This weekend, the basement walls of Alumnae Hall were plastered with photographs of personal items, animated videos and vibrant acrylic oil paintings. Surrounded by these visuals, artists read out poems and other creative works to an audience that snapped their fingers and hummed affirmation in response.
The Black Arts Expo, held on Oct. 25, sought to showcase the creative works of Black artists and performers. The expo was hosted by the Black Star Journal, a publication that seeks to uplift Black voices at Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design, as well as archive Black life around Providence, said Kourtney Beauvais ’26, co-editor-in-chief of the BSJ. Other creative groups, including WORD! Performance Poetry Group and RISD Black Artists and Designers, were also featured in the event.
The BSJ “seeks to counteract that negativity that’s kind of inherently embedded in the way that everyone is kind of forced to perceive race,” Beauvais said. “I would hope that it’s an opportunity for people to view their Blackness as something to be explored and defined on their own terms.”
BSJ Co-Editor-in-Chief Nelsa Tiemtoré ’26 said the expo was “a good opportunity for community building and just celebrating student artists and poets on Brown’s campus.”
“Having a space where their fellow peers can validate their talents and be like ‘You are amazing’ and just celebrate and uplift them is really important,” she added.
Both Beauvais and Tiemtoré said planning an event with various mediums of art was no easy task: Organizers had to find a room that would work with the different mediums displayed, come up with ways to hang up art that couldn’t be taped to the wall, and source the necessary equipment for open-mic performances.
“It’s been a lot of planning, going back and forth, but we got there, which is good,” Tiemtoré said prior to the event, adding that she was “very excited” for the expo. “We have a lot of really amazing artists and their pieces are so beautiful,” she said.
Visual art, live poetry and photography were a few of the mediums featured at the expo. Farhiyo Omar ’28, a photographer for the BSJ, said she submitted some of her creative photographs to the expo after receiving encouragement from other BSJ members. Many of her photographs drew from her Somali Bantu culture and African identity, featuring items such as baatis — a traditional Somali clothing item — and concepts such as ubuntu, Omar told The Herald.
Ubuntu, “means I am because you are,” she said, explaining that capturing connection and community is important to her photography. “Culture is a big thing that has been apparent in my time here at Brown and throughout the world, so I just love to emphasize it.”
Zahira Branch ’26, section editor of stories at the BSJ, read out her own short stories at the expo — this, she said, increased her confidence in her writing. Her work — which touched on feelings of grief and warmth — used detailed description and literary devices such as repetition, she said in an interview with The Herald.
“Being with the Black Star Journal, it’s really boosted my confidence,” Branch said. “Like, maybe, you should put your work out there, you know, maybe you can read your work and get feedback, and people can appreciate it as it is.”
Students also presented poetry during a series of open-mic performances. Naja Woodard ’27, social media coordinator at WORD!, performed two poems.
One of the poems, titled “Lost in Translation,” discusses how some meaning is lost in the process of translating thoughts to words. “And maybe I’ll find just the right amount of words to light up the mind that’s ready to accept them,” Woodard recited as she read the poem.
“I think it’s just accepting the idea that your words will not resonate with everyone, but as long as you are able to impact just one person, I think that’s enough,” she explained.
Beauvais said she hopes the Black Arts Expo “shows Black artists that they’re appreciated outside of the Black community, and that non-Black people feel more comfortable consuming and engaging with Black art.”
She also said that she hopes the expo gave Black artists and performers increased exposure, both at Brown and in the broader community.
“I hope that people come away with a greater appreciation for Black artists,” she said.
