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ABOUT
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The Blog
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Tieshka Smith

Tieshka Smith

Photographer

Artist and cultural worker dedicated to using my gifts to challenge and disrupt the status quo.

MISSION

The Pillow Talk Project exists to push the world to rethink not only how we see men, but the archaic, violent, and dangerous archetypes of masculinity that adversely affect all of us, especially women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community, so we can all learn to think, love, feel, and heal, together.

Instagram

keithfmillerjr

10 years ago, after a night terror, I saw a group

10 years ago, after a night terror, I saw a group of boys in my dreams. They loved on one another in ways I'd never known. So, I dared to spend every waking hour, listening to their stories, which would ultimately become a manuscript called, Pritty.

After dozens of rejections, and a note from an agent that said he loved it but just couldn't sell it, I chocked it up to me dreaming too big. The world wasn't ready. I heard his message loud and clear.

2 years ago I received an IG message from poet and filmmaker @terranceddaye looking to connect because of our mutual passion for exploring Black masculinity, intimacy, and healing. We exchanged work, he read Pritty and couldn't shake the boys' voices either.

We eventually got funded by the Davey Foundation and Spike Lee. Then one week before filming, we had to stop because of COVID. Terrance had an idea, why don't we shift to animation because we couldn't think of any example of an animated film that we saw ourselves in.

Present: Pritty:The Animation is born. It comes to you calling, daring you to dream of a world where Black boys can be and heal freely, expressing themselves however soft and hard without consequences.

Now we need your help to show the world what's possible when a group of queee POC producers, writers, educators, and dreams refuse to give up.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/prittyfilm/pritty-the-animation

Look what came in the mail from @pennycandybooks :

Look what came in the mail from @pennycandybooks :)

Been hard at #Prittythenovel chapter since early t

Been hard at #Prittythenovel chapter since early this morn, channeling 2005 throwback vibes for worldbuilding.

32 years of breathing, dreaming, eating, running,

32 years of breathing, dreaming, eating, running, swimming, fearing, conquering, playing, fighting, teaching, learning, loving, hoping, listening, creating, healing, living--and I pray I'm just getting started. Illustration: @slimsense

From #thepoetandtheboy: "In my dreams, the young m

From #thepoetandtheboy: "In my dreams, the young me keeps sinning. Every morning when I wake up, black pity tousles my body and penetrates my sins. Like laundry penetrated by the wind, the sadness is getting dry. I don't want you to ask me how I am. Because if you do, it will awaken the sadness. And, in turn, the sadness will make me alive again."

From #thepoetandtheboy: "A poet is a person who cr

From #thepoetandtheboy: "A poet is a person who cries in the place of other people."

Starting to feel like my wings might be strong eno

Starting to feel like my wings might be strong enough to carry the weight of my dreams. Working on a pitch deck for investors, new company website, editing #Prittythenovel, and prepaeing for a budget meeting at Deep. Pray for me ;)

The true power of dreaming is its ability to reima

The true power of dreaming is its ability to reimagine, redefine, and reinforce our individual and collective healing. #thepillowtalkproject

So grateful for 31 years of living and learning to

So grateful for 31 years of living and learning to love myself. For the healing journey, the artistry that keeps on giving, the community that loves on me and continues to teach me the endless depths about what it means to love. Cheers to the art of loving, letting go, embracing stillness, and listening to the whisper that continues to guide me and the many blessings unfolding. So much to share--stay tuned!

Feeling incredibly blessed to turn 30, and be fill

Feeling incredibly blessed to turn 30, and be filled with so much love from an ever-growing community of loving, dedicated, and inspirational people. As each day passes, I feel I'm getting that much closer to my dream of helping us all heal, grow, thrive, and transform the world for all of us, on our own terms, for the better. Thank you for welcoming, joining, celebrating, crying, laughing, feeling, needing, fighting, and hoping with me. We're just getting started. Photo: Vero Ibrahim

#WhenMenDance, they liberate themselves from the c

#WhenMenDance, they liberate themselves from the confines of traditional masculinity, and in doing so, create new possibilities for all of us. To learn. To live. To be. Fearlessly.
Photographer: @lexysviews
Fearless Dancer: @mattisnotmyname

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