The Black School

The Black School (TBS) is an experimental art school teaching Black/PoC students and allies to become agents of change through art workshops on radical Black politics and public projects that address local community needs. Founded in 2015 by Joseph Cuillier III and Shani Peters, TBS has have served 400 students, facilitated over 100 workshops and classes, trained and employed 20 design apprentices, partnered with over 50 organizations, supported over 40 professional artists to date, and produced three Black Love Fests in Brooklyn, Harlem, and Houston to date. We also operate TBS: Studio, an art and design firm in which we train youth in paid apprenticeships to execute real world client work. All TBS programming is structured around our core principles of Black Love, self-determination, and wellness. The school is based on a workshop model designed to teach critical thinking and civic engagement through art-making. After answering the questions "What do you love about your community?" and "What do you want to change about your community?" participants address a community issues using creative activism methodologies. Black Love Fest is one-day music and art festival that demonstrates on a large scale the vision of the world we want to live in, a world centered on Black love. TBS Studio provides professional design training and paid work to TBS Alumni to execute community centered graphic design services. TBS is currently working on building a 21st century schoolhouse to expand our Black radical art programming into a community center providing civic engagement activities for New Orleans' 7th Ward.