WE SPOKE THE THING I ENJOY MOST IS COLLABORATION SO WE ARE WORKING ON ARTICLES RIGHT NOW, THINKING THROUGH DIFFERENT QUESTIONS .

WE ARE RIGHT NOW FINISHING UP AN ARTICLE THAT IS AN AMAZING TESTIMONY, TESTAMENT , MANY THINGS ABOUT ENSLAVED PEOPLE .

WE ARE KIND OF NAVIGATING WHAT THAT .

ALSO THE FIRST ISSUE OF THE HERALD .

ALSO, IN PARTICULAR, THIS QUESTION ABOUT NARRATIVES ABOUT PEOPLE THERE, AND PACKING.

WHAT THAT MEANS AND HOW COME THAT DOESN´T SHOW UP IN THE DANISH ARCHIVES AND WHAT DOES THIS SAY.

THOSE ARE OTHER QUESTIONS .

IT IS REALLY ABOUT RECOGNIZING THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE .

NONE OF US ARE HISTORIANS WHICH, IN SOME WAYS , IS INTERESTING BECAUSE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE PRODUCTION OF THIS OR THE PRODUCTION OF NARRATIVES THAT RESPONSE TO THE NEEDS OF A COMMUNITY.

WE ARE THINKING THROUGH , A LOT OF TIMES, THINKING THROUGH OUR OWN NARRATIVES AND PERSONAL HISTORY AND CREATING NEW ARCHIVES.

IT´S A WAY THAT WE ARE REPRESENTED.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

SO, THANKS FOR TALKING TO US AND FILLING IN THE GAPS.

>>> WE HAVE LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT.

HOW CAN PEOPLE EXPERIENCE YOUR WORK AND TEAM UP WITH YOU?

>> THANK YOU.

I AM PRETTY ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA SO THEY CAN FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM.

I JUST STARTED ON TIKTOK.

AM ON FACEBOOK .

I HAVE MY OWN WEBSITE, WHICH IS MY NAME .

IT WOULD BE GREAT , TO ALSO SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER.

WHEN I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE .

I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WOULD BE GREAT, IF YOU SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER AND KEEP UP WITH WHAT I AM DOING.

I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A MANUSCRIPT AND HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A BOOK FOR ABOUT FIVE, SIX YEARS AND I WANT TO GET THAT PUBLISHED NEXT YEAR.

>> WE WILL STAY TUNED.

LISTEN, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THIS IS BEEN AN INFORMATIVE CONVERSATION AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR WORK AND YOUR CONTINUED SUCCESS.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON "ABLE TO RAISE".

UNTIL NEXT TIME, TAKE CARE.

CLAY MATVICK