In a post to Instagram Solange Knowles announced that she is opening the Saint Heron digital library named after her brand and online community that celebrates music, art, and cultural conversations on Monday, October 18. Saint.Heron.com says the Saint Heron Community Library will be updated every season, featuring selections by guest curators who, with the support of initial partner Aesop, will curate a “collection of rare, author-inscribed, and out-of-print literary works” that can be borrowed by an America-based user audience for up to 45 days. The first season is curated by Rosa Duffy, founder of the Atlanta-based Community Bookstore and Reading Room. The library will give access to various books by black creators for research, study, and exploration. Solange is not only the founder but also the Creative and Art Director for the brand. Knowles’s exciting caption announced the digital library including guidelines reads:
“VERY PROUD TO ANNOUNCE @SAINTHERON’S INAUGURAL FREE LIBRARY AND PERMANENT COLLECTION OF RARE AND COLLECTOR’S-EDITION BOOKS SPOTLIGHTING THE RICH HISTORY OF BLACK IDENTITY IN POETRY, VISUAL ART, CRITICAL THOUGHT, AND DESIGN. The Saint Heron Library and Collection offers free access to esteemed and valuable books by black creators for research, study, and exploration. Each reader will be invited to borrow a book of their choice for 45 days, completely free of charge.
Saint Heron builds upon its urgent mission to preserve, collect and uplift the stories, works, and archives that amplify vital voices with its first season guest-curated by Rosa Duffy, Founder of the Atlanta-based Community Bookstore and Reading Room @ForKeepsBooks , launching OCTOBER 18TH. The digital Library will spark new conversations about the breadth of rich artistic expression and the impact of black identity in creative innovation throughout history and will be available via Saint Heron’s website, saintheron.com.
The first of its kind. This free community Library is dedicated to creating access for communities to experience texts from authors, poets, playwrights, and artists that engage radical conceptual imaginings. Response from her fans included praise and gratitude. “This is incredible Solange, way to lead by example,” to “Thank you for this offering & Congrats to you and to us!” her social channels will push the works of the offerings so that the public will be educated on the works offered.
In a statement, Knowles said, “The Saint Heron Library continues the work we have been building by preserving collections of creators with the urgency they deserve. Together we seek to create an archive of stories and works we deem valuable. These works expand imaginations, and it is vital to us to make them accessible to students, and our communities for research and engagement, so that the works are integrated into our collective story and belong and grow with us.” “I look forward to the Saint Heron library continuously growing and evolving,” she states, “and over the next decade becoming a sacred space for literature and expressions for years to come.” Click HERE to read more about the library including an interview with Season one curator, Rosa Duffy.