When Sistahs Get Together Blog: To Be or Not Be "Unboxed" @ Manifesto's

To Be or Not Be "Unboxed" @ Manifesto's - Made You Look

Thursday, September 30, 2010 , Posted by Artistik Domestician at 9/30/2010

Queen Cee

J-Style & Queen Cee

My King and I

Artist - Eklipz

Thursday, September 23rd we rolled out to the Manifesto 2010 - Made You Look art show; me, Born (Eklipz), Rae and Lee. My husband, artist Eklipz, was one of the artists; he had some of his pieces showcased from his Hip Hop Homage - The Art of Eklipz series. It was a real nice event and the art work represented was a variety of amazing pieces by some of Canada's most talented artists.

As Rae & I, walked around the gallery, got some drinks, visited each artist's bodies of work, got some more drinks, mixed, mingled, the DJ was had the vibes on lock; we were happy ladies. For a Toronto crowd at a Toronto event, people were very humble, polite, interactive and friendly, but then again we were at an art exhibit, art can be very humbling. Art is about expressing yourself and engaging in the works and the people around who are admiring it; I love experiences like this because it reaffirms that there is still a large collective spirit in regards to "art" of human interaction and places where self expression is freedom, where intimidation and anxiety of being ONE'S SELF is eliminated, or at least people around you are willing and feel free to be individuals.

Here were a few of our favourite pieces:

One of the things Rae and I noticed besides the beautiful art, was the beautiful people. All races, backgrounds, styles, energies, it was comforting, enlightening and vibrant. Hip Hop culture is more than just the music, it transcends boundaries, pushes ideologies and I find is eclectic beyond it's ways of just the 4 main elements. It's expanding and growing and collecting many jewels on it's path constantly rejuvenating itself. We also noticed, the many women who came out, none of whom looked the same. No carbon copies, no cliques, no over the top trying to stand out versions of our modern day media cut outs. Just women with senses of individuality, their own style, their own swag; their own sense of representation. We were loving it! We had a light blub moment and thought this is a great random opportunity to capture visuals of some women with style distinction and this could be a blog feature every now and then called "Unboxed Style". These posts will feature the stylings of women we see, who's style or fashion represents themselves in a way that make them unique, exude confidence, show the opposite of what mainstream deems as "what's in" or "beauty" or isn't afraid to be an individual, comfortable, simple, plain, unique, artistic, or a "unconventional fashonista" perhaps in the sense of still putting their own spin on things that makes their energy shine. "Unboxed Style" comes in all forms, levels, degrees, but the main things is it empowers women to be themselves and feel comfortable in their own skin/clothes no matter what anyone else thinks, not expecting any approval from anyone.

Here are a few pictures of some beautiful, diverse, down-to-earth women we met and talked to; some were artists themselves and some just had a love for the arts. We thought they represented the level of being "Simply Unboxed". I want to thank them again for allowing us to take their pictures.