In a world where the conversation on reparations is gaining momentum, Allen Kwabena Frimpong and Tia Oso, both Open Society Foundation Equality fellows, are pushing boundaries with their innovative project, “The Remedy is Solidarity.” This global multimedia anthology, launched this Fall, and is the latest project from ZEAL, a worker-owned creative arts and social impact studio that amplifies Black voices through a fusion of art, culture, and activism. The anthology seeks to bridge the gap between policy discussions on reparations and the wider public by utilizing art to tell stories and inspire solidarity.
Allen, an urban planner and conceptual artist, explains that the inspiration for the project grew out of ZEAL’s first major initiative, “Who Owns Black Art?”, an exhibition and cultural critique that launched during Art Basel Miami. “It was a response to the question of cultural ownership and stewardship within the Black community,” says Frimpong. The overwhelmingly positive reception showed the team the potential of using art to address complex societal issues, leading to the birth of their new anthology. He adds, “Our mission is to use art and media to help the public understand the depth and breadth of reparations—not just in financial terms but as a holistic process of healing and justice.”
The anthology is not just about art for art’s sake. It is a dynamic, multimedia collection that spans video documentaries, photo essays, soundscapes, and digital experiences. Each volume addresses a different facet of reparations, pulling in contributions from artists, activists, and scholars from across the globe.
Allen, an urban planner and conceptual artist, explains that the inspiration for the project grew out of ZEAL’s first major initiative, “Who Owns Black Art?”, an exhibition and cultural critique that launched during Art Basel Miami. “It was a response to the question of cultural ownership and stewardship within the Black community,” says Frimpong. The overwhelmingly positive reception showed the team the potential of using art to address complex societal issues, leading to the birth of their new anthology. He adds, “Our mission is to use art and media to help the public understand the depth and breadth of reparations—not just in financial terms but as a holistic process of healing and justice.”
The anthology is not just about art for art’s sake. It is a dynamic, multimedia collection that spans video documentaries, photo essays, soundscapes, and digital experiences. Each volume addresses a different facet of reparations, pulling in contributions from artists, activists, and scholars from across the globe.
Volume 1, “In a State of California Love War Dreams and Reality,” is in production now, and is scheduled to be released in Summer 2025. It will feature public art projects, including one called “Just Leisure: A Processional for Black Santa Monica,” curated by April Banks and Robbie Jones. “Each of these contributions serves to reimagine what justice looks like in a post-colonial world,” explains Frimpong, adding that the multimedia approach was intentional: “We’re multidimensional people with five senses. Art should appeal to all of them.”
For Tia Oso, ZEAL’s Co-founder and Impact Producer, reparations are not just about financial compensation for historical wrongs; they represent a way to acknowledge harm, heal, and move forward. “People often think of reparations as writing a check,” she says. “But it’s more than that—it’s about acknowledgement. We can’t heal what we don’t reveal.” Oso was the executive producer of ZEAL’s first project in 2019, Who Owns Black Art?, which ZEAL is also launching a digital resource for in 2025.
Oso highlights that the new anthology focuses on the entire Black diaspora, from the Americas, Caribbean, to Europe and the African continent. The anthology taps into global contributions to tell a unified story. “We need to reconnect across the diaspora to work in solidarity,” she notes, “and that starts with understanding our shared history.”
The third volume of the pilot which was in exhibition format titled “Vol 0.3: a divination of enjoyment – Extended Play” (EP) took place in Osu, Accra from the 15th to the 29th of December 2023. This exhibition focused on the healing and restoration of Black people globally by exploring the connection between spirituality and play as a means to evolve traditions while rejecting colonial ways of being. It featured an immersive installation that revived the folklore of Kweku Ananse. This exhibition was also the period when ZEAL’s community studio incubator program was launched in Accra, Ghana.
This global perspective is further amplified by Queen Mother Audley Moore, a key figure in the reparations movement, who features in the anthology’s introduction. Her work advocating for reparations decades ago, alongside leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba, serves as an important backdrop for the anthology’s mission.
One of the unique elements of “The Remedy is Solidarity” is its emphasis on community engagement. Frimpong and Oso saw a gap between the policy work being done around reparations and how these efforts are being communicated to the public. “There wasn’t a cohesive narrative,” says Frimpong, recalling his work at PolicyLink, a US based policy think tank whose project Liberation Ventures focuses on reparations policies. He noticed that while municipalities and governments were setting up reparations task forces, the public at large outside of non-governamental organizations were largely unaware or disengaged. “Our anthology is designed to fill that gap by bringing reparations to life through storytelling and art.”
The anthology also actively seeks to decentralize the conversation. “We don’t want to just produce art,” Oso explains. “We want to empower communities to create their own content, curate their own exhibitions, and engage in these conversations from a local perspective.” This expansion beyond a single publication ensures that the conversation doesn’t end with one volume but continues across the globe.
Art has always been a form of resistance and healing in the Black community, from the Adinkra symbols of the Akan people in Ghana, the spirituals sung by enslaved Africans, to the defiant yet beautiful poetry, music, and visual art of the Harlem Renaissance. Frimpong and Oso are carrying that tradition forward with this project. “Art supports people to see themselves and their experiences reflected,” Oso explains. “It can be cathartic to have harm acknowledged through artistic expression.”
Frimpong adds that the project is not just about looking backward, but about envisioning a future where Black people reclaim their rightful place in society. “We need to recognize our birthright as creators and reclaim our space in the world,” he says. “This project is about empowering artists to do just that.”
As ZEAL marks its sixth year into 2025, the team is excited to see where “The Remedy is Solidarity” will take them next. Oso and Frimpong both express their commitment to evolving their work and continuing to push boundaries. “The fight for reparations is just beginning,” says Oso. “We want this anthology to be a living document, one that continues to grow and inspire long after we’ve released it.”
For anyone looking to get involved, the anthology’s website is www.theremedyissolidarity.com With this, ZEAL aims to bring reparations out of academic halls and political offices and into the hands of the people who need it most.
In Frimpong’s words, “The remedy is solidarity, and the time for change is now.”
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