Solange Explains Expanding Her Saint Heron Platform & Creative Agency

Back in 2013, Solange launched Saint Heron as a hub for music, arts, and cultural conversations. The singer-songwriter/businesswoman is now presenting the next “evolutionary phase” of the brand.

“Worldmaking has been a huge part of my practice,” says Solange. “The idea of leaving behind cities, meccas, and universes that were occupied and celebrated by bodies, voices, celebrations, and rituals to be discovered down the line.”

The Grammy winner continues, “As we transition to an institution, the answer and the vision become abundantly clear. We are creating a legacy where we not only continue the work we have already built, but preserve collections of creators with the urgency they deserve.”

Saint Heron is set to explore the career of sculptor/novelist/poet Barbara Chase-Riboud through a conversation with author/educator Ilyasah Shabazz. Interviews with other artists such as Shala Monroque, Cassi Namoda, Helga Davis, and Okwui Okpokwasili are on the horizon as well.

The newly-formed Saint Heron Dossier will present literary and visual retrospectives for 7 to 10 days. Artist-in-residence programs, permanent collections, experimental art films, and musical projects (such as the 2013 Saint Heron compilation featuring Sampha and Jhené Aiko) are expected to be part of the digital dossier in the future.

Plus, the Small Matter Gallery will host architectural objects, furniture collections, lighting designs, garments, and more. Some of those works will be designed by Solange as well as other collaborators like architect-designer Jerome Byron and Saint Heron’s Product Development Consultant Mark Grattan.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SAINT HERON (@saintheron)

“Together we want to create an archive of stories, and works we deem valuable,” Solange says. “We want to open up these works publicly, and make them accessible to students, and our communities for research, engagement, and consumption so that the works are integrated into our collective story and belong and grow with us.”

She adds, “We are creating an embodiment of living testaments to the glory of expression, and how that recharges and reaffirms the reverence we hold for our own cultural and artistic worth. We look forward to furthering the pursuit of authenticity that empowers the stories of our people.”

In addition, Saint Heron is planning to extend its activism work with the Saint Heron Holism Project. The advocacy initiative’s mission is to bring holistic therapeutic healing and support to women, girls, and communities of color.