Jasmine Solano Talks Lamont Gallery’s Critical Joy

By Lina Huang

Jasmine Solano opened her Artist Talk with upbeat music that encapsulated her mission to promote intersectional solidarity and inclusive feminism. The DJ, who has been a familiar face at Exeter dances, spoke about Unity In Color, an international organization featuring empowering photographs that Solano founded.

“In the beginning of Unity in Color, it was a way to meet people where they’re at and start a catalyst for these conversations, no matter what they may need. This movement has allowed the space for people to kind of enter as they want and take from it what they need,” Solano said. “Every person who participates in a Unity in Color photoshoot or panel talk, whatever it may be, you’re really part of this global collective, where we grow; the more that we connect with each other, the more that we can find our similarities and also find beauty in our differences.”

The mission of Unity in Color appealed to upper Rose Chen, who participated in Exeter’s Unity in Color photoshoot and interview. “I think there is this collective joy, this collective strength that we take in sharing a feminine identity,” she said. Chen still remembers the photoshoot from a year ago. “Even though we were only there for a few hours, we started dancing and talking, and all sorts of things that were really nice. It was so organic in so many ways and there’s something really special about that energy that was just created.”

The inclusive atmosphere of the photoshoot was a goal of Solano’s. “I’m kind of with the motherboard ship, and I get to empower different producers and different photographers around the world, who then mobilize their own communities,” she said. “It creates these little micro communities who maybe haven’t spoken deeply before or I’ve never met before and it allows them to create a space and a catalyst for conversation.”

Photographer Elizabeth Kostina ‘20 agreed. “Making sure people feel safe and comfortable expressing themselves in any space - that’s the best goal we can have. Treat it as a moral imperative and ask: if people don’t feel comfortable - what are we doing?” 

The Lamont Gallery, which hosted the Artist Talk, installed 20 of the photographs, video interviews with participants, and an 8-foot-long mural of a group photograph. Although students are not currently allowed to view the gallery in-person, the exhibit is uploaded on the Lamont Gallery’s website Gallery Manager Stacey Durand expressed hopes that the Lamont Gallery may open soon.

Solano started DJing at 17 at Emerson College, where she designed a major that allowed her to pursue the intersection of music and activism. After her career took off, a former Exeter student saw her at a show and introduced her to Assistant Director of Student Activities Kelly McGahie. 

Unity in Color began after the election of 2016. “I was very upset and disturbed and worried about the results of the election, primarily for the future for women, the future for black and brown folks, and the future of our society… I knew that I wanted to say something on my social media that just made me feel better. On that day, it was just as simple as that.”

Solano ended up deciding on a photoshoot in yellow and gold to correspond with historical feminist movements, and invited 25 women to take part. 50 showed up. “I made a speech beforehand where I said that I want us to remember that no matter what happens, we stand in solidarity, our rights will not be taken from us. Our equality will not be taken from us; it will not be diminished,” she said. “At that time, everyone was aligned with his mission and [the] photo [we took] serves as a reminder of that promise for each other.” 

A week afterwards, the movement took off when three different cities requested to take part. “That was kind of the moment that I knew, okay, I have to give this thing legs, I have to give this infrastructure. I literally devoted my whole life to giving [Unity in Color its] foundation.” Since then, Unity in Color has expanded to over 45 photoshoots from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, Tokyo to Trinidad.

Last January, Exeter held Unity in Color’s first high school photoshoot through photographers Kostina and Sam Park ‘20, which stemmed from a conversation between McGahie and Solano. “There used to be this really cheesy TV show called ‘The A-Team,’ and it was about a bunch of these guys who would save the day for hapless people. At the end of every episode, this guy who played the colonel of the group would sit there with a cigar and he would just say, ‘I love it when a plan comes through.’ And that’s kind of how I felt at the end of the day, I was like, ‘I love it when a plan comes through,’” McGahie said.

Former Director and Curator of the Lamont Gallery Lauren O’Neal reached out to the Unity in Color team this year as part of the gallery’s CRITICAL JOY Exhibit. “She wanted the gallery to be able to kind of make a statement about how we are a community, and we support black and brown people, and we hear you and this is important,” McGahie said. 

The Lamont Gallery ended up also bringing in Solano for the artist talk. “Jasmine has a really fantastic energy about her and a capability to bring in whoever is sharing a space with her,” Kostina said. “Because of that, I have to say - it was one of my favorite Artist Talks that I’ve ever been to.”

English Instructor Courtney Marshall reminded about the importance of Unity in Color in light of this year being the 50th anniversary of coeducation at Exeter. “It seems like even more of a time to talk about and to honor what the sacrifices of early feminists, even if they didn’t necessarily call themselves feminists; the people who you know thought that girls needed education, and that girls should have just as much of a right as boys right to fulfill their dreams,” she said. “That’s what unity and color celebrates too.”

“The takeaway I guess that I would hope people understand is simply that the movement is not over women’s equality is still a matter of today,” Park said. “We should remain cognizant of that and the filters through which we view the world. It’s a good reminder that everyone has a place to write a little bit of their own history.” 

Moving forward, Solano was prompted by the changing times of the pandemic to start the Unity at Home series, whose mission is to amplify the voices and stories of women. “You know we’re trying to dive deeper into your story and to tell your story because a whole power of community is through storytelling. It’s an ancient, ancient tool for relatability to make sure that people’s struggle and triumphs do not go untold and unrecognized, the wisdom and the knowledge that comes from storytelling and sharing one story,” she said.

Solano urges Exonians to find their passions in the same way she has through Unity in Color. “There’s a power in your spirit in this age, and if you found your voice, even just a little bit, it can take you on a journey that will create such a satisfactory life for you, one that’s rooted in purpose, and in good and in love. You can find a way to have a career doing something that you love.”