What single trait unites the names on the inaugural CULT 100 list? Curiosity. These 100 luminaries shaping culture span the fields of art, film, literature, food, fashion, and more. There's a BMX athlete, a baker and a saxophonist.
Whatever their discipline, they share a commitment to listening as much as they speak, cultivating their interests obsessively, and exuding authenticity, even when it's messy or inconvenient.
The individuals assembled here represent a powerful rejoinder to a culture shaped by algorithms. They advocate for a slower, weirder, more generous and intimate world. And in the process, they are making it a much more interesting place to be.
What’s one book, work of art, album, or film that got you through an important moment in your life?
My life has always been deeply informed by works of art, books, and film. In so many ways, these incredibly valuable expressions of culture made me a curator. Recently, Christina Sharpe’s Ordinary Notes has been a profound way of thinking about life, and particularly Black life, right now.
Name an influence of yours that might surprise people.
Sidney Lumet’s 1978 film, The Wiz, which was a Black reimagining of The Wizard of Oz inspired by the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical “Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” The film marked the beginning of my interest in an aesthetic future through the imaginings, and reimaginings, of culture.
“My life has always been deeply informed by works of art, books, and film.”
Who do you call the most?
This may not surprise people. Glenn Ligon!
When you were little, what were you known for?
My deep interest in, and love for, the arts. I have my parents to thank for that. They would take me all over Manhattan to see a great number of different forms of art, whether that be Broadway shows, museum or gallery exhibitions, or concerts at Carnegie Hall.
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