ART | library deco

Visit The Kindred Blackness Museum Project

When you first explore the Kindred Blackness Museum Project online, pay attention to how it’s designed. The colors, layout, and overall look are all there to catch your eye and make you feel connected to the rich history and culture of Black experiences. Think about how these design choices influence the way you feel as you begin your journey through the site.

What Makes Digital Storytelling Creative?

Think about what you consider creativity in telling a story through digital means. How does technology make storytelling more exciting and engaging?

Imagine a future where storytelling evolves with new technology, especially with artificial intelligence. What cool new forms of storytelling do you think might come up? How could they change how we understand and share narratives?

After exploring the Kindred Blackness Museum Project, think carefully about the story you want to tell. Will it be Fiction, Non-Fiction, Memoir, or Essay? Pick one genre and start brainstorming your story idea. You will get to use artificial intelligence as a fun tool to help make your story even better!

You can use the AI Storytelling Machine to help develop your narrative, or feel free to stick with your original idea. Access it here: 

Let your creativity flow—this is your chance to share your unique perspective!

Enter your prompt in your digital or physical journal.

Bringing Imagery to Life Through Descriptive Storytelling

Imagine painting a vivid picture with words! How would you describe the scene captured in this image, making it come alive for someone who can’t see it? Let your imagination flow and bring the details to life!

Journal Writing Narrative & Visual I: “Creative Journeys: Crafting Your Story from the Kindred Blackness Museum”

The Kindred Blackness Museum was created by Dr. Kymberly Keeton during her doctoral studies as a LEAD Fellow, in collaboration with Drexel University Libraries and Temple University Library. Dr. Keeton is the founder and Chief Library Curator of ART | library deco, a digital library dedicated to African American art and culture. Her curatorial expertise and commitment to accessible, culturally rich resources are central to this project’s development, offering a valuable tool for students, researchers, and art enthusiasts.

Visit the Kindred Blackness Museum Project:

Stories carry our emotions, our memories, and our culture. As technology grows, we now create stories with AI—machines trained to write, draw, and imagine. But here's the big question:

This activity explores whether a machine can understand humanness—or if that’s something only you can bring to a story.

Think about a personal memory, emotion, or experience. Write a short paragraph or poem that captures how it felt. Use powerful words, colors, or metaphors to bring it to life.

Use an AI writing tool or image generator to recreate your story in a different way. You can:

Generate an image that matches your scene or emotion

Can a Machine Feel Your Story?

Think about a time when your emotions shaped the way you told a story—maybe a time you were proud, angry, or excited. How did that feeling change the way you described it or created art around it?

Now think about AI—technology that can help us write stories, generate pictures, and even make music. But here’s the big question:

Can a computer truly understand feelings like you do?

 Can it capture the emotion behind your story, or is that something only a human can do?

Let’s explore the power of your personal voice in storytelling—and where (or if) AI fits in.

Reflection – You and AI: A Creative Collaboration?

 is a virtual, imaginary museum set in the all-Black city of Iaville, Philadelphia, curated by a fictional version of Harlem Renaissance leader Alain LeRoy Locke. It features African American art, literature, and archives enhanced by technologies like AI, text mining, and digital mapping. In this interdisciplinary project, students use the museum as a creative research space to explore themes of identity, memory, and cultural expression. They will develop original narratives, journal entries, or visual stories that reflect both historical and imagined African American experiences. Ideal for language arts, art, media, or social studies, the project encourages culturally responsive storytelling through a blend of personal insight, creative thinking, and digital tools. 

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Telling Our Stories "Kindred Blackness: A Digital Storytelling Experience"

Journal Writing Narrative & Visual I: “Creative Journeys: Crafting Your Story from the Kindred Blackness Museum”

Reflection