Welcome to the Tiny Room for Elephants Festival Audio Tour, presented by Love and Grit, a podcast from Visit Philadelphia that explores the authentic and diverse stories of the city.
The work you are viewing is by artist Athena Astraea Scott.
This work is inspired by “A Raisin in the Sun”, staring Ruby Dee and Sydney Poitier written by Lorraine Hansberry. The title comes from the poem, Harlem, written by Langston Hughes. In it, it ask's questions of what is the result of a delayed/denied dream?
When asked, what does the phrase “made with love, inspired by grit” mean to your creative process, the artist responded: “It’s always that first 10 minutes of working on a piece where there’s this severe internal fear, trying to convince myself that I‘m doing it all wrong. The self doubt is on a strong loop with every line drawn, however, my pencil never stops moving. My deep love for creating and the journey it takes me on always pulls me through. For me, creating is an expression of love and vulnerability exuding from within and to share that with the public …I can’t have that kind of love without grit to keep it going.”