I’ve been sitting with some of the words from Michaela Coel’s speech when she accepted her historic EMMY Award for Best Writing in the limited series, I May Destroy You. Her truly inspirational speech made me think about where we are in this moment and the path forward into a future we can be proud of. She said, “Do not be afraid to disappear, from it, from us, for a while, and see what comes to you in the silence.” I felt that! What did we all glean from the silence and how will we carry it forward?

We’ve been through the strangest of times and honestly things will never be the same again, and that is a reality that we are all collectively coping with. In the ebbs and flows of the days, I’ve gone through layers of what I call creative restlessness to schadenfreude to grief to white noise to nesting to full disconnection and back again in what seems like an eternity of nearly twenty months. I’ve gotten into shape and fallen back out of shape again… sigh. At times it has been scary to lose control, and in that space, however tragic, I’ve managed to find some beautiful and endearing things in life, rooted in the intangible, in spirit and connection and, most of all, in love.

In this spirit, we’ve decided to relaunch Luxeicon, the digital magazine by the TAA PR team, which now includes seasoned journalists. For the October issue, we’re excited to share what and who inspires us, and to continue building on the journey we were once on, with new twists and turns. In this issue, you’ll find stories of provocateurs, such as Angel Baretto III and Paola Velez, both on Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs 2021 list. As I head to the City of Lights to witness Christo’s disruptive Arc du Triomphe: Wrapped exhibition, this month’s Passport gets to the heart of Paris with Elisabeth Holder, owner and U.S. CEO of Ladurée as she unwraps her beloved hometown for us, and we get completely geeky with the creative minds behind ARTECHOUSE as they explore the Life of a Neuron through next gen digital art.

As we continue on this journey, , the sage words of Michaela Coel come to mind once again. I dare us all to write the tale (of our lives) that scares (us), to not be afraid of what makes us uncertain and that isn’t always comfortable. I dare myself…”I dare you!”

My best,
Aba

President, TAA PR

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