CONTEXT
Our process closed on Friday, May 15 at 5pm CST. All selected pitches will be commissioned with pay.
For context on the coming zine, please see below:
The process of curating Gumbo Magazine, Issue 001: Black was one of the highlights of our platform, and a reminder of how important it is to open up spaces for Black creatives to express themselves freely, and to compensate them for their work. With well over 1,000 submissions for our inaugural issue, our goal was to replicate this effort with a new issue every 6 months. But, in light of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, we have pivoted some of our plans like many other small businesses. We will be delaying the launch of Issue 002, and have another, more urgent project in the works instead.
Gumbo is currently developing a smaller-scale digital zine in direct response to COVID-19, and we opened it up to our community to populate its content. After a successful 2-week call for pitches, we will ultimately pick our favorites and commission them for the zine. The theme of this project will be Afrofuturism, which we define as a “looking forward,” exploring a world that is our own and that centers Black experiences and Black life. Afrofuturism is the use of art and culture as an active form of subversion against oppressive systems and practices to reimagine Black folx in a more sovereign world.
Stay tuned for the zine something this fall!