Brown State of Mind — Archive
Brown State of Mind
archive
an art collective dedicated to strengthening the community through advocacy, education, and contemplative practice.
Photo by Maryssa Rose Chavez
Brown State of Mind Worked to preserve and uplift the stories of traditionally marginalized cultures.
I supported with art direction, branding & identity, marketing, event design, artist, and even instructor. As a collective, we aimed to gather community through art-focused initiatives. Our community initiatives entailed music, art gallery, and local shop gatherings to host music, visual, and educational talents.
The Green Room was a curated music showcase of local artists in Texas. Poster designed by Eileen Wu.
Descriptions of initiatives & spaces BSoM offered
Our creative showcase didn’t stop at music. We expanded to all forms of art that drove an experience on inclusion, joy, and community. life celebrating art in all mediums felt like a party.
READ
Inside Brown State of Mind’s 1 Year Anniversary Party, Nice Kicks
Artist of the month
An indicative project for Brown state of mind was the Artist of the Month editorial blog feature, which included a profile interview and unique photos of creatives of our generation from Texas. this fueled our connection to the flourishing creative community.
I published the interviews on the BSoM website alongside unique portrait photos of the artists and their studio work spaces, aiming for natural light, movement, postures, and compositions. Including repetition in the imagery, whether through photo manipulation or graphic elements, balances the overtly natural photo settings.
Photos by Eileen Wu. Interviews performed and transcribed by Jason Ikpatt. Published by Eileen Wu under Brown State of Mind.
BSoM Artist Residency
We were fortunate to acquire multiple creative grants provided by the City of Austin and other local nonprofit organizations like the Museum of Human Achievement, which gave Brown State of Mind the opportunity to host an artist residency and two summers of a free educational program we donned Brown State University.
Designs by Eileen Wu
Brown State University
BSU lasted two seasons and offered a four-course roster of classes centered around cultural contributions of minority groups in America, from Nas' Illmatic to Xicanx culture in Austin. Instructors included nonprofit workers, designers, actors, and UT graduate staff and faculty members. I hosted an arts & philosophy course named Influence: Yoko Ono, where we intimately gathered to discuss the philosophies Yoko Ono sought to create her well-known works.
See how Brown State University made it into the Austin Chronicle!