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In Gigi Journal Part II, Gigi Hadid presents a medley of innovative art and fresh perspectives. A follow-up to 2017’s Gigi Journal Part I, “Part II” began in early 2020, with Gigi and V launching an open-call search for artist contributors via Instagram. But 20,000 submissions later, Gigi pivoted to a new direction.  Though originally conceived to document of creativity in social isolation, the Journal’s theme, “Quaranti[me],” the journal expanded once the revival of the Black Lives Matter movement reignited. As Gigi explains as part of her Editor’s Letter, “With only about a week left til this journal’s deadline, at the height of Black Lives Matter protests in the US and around the globe, I felt strongly that it was [our] responsibility to amplify Black-American voices using this platform and privilege.” As a result, with only a week to go before the initial deadline, Gigi reopened submissions, in order to specifically represent more artists and writers of color.

Available now for pre-order, the finished Journal also features written contributions from four thought leaders in the racial-justice movement: Black Lives Matter’s founder Patrisse Cullors, author and Campaign Zero co-founder DeRay McKesson, chef and activist Sophia Roe, and Nicole Counts, Senior Editor at One World. These, in addition to work by 12 emerging visual artists of color, provide not only inspiration, but also a call to action: “[These] minds are so important for us to continue learning from,” Gigi’s letter notes. “I am honored to have their presence in this journal, and appreciate the energy and time they have taken to progress the fight against racial injustice.”

V hope that the Journal’s diverse content, from writing to miniature sculpture to protest art, will not encapsulate our current moment, but also help to initiate change. With Gigi as Guest Editor and Creative Director, this breakthrough special edition is a labor of love and a true keepsake.

Get to know the artists and their creative processes with our behind the scenes gallery below and don’t forget to reserve your copy today.

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Brigette Hoffman

@brigettehoffman

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Medium: Plasticine sculpting

“She is a description of my initial reaction to the pandemic. A clean freak monster paranoid to her teets!”

Chanté Glover

@copper.raven.studio

Location: Santa Barbara, California

Medium: Acrylic paint, gold leaf, pencil & plywood

Glover’s final thoughts on this project: “Support & uplift Black Indigenous, Queer, P.O.C. voices, lives and work.”

Kathrin Marchenko

@kathrin_marchenko

Location: Moscow, Russia

Medium: Tulle, cotton thread, wooden hoop

Expresses her theme of quarantine through: “[A] girl in a mask, she can be anyone: a doctor, a nurse, an artist, an ordinary passerby.”

Tatsuya Tanaka

@tanaka_tatsuya

Location: Kagoshima, Japan

Medium: Miniature figures and mask

Tanaka explains the evolution of his creative process during COVID by: “[U]sing images and motifs connected with the unique situation, such as masks, remote work or medical workers.

Chloé Le

@momo_4011

Location: Berlin, Germany

Medium: Procreate on iPad

The illustrator honed her craft at a young age, explaining: “Drawing figures with my sister was my most favorite activity as a child, and I basically never stopped doing what brings me joy.”

Tess Murdoch

@tess_murdoch

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Medium: Natural fibers/yardage, Natural dye stuff (silks, linen,cotton), repurposed yarn/thread from Materials for the Arts NY.

One thing Tess wanted the world to know about her art: ”There is so much magic in the re-purposed materials and giving existing resources a new life through creative processes.”

Austin J. Cuttino

@awesometheaustin

Location: South Jersey, NJ

Medium: Silver gelatin photographic scan, Hasselblad 500CM Camera, Kodak TRI-X B&W Film, Epson V550 Scanner

Dream project: “A toss-up between directing a movie or shooting a cover for a magazine.”

Valeria Azulay

@valeriaazulay_ilustraciones

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Medium: Markers, pencils, inks and scissors

Three keepsakes kept around while creating: “Calm App on Google Nest, chocolate and lots of Bob Dylan and music playing.”

Sheena Liam Yue Sheen

@times.new.romance

Location: Penang, Malaysia

Medium: Embroidery on canvas

Sheena’s shout out: “I want to let the supporters of Black Lives Matter know that their message resonates across the world and that we stand with you against racism and police brutality.”

Andrea Love

@andreaanimates

Location: Port Townsend, Washington

Medium: Needle felted wool and felt over a rigid foam base

“I’ve felt a lot of growth over the last couple of months, particularly as an animator. Turns out practicing 8 hours a day for months on end can make a noticeable difference.”

Holly Razavi

@hollyrazaviart

Location: Falmouth Cornwall, England

Medium: Oil and wood

“I decided to paint my living room with me, my son and my mum. We spent all our time here, except for going out to exercise for an hour each day.”

Martha Haversham

@smallditch

Location: Essex, UK

Medium: Surgical mask and paper

“I make fashion from found objects of low status but high value — the detritus of life; both natural and trash, the discarded and over-looked.”

Misha Japanwala

@misha_japanwala

Location: Jersey City, USA

Medium: silicone, plaster bandages, resin (+my face!)

“I first began experimenting with body casting as sculptural garments at Parsons. While working on my thesis collection to honor the strength + agency of Pakistani women, I used my physical body as a visual anchor — and haven’t looked back since!”

Hyei Oh

@hyei.oh

Location: Plano, Texas

Medium: canvas, yarn, metal, fabric, paper

“My art is simply for me. A way for me to heal, express, and create with my hands. My art is a very abstract way to show how I feel.”

Erika Lee Sears

@erikaleesears

Location: Portland, Oregon

Medium: oil on wood panel

“I am a self taught oil painter. One day, I decided to buy an introductory kit and not let myself be held back in learning something new.”

PHOBYMO

@phobymo

Location: Philly

Medium: Canon 5D Mark iii — 24-70 mm lens — prismatic filter and crown made with afro picks, a paper plate, paper flowers, a lot of hot glue + gold spray paint

“I’ve always loved taking photos but I didn’t take it seriously until I got my first accounting job after graduating from college. I hated it so much that I decided to buy a camera and see where it took me.”

Adam Hillman

@witenry

Location: Hamilton, New Jersey

Medium: toothpicks, Q-tips, paperclips

“Don’t feel like you should interpret either in a specific way — there’s no right or wrong way to experience my work.”

Laleh Mohmedi

@jacobs_food_diaries

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Medium: food — mashed potato, pickle, red capsicum, golden ropes, flat bread

“May 2015 I turned my son’s spelt pancakes into a lion for a bit of fun, he absolutely loved it. I had so much fun making the creations and seeing my son’s enjoyment that we continued to do it and it turned into a career for me.”

Ike Slimster

@artbyslimster

Location: New York

Medium: acrylic paint and ink

“I was 8 in Lagos, Nigeria and I started making caveman paintings with my mother’s lipstick, but never actually seriously picked up painting because resources were hard to come by until I moved to America. I loved the concept of watching a piece come to life layer after layer, it was a very rewarding exercise of patience.”

Eric McArthur

@ericjmcarthur

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Medium: Canon F-1, Portra 400, Ektar 100 (Pushed to 400)

“I’m driven by this sense of nostalgia. This misplaced longing. I want my images to convey all the tenderness and insecurity of being Black, Latin and gay in New York.”

Emily Joyce

@emilyjoyceartwork

Location: Toronto, ON. Canada

Medium: oil paint on wood panel

“My art is inspired and influenced by my love for art history, placing myself in the shoes of master painters to learn more about their craft by means of imitation.”

Ran

@konel_bread

Location: My Home

Medium: Oven / Flour, sugar, salt, butter, dry yeast, vegetable powder, water

“I want my designed breads to be produced in many other bakeries. It would be great if people could actually buy cute breads I designed!”

Kike Besada

@kikebesada

Location: Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Medium: Household paper scraps: cardboard containers, Amazon envelopes, cookie box, clothes tags, black spray paint, acrylic markers, graphite pure pencil

“I have a strange passion for old mugshots, they range from the 1900s to the ‘80s. I have a large collection I started when I stumbled upon one at a Brooklyn flea market 11 years ago.”

Jon Moody

@thejonmoody

Location: New Orleans

Medium: acrylic on canvas

“I first learned my craft as a child, drawing cartoons and random images around the house. It was at age of about 3 that my parents encouraged my little art pictures, which led me to the passion I have now as a visual artist!”

Amber Doe

@amberdoe

Location: Sonoran Desert

Medium: Textiles

“The explosion of BLM protests forced me to acknowledge ‘microaggressions’ that really hurt me but also inspire my work.”

Gigi Journal Part II Contributors

  • Adam Hillman
  • Adrian Brandon 
  • Amber Doe  
  • Andrea Love  
  • Austin J. Cuttino  
  • Austyn Weiner  
  • Brigette Hoffman  
  • Chanté Glover  
  • Chloé Le  
  • Cleo Wade  
  • DeRay McKesson  
  • Emily Joyce  
  • Eric McArthur 
  • Erika Lee Sears  
  • Holly Razavi  
  • Hyei Oh  
  • Ike Slimster  
  • Jon Moody  
  • Kathrin Marchenko  
  • Kike Besada  
  • Laleh Mohmedi  
  • Martha Haversham  
  • Misha Japanwala  
  • Nicole Counts  
  • Patrisse Cullors  
  • PHOBYMO  
  • Ran  
  • Sheena Liam Yue Sheen  
  • Sophia Roe  
  • Tatsuya Tanaka 
  • Tess Murdoch 
  • Valeria Azulay