My goal for 2024 is to give big, loud, proud Virgo energy (I’m a September Virgo!!).

A good friend and colleague shared her New Years tradition with me. Her New Years Day is February 1st - the first day of Black History Month. It reminded me that so many things about our lives are cultural constructs and there are aspects of our internal and external lives that we have to unlearn and rewind and unwrap.

I’ve written about decolonization (dismantling systems of power) in journals and books and museum exhibitions and graphic art for nearly ten years. I created this newsletter to further my exploration of what decolonization (I’ll call it “decol” for short) really means. Can we apply decol to ourselves? To our art? To how we communicate? Is a newsletter format a way to decolonize writing?

Librarian? Archivist? Museum Curator? No, Data Professional

I decided to accept my new (job hunting) reality and embrace the career term “data professional” within the job market for work in museums, archives, non-profits, and libraries.

I escaped a toxic work environment in December 2023 where I worked as an faculty academic librarian (Yes, I got a cake from my specialty bakery to celebrate that said “Congrats on Leaving”!).

I wrote about it in an official Association of College and Research Libraries press book titled Toxic Dynamics: Disrupting, Dismantling, and Transforming Academic Library Culture (pending 2024 publication!) The sum of my experiences turned me off of academic librarianship. It’s ironic - not just because of my book chapter - but also my research and professional work in decolonization, inclusion, and digital storytelling.

Virgo Vibes in the Year of the Dragon

I’m currently a data freelancer and consultant. I’m going to built off the powerful energies at work in the universe like astrology and non-Western medicines to professionally explore ideas like:

• What does it mean to work in the cultural heritage sector?

• What is a data professional?

• How can I navigate data freelancing and consulting work in a field that is predicated on temporary, term, and grant-funded labor?

• What makes me feel proud to associate with labels like “librarian,” “archivist,” “curator,” “designer”?

New Projects?

I’m dabbling in video games, art, writing, and graphic design! Data work is not a job titles. It’s a vibe.

My Byte-Sized Letters

Finally, I’m planning for a section on art in this newsletter. I earned a data science fellowship last year with Drexel University’s School for Computing and was matched with a Black public art project. It inspired me to be more creative. Amidst my toxic work experience, I used art and creativity to navigate the most disturbing, traumatic 6 months of that position. And I don’t want to stop.

This issue has a comic - but I’ll mix it up! Stay tuned~

Want to learn more?