Ep. 10: Becoming custodians of our culture with Onaje Henderson.
WATCH:
LISTEN:
As part of our efforts to tackle purpose work, today, we bring another person who is making a difference in his field, helping educate and improve our communities while being true to his purpose.
In this episode, our good friend Onaje Henderson, a community educator, arts enthusiast, and partner and gallery director of ZuCot Gallery in Atlanta, GA, discusses with us how we can discover our purpose by educating our community about collecting and curating our own culture.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Onaje’s journey towards building a gallery specializing in works of Black American artists [2:05]
Art has always been part of Onaje’s life
How Onaje realized that art is not being talked about enough
How Onaje, together with business partners, built the now largest African-American art gallery in the Southeast
The importance of talking about the history of negro spirituals
Problems that need to be solved [10:49]
The community needs to be told to support Black businesses
Works of African-American artists are being collected by other cultures (also true for other art forms such as music)
Changing the rules to depending on client base so that everybody feels welcome
How engineering helps solving the problem
How purpose work impacted Onaje’s life [18:27]
The importance of awakening the Black folks
Creating spaces that are unapologetically black but caters diversity
Preaching about never changing the narrative of a certain piece in order to collect “respectfully”
Being “custodians” of culture
Working with people that have stories to tell
The biggest challenges of an art gallery as a business [31:47]
How money flows in and out so much
Sometimes people don’t understand the business piece of running a gallery
Educating people could be a slow walk
Advice for others and supporting the community [54:57]
Be unapologetically Black!
Come into the gallery, shop for art
Telling others about the business
No more free press
EPISODE QUOTES:
The vantage point of African-American artists is so important to American history. But it's rarely seen. And so the fact that it wants to be collected is not the issue. You know, the issue was more about us not being the collectors of it.
- Onaje Henderson
As a group, we're like a sleeping giant who has no idea how powerful you are, but everyone else does.
- Onaje Henderson
I think what happens with us a lot of times is it goes back to talking about before, a lot of times we don't actually value what we have, until somebody else tells us, right? And then we want it, but it's too late at that point.
- Onaje Henderson
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Listen to If It’s Magic by Stevie Wonder
Listen to 1999 by Big K.R.I.T.
Listen to Players by Slum Village
Listen to Liberation by OutKast
CONNECT WITH ONAJE:
‘Fight On: A Visual Interpretation of African American Spirituals’ by Aaron F. Henderson
Follow ZuCot Gallery: Facebook | Instagram
CHECK IN WITH SCOTT AND SHATÉ:
Spotify Playlist - Music for this moment.
Follow @iamshate on Instagram
Follow @scotthayes_lcsw on Instagram
ABOUT ONAJE HENDERSON
Onaje Henderson is a partner and gallery director of ZuCot Gallery in Atlanta, GA. Under Onaje’s leadership, ZuCot has advanced the careers of countless African American artists and currently stands as the largest African American fine arts gallery in the southeastern United States.
A community educator, Onaje is committed to sharing his love for art collecting through ZuCot’s notorious Art Tasting series. He regularly collaborates with art enthusiasts, high-end collectors, and corporate executives to promote the necessity of owning one’s culture and has also advised countless clients on art selection for office facilities, corporations, law firms, and individual collectors nationwide.
Onaje credits his father, artist Aaron F. Henderson for much of his success and has paired his father’s 20+ years of art-related wisdom with his personal experiences as an art professional. Onaje educates Atlanta’s youth through community outreach efforts and school tours; and he also fundraises for arts-based programming through the Art Brothers Foundation—an organization formed by Onaje and ZuCot’s partners to utilize art and arts education as a way to help students excel in school and achieve successful careers.
Onaje holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tuskegee University and began his career working with one of the “Big Five” consulting firms. He has assisted communications and technology companies around the world and believes his background in the tech industry directly translates to his current work as an arts advocate and ZuCot Gallery administrator.
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