For those of you that didn’t get to see issue 10.2 at our release party last semester, we plan on slowly releasing some of the spreads from Take Root here on our website and instagram over the coming weeks! To get that started, we wanted to spotlight the cover art done for issues 10.1 and 10.2 by our incredible team member Rose Degefa! Underground wouldn’t be the beautiful journal you all know and love without the contributions of our incredible volunteer team who pour their hearts into each issue 💞 Here’s what Rose has to say about her cover art and her time with Underground the past year:

I think of myself as an amateur artist, especially with the digital medium, but getting my work on the cover of both journals gave me a sense of artistic validity. The In Transit cover was just a photo I took on the Marta train that somehow transformed into a work of art after some experimentation on 3D Paint. Making the In Root cover was far more intentional. I wanted to give In Transit a pair while also accurately depicting the theme of home and beginnings.

Looking at the covers now, I feel honored to have my work as an introduction to the magic within the pages of these journals. I still connect with both covers as they both encapsulate feelings I continue to experience today. When I joined the Underground Journal, I was transitioning into college life in an unfamiliar city, but I found a place to feel safe and at home. The amount of gratitude I have toward the underground team is overwhelming because it is with their hospitality that I found comfort and confidence in my art.

We’re beyond grateful to announce that this weekend we’ll be hosting the talented duo of @kengotrich_ and @nadineahbean over on our Instagram live to hear them have an open discussion! We’ve gotten the chance to publish Kendall’s photography before in Issues 10.1 and 10.2, so many of you may already be familiar with his incredible portrait work. Tune in at @undergroundjournal on Instagram on Saturday, June 20th, at 8PM EST to hear Ken and Nadine have a conversation about their art practice, how being black has influenced their work, as well the issues facing the world at large!

It is with great pleasure that our team introduces our Fall 2019 publication of IN TRANSIT to the world. Our hope is that during these times of isolation, stillness, and reflection, our journal can make the days move just a bit easier. For the rest of the semester, Underground will regularly feature an artist or writer from IN TRANSIT while we work remotely on our next issue, TAKE ROOT. And let’s be honest, there is nothing more grounding (and potentially frightening) than solitude. Thank you for traveling with us.