In Remembrance Of Me…
My Roles: Creative/Art Director, Stylist
Historic Black institutions are often honored in memory, but not always activated in ways that feel tangible, lived, and connected to present-day community. Objects tied to worship—like church fans—are frequently treated as functional, rather than as vessels for storytelling, legacy, and cultural identity.
In the Black church, ritual is remembrance. Everyday objects carry history, faith, and collective memory. When designed with intention, they can become living artifacts: bridging past, present, and community through shared experience.
For the bicentennial of Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, I developed In Remembrance of Me—a series of hand fans that transform a functional object into a canvas for history, faith, and Black Southern worship.
Fan Images
Rooted in personal memory and inspired by the words engraved in the sanctuary—“Do this in remembrance of me”—the project explores the rituals that define the Black church. Each of the four fan designs centers on a core practice: altar call, communion, marriage, and praise dance moments where faith, community, and lived experience converge.
Set against the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the church’s role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the work connects spiritual ritual to cultural resistance and endurance. Gospel lyric excerpts further anchor each design, tying personal and collective memory to sound, language, and worship.
“Only Fans” Sale
Extending beyond the commission, the fans were released to the broader community, with proceeds supporting the church following pandemic-related loss—ensuring the project not only honored legacy, but actively reinvested in its future.
Director’s Cut
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Photographer: Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.
Hair: Erica Ezelle
MUA: Erica Ezelle