Mister Welfare

This week, Mister Welfare sits down with Chef Selassie Atadika, ahead of her participation at the James Beard House's Iconoclast Dinner, which serves to honor a global group of trailblazing chefs of color. The conversation ranges from her food enterprise Midunu, her passion for sustainable eating, and her menu for the Iconoclast Dinner, which will be happening Saturday, June 8th.

David Anthone is an artist whose practice focuses on painting, conceptual work and readymades. He and his partner, Ron Norsworthy, make art as DARNstudio, exploring themes of institutional racism, as well as the many facets of their life together. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows. He received a B.A. in Architecture and Art History from University of Nebraska as well as attended Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture with a focus on Planning & Historic Preservation.

Mr. Gandy met Tommy Mintz exiting his former professor, Maureen Connor's, talk on Race and Revolution: The Speculum Project. While looking for the B/Q/A/C train, they walked and talked together. Tommy is an artist, professor of photograpy, husband, and father. When Mr. Gandy mentioned "A New York Minute," Mintz was excited, and asked if he could tell the story of one specific, and historically significant, 6th Ave apartment. "I am interested in the rapid pace of construction, displacement, and efforts of preservation, both in the physical world and the digital world, where there are interesting parallels in our anxiety of the increasing amount of information being retained or, possibly worse, lost." - Tommy Mintz

Renee Cox is one of the most controversial African-American artists working today using her own body, both nude and clothed to celebrate black womanhood and criticize a society she often views as racist and sexist. No stranger to controversy, her 2001 piece "Yo Mama's Last Supper," which featured Cox herself in the seat of Jesus, and a cast of Black disciples (with one white Judas) sparked outrage from Catholics and then-mayor Rudolph Guiliani. Cox continues to push the envelope with her work by using new digital photography technologies, working from her archives and shooting new subjects in an effort to "unleash the potential of the ordinary and bring it into a new realm of possibilities." Learn more at https://www.reneecox.org/ and see her work featured in "Beyond the Cape! Comics and Contemporary Art" at the Boca Raton Museum of Art from April 16-October 6 https://www.bocamuseum.org/exhibitions/beyond-cape-comics-and-contemporary-art

This week, Mister Welfare is joined by Merele Williams-Adkins as they visit the DARNstudio, to speak with artists David Anthone and Ron Norsworthy. The conversation delves into the duo's project, "Another Country," in which they construct quilts from custom-printed matchbooks and thread. These quilts harken back to the quilts of the Underground Railroad, and contain visual symbolism relating to different components of structural and institutional racism. David and Ron go in-depth on the symbolism and the process of making these quilts, along with poignant reflections on the history and transformations of institutional racism in America. For more info, please visit https://www.darnstudio.com/

Jet Toomer loves self-care, storytelling, and having a high style IQ. If you don't believe it, just check out her Instagram. She is black af, queer af, and she DGAF; she is an outsider. Through her self-care practice, she is working on being the best version of herself: Jet Izdabes. “Is-The-Best;”  a nickname she gave herself when she was 10 years old, because even back then, Jet knew she was the shit. She loves quality experiences, time spent with good friends, and adorning herself. While she chronicles her journey, you can follow along, buy cool things she’s found during her travels, from artisans and makers of color. You can also get that skin poppin’ with her exclusive line of skin care products. Check her out at www.izdabes.com/ and instagram.com/izdabes/

Mimi Plange is an award-winning fashion designer who launched her own ready-to-wear label in 2010, after a decade working in the New York fashion industry. Guided by the principle she refers to as “The Democratization of Luxury”, she creates clothes that are very much inspired by the modern American luxury sportswear tradition, with an infusion of dark romance and aimed at the new, international and democratically-minded consumer. Africa remains a limitless font of inspiration for the Ghanaian-born designer, who constantly seeks out the unusual and the lyrical found in African traditions, landscapes and lore, and reinterprets these themes in a refreshingly modern way. Follow her on instagram @mimiplange Website: Mimiplange.com

WE NEED YOUR HELP! The Governor and legislators don't think we care about Cannabis Legalization. They think it's just a matter of getting a new tax revenue stream, so if it's in the budget, great! If not, Oh Well. NO! We need legalization to protect us and our youth from criminalization, to reinvest monies back specifically into our communities, and to create a safe space for everyone to have access to the benefits of marijuana with or without a medical card. We NEED YOU to JOIN US IN ALBANY THIS WEDNESDAY or CALL THE GOVERNOR, Your ASSEMBLYMEMBER and Your STATE SENATOR NOW. Please visit our IG (@taintedlovebk) or FB (https://www.facebook.com/TaintedLoveBK/) for websites, information, and scripts to walk you through the process. CALL: Governor Andrew Cuomo's office - 1-518-474-8390 This week, Mister Welfare sits down with Saki Fenderson, a cannabis educator, social advocate and co-founder of Tainted Love BK, to discuss the push for getting marijuana legalization on the New York State budget, the deadline of which is April 1st. They discuss the importance of not only legalizing marijuana use, but the other things that should come with it, including the expunging of criminal charges for past offenses, and giving the communities that have been targeted by the war on drugs the first opportunities to benefit from prospective marijuana business.

This week on Mister Welfare, the team visits internationally renowned jack-of-all-trades Alvin Hall in his fabulous New York City apartment. A man with an incredibly rich experience, Mr Gandy, Sherry, and Ronald were able to delve into some standout points of Hall's life and career, including his upbringing on a farm, his love of James Baldwin, his time working for the BBC in England, and his ever-evolving collection of fine art. All this and more in a Mister Welfare packed full of goodness! alvinhall.com

This week, Mr Gandy and Sherry sit down with the other half of DD-Pro, Dee TrannyBear, hair stylist extraordinaire! The trio delves into Dee's upbringing in Italy and Germany, and how he pursed his hair dreams all the way to America. www.dd-pro.com

This week, Mister Welfare was invited to participate in Montez Press Radio's summer takeover at Mathew Gallery in Chinatown, NYC. Mr. Gandy and his cohosts bring in Alexandra Morris and Laura Saenz, the team behind PROXYCO - a gallery showing Latin American artists - and Miguel Cárdenas, an artist featured in their recent exhibition, "Totems and Trophies." Together, they discuss the importance of having a space dedicated to showing Latin American art, how it builds a community, and how they arrived at their current state. https://www.proxycogallery.com/

This week, Mister Welfare sits down with Deja Smith in her new makeup and hair styling studio, DD-Pro in Manhattan, NYC. Mr. Gandy and co-hosts delve into Deja's journey from aspiring dancer to intersectional, award-winning makeup artist, who has gone on to style Laverne Cox, David Byrne, and a host of other celebrities. http://www.dd-pro.com/

Happy Birthday Mister Welfare! To celebrate a year of podcasting, our host and co-hosts sit down with DJ Manchildblack and performance artist Monstah Black, the musical duo (and married couple) known as The Illustrious Blacks. Recorded at The Public Theater, where Mr. Gandy first witnessed the Illustrious Blacks perform, the group dives into Manchildblack and Monstah Black's separate origins, their cosmic collision, and what they seek through the creation of their infectious Afro-Futurist music. See them at Joe's Pub June 23rd (https://www.publictheater.org/reserve/index.aspx?performanceNumber=37330) and at Central Park's SummerStage June 24th! (https://cityparksfoundation.org/events/nicky-sianos-hallelujah-disco-with-harlem-gospel-choir-and-melba-moore-the-illustrous-blacks/)

This week, Mister Welfare and company chat with the minds behind MYÜZ, the first and only independent content label for visual arts. Craig Shepherd, Corrine Gordon, and Jonathon Beckles discuss how they all met, and their motivations for starting MYÜZ, including the lack of paid royalties in the secondary art market, and trying to find ways to distribute art, building a wider audience. myuzq.org

This week, Mister Welfare and his co-hosts join Dermatologist Dr. Natalie Moulton-Levy in her SoHo office, where they discuss her practice of Cosmetic Dermatology. They go over different procedures, what happens during them, and what they accomplish, as well as other tips for your home skincare routine. http://www.integrativedermnyc.com/