not real art interview

written by Morgan  Laurens 

Creating the Future: The Founders of Pedestal Focus on Black Joy

We’re creating the future,” say creative partners Celeste O’Connor and Mecca McDonald. “Get ahead or stay behind.”

It’s sound advice from two artists whose joint work could be described as visionary. Co-founders of Brooklyn-based production company Pedestal, Mecca and Celeste specialize in immersive visual storytelling that shines a light on joyful Black experiences. “We, as Black girls, have important stories to tell,” they say in a statement for their upcoming short film, Liminality, a futuristic tale about identity and self-acceptance. “These stories are filled with extremely insightful reflections, thoughts, and beliefs, which can catalyze the healing that our society desperately needs.”

Calling themselves “sauce curators,” Mecca and Celeste founded Pedestal after graduating from a STEM program at Johns Hopkins that left little time for creative expression. Inspired by impromptu photo shoots between the two college friends, Pedestal was born from a desire to share creative joy and restore agency to Black and brown storytellers. “We imagine a future where artists and Black people are not only in charge of their stories, but also own them,” Mecca tells NOT REAL ART. “For both the fashion and entertainment industries, we want more than just representation. We want to see POC, especially Black people, have ownership over their stories.”