WHM: Trading Pages Gallery Event Honors Black Women & Print

It goes without saying that we have a major soft spot over here when it comes to Black media. With that said, it was a personal delight to cap off last week at an event that not only put on for print in a big way, but also was able to cleverly incorporate Women’s History Month into the mix.

Oh, and everybody had a great time. Take a look at the evidence below:

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Put together in partnership with the events team over at Complex and trusted NYC marketing firm Team Epiphany, the Trading Pages Editorial Gallery event last Friday (March 13) thankfully went without error or bad luck. In all actuality, many attendees found themselves getting lucky in purchasing some of the rarest magazines in the history of Black print media. Back issues of VIBE Magazine, The Source, XXL, Essence, EBONY, Jet, Honey, Sister 2 Sister — you name it! They’ve also curated iconic Black covers for major publications like Rolling Stone, SPIN, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s BAZAAR, Allure and the like.

Some of these page-turning beauties hadn’t been held by human hands in decades, yet proper care and preserving have made them look like they just hit newsstands yesterday. That can be credited to co-owners Reggie Singletary and Kamari Spence, who founded Trading Pages just last year as a way to reconnect our community through the magazines we all grew up reading, studying and loving even if just for the new wall photos.

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Talking with us exclusively, Reggie says of his involvement, “I’ve been collecting magazines for years; I have a love for tangible things. I’ve been a collector all my life, and I got to a certain point where I had so many magazines that I was like, ‘Man, we should do something around this!’ Every time I shared it with somebody, they’re so enamored with everything around the magazine from color to storytelling. Trading Pages is about trading relationships, conversations and stories about what these magazines meant to them.”

Kamari was equally as enthusiastic about his print collection, adding on by stating, “we really feel that a lot of these [print] stories are integral to us growing up in music, fashion and sports. A lot of these stories can get lost with time, and if they’re not recorded can be lost permanently. We wanted to create a space as the world becomes more digital to really see the stories firsthand that made us into who we are now. Doing it for Women’s History Month was especially important because we feel like they are extremely integral to music, fashion and sports. We don’t get any of these verticals without their involvement.”

On the side of Team Epiphany, founder Coltrane Curtis spoke with us briefly on why it made sense to support a movement of this nature, telling us in-between complimentary Lobos 1707 libations, “we’re extremely privileged to have them at TE as we support great ideas. This is one from someone who works at our agency, and we’re accelerating his pathway to be great. When thinking about how important media was in telling stories back then — I grew up in that era! — you see people trying to indulge in experiences they never had by collecting these magazines now. To see one of the most talented guys on our team come up with a concept, why not support it?”

As of now, Trading Places operates as a moving party only — don’t ask us for the address! — but you can join their mailing list for all the most recent updates and to attend a future mag party yourselves.

10/10…would definitely recommend again.

Keep scrolling for a photo recap of the Trading Pages Women’s History Month-themed Editorial Gallery event that honored both Black media and Black women: