Our Fallow Year
Dear Onyx Community,
Sometimes, we must choose rest. Despite capitalism’s best efforts to keep us running, sometimes, we must choose rest. III: TRANSCEND came out during a pandemic and we are so proud of all of the work we have platformed. III: TRANSCEND is a testament to the ingenuity and determination of every Black creative who stepped up to answer our call, even though we could not congregate in person to celebrate as a community. So, we are proud. But we are also exhausted.
We thought we might be able to bundle up the exhaustion and take it along with us as we created the next edition, but we were wrong. If you’re reading this you may know that our print magazine is an annual celebration of authentic Black identity, expression, existence and art. Our top priority is always going to be the empowerment, support, nurture and centring of Black creatives. But somewhere along the way, we forgot that this includes us too.
When a farmer prepares their land for the coming agricultural season, there are years when they will plough the soil and stop at that. No seeds are sown, no crops are harvested — they simply let the land lie fallow. The soil heals itself, regenerating the nutrients vital to the growth of healthy crops. Neglecting this practice through overexploitation strips the land of its ability to support life at all. No life, no crops, no harvest. As a creative, too, it can be hard to resist the urge to live in a constant state of reactivity, creating in response to the world at large without pause for thought or rest. It would betray everything we stand for to produce a magazine from this place of exhaustion, without having given ourselves the opportunity to take stock of everything we’ve made so far, or to rest and recompose ourselves before going forward.
In the end, it came down to a single question: constant product or art? Here at Onyx, the answer will always be art and so, like overtoiled land, we are lying fallow for a year. Pausing for a moment to rest, to dream, and to look after ourselves and one another. We will not release a print edition of the magazine this year, instead using that time and energy to reflect on, listen to and connect with our community. You’ll still hear from everyone at Team Onyx on the blog and across our social media platforms as our Fallow Year goes on.
We have an incredible theme lined up. We have the infrastructure to be able to pay every single contributor we would have published this year and for this we are so grateful to each and every one of our patrons, supporters, and contributors. Our Fallow Year will provide the perfect opportunity to continue to build the infrastructure with which we can support, pay and nurture the Black creatives that will be a part of all of our future editions.
Capitalism destroys art and rest and creativity. We are tired but we will not let it destroy us. We couldn’t be prouder to centre the powerful and loving energy that is the driving force behind this Black magazine. To all of our family and our supporters: we urge you to do the same. Stop and push things back as much as you can. Don’t wait until the land has run dry to finally rest.
All of our love,
Team ‘21-’22
