Charcoal Semester Farewell

As the semester comes to a close, we at Charcoal would like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank all of the contributors to Charcoal Connect and our illustrious issue - nude. I, for one, don’t really know how I ended up here, but I’m happy I did. My vision for Charcoal Connect was to create a space that highlighted artists in our community and give a voice to all of the Charcoal staff. While the true essence of Charcoal Connect is yet to be realized, join me in taking a look at all that we’ve accomplished this semester.

Charcoal Connect brought you passion pieces,riting pieces that answered the question - “What brings you joy?” From Irvin Alonzo’s ode to painting to Traci Felton’s Self Love and Film exploration piece, these pieces detailed an individual’s journey of self through their chosen work.

We also celebrated our love formusic because music can truly tell part of your story. Several of our contributors took the time to share with us the songs and albums that touched their heart. Take a look at our volume one, volume twoand volume three of “My Music Tells A Story.”

One of our favorite themes yet is street style. Our street style posts gave us the flexibility to look at how people show up in this world through their clothes. Ria Wang’s, “Edgy With a Pop of Fun” interview takes readers on a journey through her stylist brain, even giving us fun brands to look out for,

On the same “brain picking” note, our artists spotlights gave us a sneak peak into the behind-the-scenes work from our community of artists. Shamayam Sullivan and Stephen Mcharo dove deep into what motivates their art. Shamayam’s “The Mask We Wear” exposed self portraits for what they brought out of her: the truth on who she presents herself to be. Stephen’s “Visual Life” piece taught us a little bit about capturing emotion through visual storytelling.

Lastly, our think pieces sparked conversation on topics that mean the most to us. From Armand Manoukian’s piece on the Armenian - Azeri conflict to Mansavita’s intimate look at her experience with anxiety, our think pieces sought to engage difficult ideas and to interrogate thought provoking narratives.

All of the content listed above was a result of our staff’s willingness to be vulnerable and share their work with our Charcoal community. I am proud to be part of the making of this online space, and I hope this inspires you to remain a part of our Charcoal community!

With love,

Kianna Sanchez ;)