In a world that treats Black aesthetics as cool but Black lives as worthless, Zeal creates spaces for Black artists to thrive. Zeal is a worker owned creative arts studio alliance, a Black public relations and publishing company for Black creatives. Their aim is to support Black artists to cooperatively own, steward, and govern the means of Black cultural production.

With an eye towards self determination for Black communities, Zeal fosters collaborations, leadership development, skill sharing, and resource mobilization. All the while empowering their members and centering Black art and culture.  Zeal works with Black creatives, organizations, companies, art & literary collectives, cultural institutions, brands, and platforms. And they operate out of studios in Los Angeles and New York City, with affiliate partnerships in Miami and Accra, Ghana. 

Join members of Zeal in conversation about their successes, challenges, and lessons learned in their efforts to place the ownership and control of Black art in the hands of Black artists.

This event is part of a series of public conversations hosted by Collective Diaspora profiling Black cooperatives throughout the African diaspora.

English-Spanish-Portuguese interpretation provided by the AfroResistance Language Justice League.

Collective Diaspora

Collective Diaspora is a membership-based organization of Black cooperatives and Black-led cooperative support groups across the African diaspora. We have come together to build a global Black solidarity economy. By deepening our connections with each other we make our cooperatives, organizations, and communities stronger and more resilient, building a global Black economy based on solidarity instead of exploitation.