The RECYCLE CHALLENGE, spearheaded by the founder of Black Pearl Marketplace. Madera E. Rogers- Henry focuses on recycling for sustainability, as an educational platform, and as a viable economic engine for all people, young and elderly. Each participant commits to completing an assignment, recycling and repurposing waste material into a final finish product, all the while, reducing waste and refuse, a noble and indelible cause for an alliance.
In this interview with Oyinlola Sale, Madera R. Rogers – Henry tells us the collaboration between New Orleans and Nigeria in this Recycle Challenge.
Why did you decide to create the recycling challenge?
My MO has been to always do things in accord to what I feel Spirit tells me and my journey began close to 11 years ago when I was being more conscientious about eating better. Living better and I was just getting married to my husband who is has had a a pretty conscious living in regards to eating plant based foods, exercising things of that nature. And so when we decided to get married, he, he and I made an agreement that I would begin to change some particular things in my life. To make me a better person. Well, anyway, on that journey, what happened was as I began to improve my life, I noticed that I’d have more vivid dreams around creating jewelry and accessories. and things of that nature created from recycled material. And from my wedding celebration,
I actually made my own wedding gown. I hadn’t sewn in probably some 20 years, but I sewed my own wedding gown i made my husband’s coffee I did my own jewelry, which was all from paper that was my first experience with crafting paper but what we had already been doing based upon recycling primarily paper. I found that I had literally became an artist unbeknownst to me. And so my recycle introduction was basically because I began to recycle how I started my my, my thinking of myself, but then from that living here in New Orleans, I moved here about six years ago, but in the last three years, I started to work with Russell Robinson, who is an artist here in Louisiana folk artist his wife is one of our sponsors and grant funders.
Chic nouvelle Rowena Robinson, she, the three of us began to teach this recycling concept in the classroom. And so the challenge was introducing it to children, specifically, people of color children who had not been exposed to recycling art. And so what we found is like this really amazing experience that we we have when we were introducing children to begin to recycle. So it actually started manifesting three years ago and now what we’re doing is the initiative to continue to ask people to take recycling to a next step. And that’s the Smart Art of recycling.
Now, what has been the response of people so far to the Recycle Challenge?
That’s a great question because depending on what country like Nigeria has been amazing people I talked to in Colorado have been amazing because I still live in Colorado. People who I’ve talked to in the New Orleans area there is it’s still very new in regards to looking at recycling as an art form. And for many people New Orleanians just like Nigerians already understand the importance of recycling. I already know by just my common knowledge of Nigerians, Nigerians can take something from nothing and make it into something and that is the same spirit that we have here in New Orleans. It’s being able to take like Mardi Gras and you take there’s a red beans fest where people dress up and red beans and rice and they create all these cool costumes from just that. Two people actually taking costumes and repurposing it to artists who are already creating costumes from paper or cyber. It’s already happening. So it’s just part of the culture that’s not looked upon as recycling, but it’s something that is already been presently in the works. Unbeknownst to many New Orleans, they’ve been recycling most of their lives because it’s just part of the, the, the the traditions that we have here.
When you think about when you break it down it’s like, wow, it’s really taking recycling and changing it into how we recycle with changing it into a Smart Art of recycling. So the response has been really favorable. And it will continue to grow, especially as we begin to show some of the beautiful things that have been created by by artists.
Why did you decide to focus on the milliner’s art of making hats in Nigeria?
It was it was really nothing is coincidental. So I have to say that spirit connects you with people who you need to know whether it’s to grow or for them to grow with you. So either way, there’s lessons. But I was introduced by a friend of mine who lived in Nigeria, a new friend who lives in Canada who said hey, you need to check these ladies. Out. And I was introduced to the lady’s through her niece, which lives there in Legos. And she happens to be the PR person for these women. It just kind of all fit into you know, the groove. It’s all just kind of serendipity, you can say, but really is just the way the universe and creator had planned it anyway.
So, What should we expect during the live streaming event?
Well, the live streaming event is kind of like a very soft experience. You’ll be able to see what’s happening in New Orleans. You’ll be able to see what’s happening in Germany, you’ll be able to see what’s happening in and Colorado and the way that we do that is for example for Germany. We have a boat artist who happens to be from New Orleans, who has moved to Amsterdam, but is building a paper boats, recycled boat with different materials. She’s going to create a boat. And so with that being the case, she’s going to show what that looks like behind the scenes and she’s doing that for two hours. In the afternoon, we have or say for example, in the evening, we have a poetry experience, which is poetry refuelled and repurposed. Where we have poets from Denver, legendary guest His name is Bruce George who used to be the Bruce George was with Russell Simmons Def Jam, poetry in the 70s and 80s. And he is going to be one of our guests on there.
And they’re going to be talking about the status of poetry and recycling your life. So they’re going to do it from a spoken word art form. Then later on that evening, we have another event that is for adults only. And we have worked with a young lady who is going to be an impersonating Josephine Baker, and so what she’ll be doing is you’re going to go with her boudoir to talk about Josephine Baker and how she will visualize recycling. And so we’re taking it to different art forms. Her form is burlesque, then we see the poetry.
Then we have the youth that will be coming in to talk about. This is from the who’s magazine, where you might see them talk about recycling. We’re going to have online workshops that people can sign up for to learn to recycle art. And then it will have a panel discussion that we’ll be talking about the business aspect of recycling, especially from a perspective of people of color. What we’re doing in the global picture as far as recycling, then you will also see behind the scenes in New Orleans, we’ll be having an online mini concert and you will see how that press release will be kicked off. So there’s a lot of different things that we’ll be doing for that day and the real big day is going to be the 25th the 20 pop, excuse me the 22nd is going to be the press conference, introducing the paper dresses we’ll be introducing some of the paper dresses and the concepts. And on that evening the next day on the 23rd we’ll be introducing the paper hats from Nigeria, so they’re going to have their own scene. And what’s really cool is you’re going to see the Queens you’re meeting some of the queens that will be introduced we definitely will be introducing two to three of our queens on that Friday night which is first night and that will be live stream on YouTube.
And then on the next day, starting early morning, through the end of the night, you’ll see different informal activities that will be taking place that you can actually actually watch and tune in. So it’s really a fun experience. It’s done through zoom presentations. And we’ll be using a platform called hoppin where people can come in and see different events that were pre recorded that you can actually go back and watch and check and see. There’ll be some live presentations. But there will be local vendors, big vendors will be present. So you can see different vendors, their products, that kind of thing. So it’s going to be a kind of, you know, a global hybrid experience, so to speak.
So should we expect more collaboration black pearl pro marketplace with Nigeria? Absolutely. I am just so excited about the partnership that we’ve formed there in Nigeria and ultimately the goal would be we’ll be having maybe for next year a press conference there with small events and gradually increasing this movement of smart art and introducing it to the culture. They’re in Nigeria, as in some of the other partners that we have that have come from Germany to Colorado, to Florida. So we want to take this really gradually, but the whole effect is introducing the Smart Art of trash, and just how beautiful of an experience it could be through taking small steps to recycle, repurpose, and reduce our waste, which is a major thing in our world.
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