Los Angeles native Maya Griffin has always lived her life in pursuit of her passion for art and literature. From a young age, she drew picture books, wrote fiction, and created magazines. She recognized the value of culture and community by visiting the African Marketplace as a child with her mother and participating in Kwanzaa celebrations at Lulu Washington. Those experiences laid the foundation for her journey into the arts. Griffin is now the proud co-owner of the Black Art and Philosophy (BAAP) Boutique in the Crenshaw District.
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Sentinel, Griffin talks about her role in the Black arts movement, preserving Black creativity, and what keeps her motivated as a business owner.
Black Art and Philosophy (BAAP) is a platform that gives artists a space to show their work as a creative collective and a movement that represents the new Black Renaissance. In addition to the boutique, Griffin publishes the BAAP Magazine, curates art shows, and with the rapid decline in local bookstores, in partnership with Janae Green of A Great Day in South L.A., they opened the brand’s first bookstore as the BAAP Boutique.
The BAAP Boutique is a multipurpose space that sells books, art, and apparel by local artists and designers. The boutique specializes in Black literature focused on philosophy by authors in the community, self-published writers, and those who are or have been incarcerated. BAAP also sells books that have been banned, which aren’t usually found in major bookstores.
At Cal State University Northridge (CSUN), Griffin studied post-colonial theory and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English. She fell in love with the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement, and when asked about what inspired the BAAP brand, Griffin said, “during the George Floyd protest, there was an emergence of Black artists who were starting to finally get the recognition they deserved from many institutions and art galleries. I felt we were entering a new renaissance, but what I noticed was the lack of spaces that allowed these artists to have honest conversations about their work.”
“They were just showcasing work to fill the void of Black faces for the sake of ‘representation.’ Now you see many of those buildings of murals being painted over, many galleries are closing their doors again, and the BLM wave is now over, but the Black experience still exists. Art and philosophy have always coexisted throughout our time.”
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For more than ten years, the Black literacy rate has been on the decline. During the pandemic, Griffin spent a lot of her time volunteering with the youth to help inspire them to read, as well as adults. She believes that coming together and working together as a community, will help repair and restore what has been lost through gentrification, the overwhelming presence of big corporations, and the disenfranchising of Black neighborhoods. The call to action from her network has kept her motivated.
“The bookstore was always a vision for BAAP, but was recently encouraged by an author named Jay Burton, who has been incarcerated since he was 16 years old, now he’s 52. His mission is to help change the narrative of gun violence in our community, and he felt the bookstore was much needed. He contacted his friends who are also authors and community activists.”
BAAP also highlights the work of Mr. Wash, an artist who was also incarcerated for a non-violent conviction. Wash reimagined the Emancipation Proclamation as an art piece with former President Barack Obama as the muse. The painting garnered the attention of the Obama administration, and Wash was pardoned in 2016.
Griffin is proud to be a Black woman and has dedicated her career to preserving Black legacy in Los Angeles. The grand opening of BAAP Boutique is only the beginning of what’s to come.
“A part of this current renaissance, I believe it’s not only within the arts but also within small businesses. We’re seeing more small businesses starting to come up, and it’s our duty as a community to support and circulate the Black dollar. During our grand opening, everyone in the community came together with the resources we had, and we were able to give an amazing introduction to the Crenshaw area. We sold 85% of our merchandise that day, and every vendor was able to keep 100% of their profits. Black dollars circulated with nothing but positive energy.”
In June, the second issue of BAAP Magazine will be published, entitled “In Our Ancestors’ Garden.” This issue will educate and inspire readers about the environment and how it is connected to the Black experience. There will also be an art exhibition at Range Projects Gallery on Slauson Avenue to commemorate the issue.
Follow the BAAP Boutique and the BAAP Magazine on Instagram at The BAAP Boutique (@baap_boutique) and BAAP Magazine (@blackartandphilosophy).
