Timeless

Something in time shifts
when a Black woman calls you “Sis,”
when an elder calls you “Baby,” 
says “I’m doing well, blessed, and highly favored.”

When Black boy joy shakes the walls of a stadium arena with cheers and laughter and music,
And voices … a chorus to cascade and crescendo in a sweet harmony.
when Black girls be…
muses, be allowed to be amused, to find any and everything funny…
Our joy feels like honey…
Like sweet savored salvation from the darkness we are expected to dim ourselves into… 

But we shine brighter than a mouth full of golds.
We be golden, gleaming, shining like diamonds in teeth, on necks and wrists.
Be Black and beautiful in our bliss and proud of it.
Be generational pride and wealth and knowledge and healing…
No matter the cards we are dealing or dealt.
When we are excellence personified and mirroring ourselves.
When we can see ourselves honored in the walls of museums and galleries…properly.

Boldness. Love. Artistry. Charisma. Kindness.
Exuding from us as reminders that we have always been all that and then some…
And all 
And overflowing 
And endless.


-Kirei, 2026
​
Exhibition: DeMarcus Smith | Roses for the Blues
April 10 - May 2, 2026

Roses for the Blues Portraits by DeMarcus Smith, acrylic on canvas board, 20” x 16”
Jamiersen, K.B. (Kellen Brandon), Breann White, Dr. Fahamu Pecou, Phil Simpson, Quinta Brunson, Oshun Williams, David Arnold, Toby Nwigwe, Fat Nwigwe, Nathan Spratt, Hebru Brantley, Harold Green, Rick Williams, Yolanda Williams, Virgil Abloh, Mom, aMina, Oaklin Mixon, BJ, Rochelle, Aaron Mos, Judy Bowman, Mario Moore, Tony Whlgn, Yesterdaynite (Alim Smith), Str8bnochasa, Curren$y, Sheefy, Lemonious, JC. Ro, CJ Hendry, Brittany Mitchell, Momma SOL, Seydehwon, Paul Everett, Ed Watkins, Carlos Connor, Sgt. Joe Levelston, John Dempsey

Video edited by Theo Entrekin
Music: "Almost New" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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2025-2026 Guest Writer: Kirei 

Complementing the Writer in Residence project as Guest Writer, Kirei will experience and respond to three exhibitions during the season and her compositions will be posted on Buckham Gallery’s website with images that spark her creative process. She also joins the Buckham Arts Collective with a complimentary Artist Collaborator membership to promote the enrichment the collective can only develop with many and varied experiences, as well as offer support and community to the participating residents.

​The 2025-2026 Writer In Residence project is sponsored in part by a generous donation by the Mary Elizabeth Adams Manley Beautification Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. The 2025-2026 Guest Writer program is sponsored in part by the generous support of anonymous donors.