On October 15th, 2018, Culturs Magazine unveiled their new fall cover by throwing a launch party at The Mavern Hotel in Downtown Denver. Filled with culturally fluid people from all over the globe, the launch party exemplified the true meaning of diversity.
The Culturs brand is the first of its kind, the publication is for those who are in-between culture, race, ethnicity, nations, and locations. The goal is to bring the individuals who identify in this way, a community and a place to call home.
Donnyale Ambrosine, the founder and creator of Culturs, gave the keynote address featuring various contributors and individuals from the Cross Cultural community.
“I’m excited because this is a room of seriously multicultural people. I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a room of this many people with not only a multicultural background, but global background.”
This statement is no exaggeration. Not only was the room beautiful in the different shades of skin and backgrounds represented, but also because of the work these individuals partake in. These individuals were artists, entrepreneurs, writers, photographers, models, and everything in between.
According to Octavius Jones, the artists and entrepreneurs “are working across culture and geography, which many people view as “too hard” or untenable. The party goers proved those sentiments wrong.”
Ambrosine also went into what hidden diversity means and why it is important.
“Hidden diversity [is something] you can’t see right away on somebody … you get to know it by getting to know the person, by getting to know who they are and what they want out of life, rather than these assumptions we make about each other in the few seconds we look.”
Every year I see more and more people with hidden diversity, that is because the world is changing.
She also went into her own background for the audience, so those who did not know who she was had a better understanding why Culturs was created and the vision behind it.
“My Latin heritage is super important to me. It means something about how I grew up it means something about how I identify, it doesn’t mean anything about the color of my skin.”
An explanation about TCKs then ensued, and Ambrosine used personal examples about how a TCK would navigate social situations.
“I would be at a party in college and I would sit in the back, I’d watch how they interacted and how they dressed and danced before I took my turn to be a part of the group.”
TCKs understand other TCKs based on their similar experiences. They don’t need to have had traveled to the same countries, but rather live in the ‘third culture’ overall.
“You see each other and there’s an affinity for each other, and you don’t know why. It’s because inherently, you understand that you are the same, you get each other you know what each other is like.”
Ambrosine finished her speech with more personal examples, and a summary of why Cultrs was created and exists.
“So I guess my message to you is [that] the world is changing, and Culturs lives to make a difference for the people who live in-between. This is not my dream, this is my purpose.
Cultrs lives in the intersection of hidden diversity and social justice. The point is to create community, to have a human connection, to have a place were you can come to a room like this and feel like home. Feel like family.”
The keynote concluded with multiple video presentations from CCKs involved with the magazine, adding the personal touch that impacted the audience.
The magazine itself was a hit, it was the piece that brought the entire room together.
“[The magazine has] beautiful photography, great layout, diverse writers and an inspiring message,” according to Jones, and when asked to describe the event with one word, it was “#TCKExcellence”.
This is really useful, thanks.