Ben KoponenKeep Your Eye’s On the PrizeMy short trip through the deep-south profoundly changed me. Or, rather, it awoke something which has always been within me. The trip is now…Feb 19Feb 19
Ben KoponenRead This If You’re HopelessIn popular discourse, hope is often described as the pursuit of a distant vision or securing a moral ideal. It can ignite a movement…Jan 15Jan 15
Ben KoponenBirmingham: Black Joy in The GumpAs we drove from Montgomery to Birmingham, I noticed swamps and fields give way to forests and hills. Eventually, the forests and hills…Jan 4Jan 4
Ben KoponenSelma: Bloody Marches & Brass FootstepsPictured: Selma City welcome sign. Photo by Benjamin Koponen.Dec 25, 2023Dec 25, 2023
Ben KoponenMontgomery — Understanding Silence & ViolenceMoments after crossing state lines into Alabama, I saw a Black man being arrested on the side of the highway. “Yep”, I thought to myself…Dec 15, 2023Dec 15, 2023
Ben KoponenAtlanta — Reflections on History and HeroesTwo months ago, my mother, grandmother and I were sitting on an airplane headed for Atlanta, Georgia. Our plan was to stop in Atlanta for…Dec 13, 2023Dec 13, 2023
Ben KoponenOrwell and Propaganda: A Complex RelationshipThere is a fine line between art and propaganda. It is disturbingly easy for aesthetics to cover a corrupted message. Furthermore, a…Sep 17, 2022Sep 17, 2022
Ben KoponenNature and Politics: Reflections on ChangeRocks are remarkably indifferent to us. They don’t care, try, or resist. Our wildest ideas, and most nightmarish fantasies, mean nothing to…Aug 22, 2022Aug 22, 2022
Ben KoponenAfro-Surrealism: A brief takeThe world is an absurd place. On the one hand, the fact of our existence feels incredibly serious. However, on the other hand, sometimes…Jul 22, 2022Jul 22, 2022