“I don’t even consider myself to be a musician. The real work in my life is about collective healing and transformation.”
– Sterling Toles
Sterling Toles and Boldy James discuss developing their latest album, Manger on McNichols, as well as the process of deep reflection and restorative work that the project required. They elaborate on their personal connection to Detroit and how collaboration with other artists brought a communal aspect to the project. Sterling and Boldy present snippets from the album, along with visualizations by Detroit Is Different’s Khary Frazier. They conclude by answering questions from the audience about Boldy’s process for writing lyrics and jazz influences on the album.
ASL interpretation and speech-to-text provided. This event was recorded as part of Bloom on May 27, 2021.
For Spanish language video, click here.
Questions:
- How do we “keep the sanctuary the sanctuary”?
- How do we maintain our encouraging creative spaces in spite of external pressures?
- What is the importance of community and restorative work in our personal creative projects?