One thing about Solange Knowles, she’s gonna curate culture like her very existence depends on it. The Grammy-winning artist and unabashed creative visionnaire recently released the next installment under her Saint Heron project, and it’s nothing short of a revolution: a public library and digital archive devoted to preserving rare work by Black and Brown authors, poets, and artists.
Constructing the House of Our Stories
The Saint Heron Library is not just any lending library. It is a sanctuary. It is a statement. It is a promise that our books, our voices, and our imaginations won’t be lost to dust, scalpers, or extortionate resale fees. Solange’s vision is based on access. Borrowers borrow rare, out-of-print, first-edition pieces that range from poetry, critical theory, visual art, to design all for free. And as she understands that our communities already bear too many burdens, each comes fully stocked with a prepaid return label. No drama. No gatekeeping.
Solange herself best described it in an Instagram post: “The Saint Heron Library is home to our archival collection of primarily rare, out-of-print, and first edition titles by Black and Brown authors, poets, and artists… and as the market and demand for these books, zines, and catalogues rises, we would like to play a small part in creating free access to the expansive range of critical thought and expression by these great minds.”
