many using their talents to partner with long-loved brands to bring
more color to mainstream media. American artist, Debra Cartwright's
illustrations feature women of color in a range of different styles.
Based in Harlem, New York, Debra helped bring more inclusivity to a
recent McDonald ad campaign.
Mimi Chiahemen reports from New York
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VO1:
Afros of all curl patterns adorn the heads of Deb Cartwright's painted women --their images throughout her home studio, created out of the African American artist’s desire to see women like herself, revered
SOT - Debra Cartwright, Illustrator
I was frustrated with a lot of the beauty images that were presented and I definitely wanted to go natural with my hair. So I started illustrating these women to encourage me to do that
VO2:
So Deb set out to challenge the kind of mainstream narratives that she feels reduce black women to narrow tropes
SOT - Deb Cartwright, Illustrator
I wanted to give us our femininity back, I wanted to give us our vulnerability back, I wanted to make us whimsical, happy light, there’s this heaviness over black women a lot of times and I’m tired of it ...
VO3:
And she's not the only one, with renewed pro-black, and pro-diversity movements growing around the US, Deb’s in good company
SOT - Debra Cartwright, Illustrator
I think this climate now has been great for coming together in discussions more than it’s ever been in history because we are so connected through social media to be honest. . And because we can have these discussions, people can say, like I feel the same way, this has happened to me too, we’re realizing there’s issues not just in my community but in all society.
VO4:
Seizing this socio-political moment, Deb recently traded the hustle of a corporate job in bustling downtown Manhattan, to focus on her work in the serenity of her home studio in Harlem, a neighborhood long synonymous with black culture from the historic jazz scene to the great thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance, a legacy that still stands, and Debra says it inspires her everyday
VO5:
So the women she paints, are women she sees ..they look like her she says, and that speaks volumes
SOT - Debra Cartwright, Illustrator
I’m totally inspired by the community itself like being able to walk around and seeing so many beautiful black women and see our hair like this is not you know an anomaly at all .
VO6 :
And she hopes her images inspire a similar sense of belonging for other black women in the often homogenous world of name-brand advertising
SOT - Debra Cartwright. Illustrator
So the ideal situation would be to paint very fashionable, very beautiful, very light images of black women for representation for these names that we’ve grown up with
VO7:
With a successful McDonald's campaign for Essence magazine already under her belt ... the future for Deb is sure to be colorful
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