October is a time when social media becomes a creative landscape of various “tober” challenges and prompts. Challenge is, of course, a term used as gently as possible, as there’s no pressure to actually complete a prompt for 31 days in a row – but it is fun to try.
Enter Blacktober, an October event that highlights Black artists and their work – both fanart and original – created by artists Céli, Cel, and the Black Card Member Community with graphics by Apple.
In case you needed a reminder for the #Blacktober prompt list this year…. pic.twitter.com/ogmzxokb6s
— Blacktober Official (@The_Blacktober) September 22, 2021
I’ve written about Blacktober before, more specifically, the free zine that was released after the event was over. Last year was a particularly heavy year for the Black community, and the rising trend of only highlighting us through tragedy didn’t help matters much, either. However, for the month of October, this event brought a lot of joy to our timelines. Artists came together to share their work and it really did help to offer some positivity in an otherwise bleak year.
I’m happy to see the event returning with the same vibe it had last year. Participation is easy – share your work with the hashtag if you’re Black, share and uplift Black creatives if you’re not.
This year, the folks behind the event are working to give Black creatives more ways to share their work. Not all of us are artists, but a lot of us are out here creating content. Cel has come up with a content ideas list for Blacktober that includes things like writing, streaming, cosplay, and other creative avenues that we take part in.
Here’s my Content Ideas List for Blacktober that’s more than just Illustration!
I will be updating it more throughout time but for now here’s the thread and living document!https://t.co/y4WJhihYFQ
— Cel C. (@TheActualCel) September 24, 2021
Along with that comes the collaboration of another Black-centric art event: #DrawingWhileBlack.
SURPRISE! Very excitedly announce that. #drawingwhileblack and #blacktober are doing a double launch this weekend! 👊🏿🎃more details in thread:
(Graphic credit :@TheActualCel ) pic.twitter.com/bDb9GYOQhq— Abelle✨(they/them) @ IASolidarity (@abellehayford) September 30, 2021
#DrawingWhileBlack was created by illustrator Abelle Hayford back in 2017. In an article from SyFy Wire, Hayford says, “I was really inspired by #visiblewoman and #blackout when I came up with #DrawingWhileBlack last month! Giving marginalized artists visibility and recognition is very important to me because I didn’t really ‘see’ myself in the art world when I was younger.”
Starting a hashtag event to celebrate and appreciate black artists this weekend !🙌🏿✊🏾👌🏽💫 RTs are greatly appreciated! #drawingwhileblack pic.twitter.com/SFptXsuuMk
— Abelle✨(they/them) @ IASolidarity (@abellehayford) September 13, 2017
#DrawingWhileBlack will begin today and go on throughout the weekend while Blacktober will be throughout the entire month of October. If you’re wondering how to go about participating in both events, Hayford breaks it down in this tweet:
You can use one or both! #Blackobter is more fanart prompt based while #drawingwhileblack is more art share/portfolio based!
— Abelle✨(they/them) @ IASolidarity (@abellehayford) September 30, 2021
Honestly, there isn’t much difference between the two events, and they both serve the same purpose of making Black creatives more visible. You can draw whatever you want for either one, really, but as Hayford says, Blacktober is more prompt-based while #DrawingWhileBlack is similar to a “Portfolio Day” post.
Personally, I’ve used #DrawingWhileBlack to connect with Black artists for indie book projects I’ve had over the years. I wanted illustrations of my characters to put inside of my books, so I went through the hashtag, took notes of the art styles I liked, and reached out later.
Seriously, the talent in this hashtag is unreal. I hired several artists and they came together to make my words POP! I’m forever thankful to #drawingwhileblack 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
Oh, and my book series is here: https://t.co/BN3gu3Im7T pic.twitter.com/A2i6zL3fpU
— Bri has been cast as Mushroom Kingdom Brick #3 (@BrichibiTweets) September 11, 2020
At the end of the day, both Blacktober and #DrawingWhileBlack are a positive way to put Black creatives in the spotlight. It’s also a good way to see some REALLY great art for an entire month, and who knows, find an artist (or several) to collaborate with in the future.
(Image: Tiana Conyers)
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