At the request of performing artist and icon Janelle Monáe’s team, Myrina Renaissance traveled around 5,000 miles from St. Louis, Missouri to Rome, Italy to document that leg of the tour at the Stadio Olimpico.
Renaissance, having been delayed because of a flight, arrived a day late. The same day the first of a series of three shows was scheduled to begin. She was tossed into the deep end and hit the ground running.
This being her first time abroad and first time flying over an ocean, her head was buzzing as she gathered herself. Rapidly, she went from the airport to her Airbnb to the massive stadium in what would be the biggest, most demanding job of her career.
Soon, she was backstage. Crews and teams were bustling as the rumble of 60,000 fans reverberated throughout the place. Monáe’s people gathered in a supportive group right before going on stage, sharing energy and getting in the right headspace to put on an unforgettable performance.
The group broke, and Renaissance chased with her photography equipment clanking around her as Monáe ran towards the stage and into the lights. It was show time.
In a blur, and with the swell of cheers from the crowd growing behind her as they returned backstage, the first night was over.
That’s when Myrina’s most important work began – nursing her three-month-old, Yaminah.
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Renaissance’s journey began just two weeks prior when Wondaland, Monáe’s multimedia company, extended the invitation for her to come document Monáe for the fourth time.
In 2023, Renaissance submitted an application to the nonprofit, Black Women Photographers (BWP). Through their open-call application process, they selected and provided Myrina and other photographers with a unique opportunity to develop and showcase their skills during Janelle Monáe’s tour.
“BWP was established in July of 2020, and it was birthed out of a need and desire to create community for women and minority photographers, to provide them with the resources and tools to advance in their careers, to help them get hired in a male-dominated industry that is difficult to break into, and to connect them with industry gatekeepers and those in positions of power to hire them,” said Beth Wairimũ Irũngũ, Executive Director of BWP.
After photographing the show in St. Louis, Myrina’s services were requested for the Atlanta and Phoenix dates. This and more, including her experience documenting Vice President and now Presidential candidate Kamala Harris, was detailed in a previous story.
“At BWP, our members are not just photographers – not just “picture takers” – we are visual storytellers. Myrina is a gifted storyteller who has the ability to capture things that others often miss,” Wairimũ Irũngũ shared. “We’re proud of her work and how she continues to grow and evolve as an artist. We’ve supported her journey as a photographer and filmmaker, and we’re excited to see where her creative journey leads her and what she shares with us along the way.”
Now, Renaissance, a mother of six who had just given birth to Yaminah, had another incredible professional opportunity. The only problem was this time it felt more unlikely. Perhaps even unattainable.
“When I saw that Janelle Monáe dropped that she was going to be on her European tour, I was a little discouraged,” Renaissance remembered. “I knew it could be a dope opportunity to really capture this and make it happen, but I just had a baby. [I told myself] I wasn’t going to be able to do this.”
However, the Renaissance (as a period of history distinguished by a cultural rebirth of art, literature, and philosophy) began in Italy, so it almost seemed meant to be that her path should take her there.
And there’s a recurring pattern with Renaissance (the woman), which is about tapping into a supportive community that she’s nurtured for years. From her husband, to whom she is quick to give flowers because of his unwavering support, to her family to her creative network – all came together to make sure her road lead to Rome.
JOURNEY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
Two weeks was not much time to prepare for a journey of this significance. Many elements needed to fall into place to even get Renaissance, her husband, and infant to Italy on time.
Family stepped up to watch five of her kids while Renaissance communicated with Monáe’s team about her needs as a nursing mother on tour. Days before their flight across the Atlantic, they hurried up to Chicago in a rush to get their newborn her first passport in time for the trip.
Even a job taking staff headshots for the area’s largest public funder of the arts, the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis, fell into place at just the right moment, providing much-needed revenue to secure a place to stay in Rome.
There wasn’t much time to even think in the lead-up to the flight. So, when they were finally settled at the airport, emotions – and even doubt – came flooding in. Language barriers, unknowns about power adaptors, and electricity outages at the Airbnb were among the hurdles ahead. Renaissance recalls feeling a wave of imposter syndrome.
Then, she heard over the airport speaker that the flight was delayed, and the emotional dam began to leak. But Renaissance has built a career, and a life, out of being tenacious and having an almost Zen-like approach for rolling with the punches. That resilience, paired with the calming reassurance of her husband, Kwame, and Yaminah’s chill demeanor, was grounding.
“I had a moment where I was like, ‘if the road to the reward doesn’t scare you, then it’s not worth the risk,’” Renaissance told herself. “And it was definitely scary. It felt really monumental. It felt bigger than me.”
And with that, Renaissance’s characteristic focus kicked in. Wheels up. Several hours to Italy with Yaminah in her arms and grandmothers and aunties back home caring for the rest of the family.
BEYOND THE GRIND & GETTING INTO A GROOVE
Arriving at the Stadio Olimpico, Renaissance got her bearings and all-access pass, feeling a strong need to prove herself on the first day. She adjusted her mindset from seeing Monáe as a celebrity to treating her as a client.
“It was overwhelming, but I knew I was there to show what I can do,” Renaissance said. “I have people back home who are supporting me, who trust that I can do this job, and I didn’t want to let them, or St. Louis, down.”
With the exception of an accidental appearance on the jumbotron, the first night went off without a hitch.
“It wasn’t until after the show that the tour manager told me I was on the big screen,” Renaissance laughed. “There I was, right behind Janelle while she’s belting out this beautiful note, looking at my camera.
From then on, Renaissance was in the pocket and taking care of business.
There was the excitement of the crowd. The energy of the show. The electric performance from Monáe and her team. But it was the intimate backstage moments that stand out.
From the crew being accommodating with her needs as a nursing mother to getting behind-the-scenes content and making small talk with Monáe as she prepared for the show, Renaissance discussed how the artist is a consummate professional and as cool as one might hope.
“It was nice to see her routine, and you can tell just how passionate she is about delivering a great performance. It’s refreshing to see an artist who has reached her level still being so hands-on. It’s something that really resonated with me.”
Work and motherhood collided when Renaissance and her family got to share a heartwarming moment backstage. Monáe, who was born less than a four-hour drive from St. Louis in Kansas City, Kansas, spoke sweetly to Yaminah as her father held her.
“Hi, cutie! You’re so beautiful – look at those eyes” Monáe said softly. “You don’t know where you are. Look at you. You are in Rome. I don’t know what other little [three]-month-old from St. Louis is in Rome, but I think you might be the first.”
Reflecting on serendipitous timing, Renaissance refers to her little one as the age of pleasure baby, aptly named after Monáe’s Age of Pleasure tour. In a full-circle moment, Renaissance was pregnant with Yaminah when she documented performances in the United States.
DIAMONDS FROM PRESSURE
Speaking with Renaissance about her experience in Rome with her family, this milestone moment in her career, and her ongoing pursuit to nurture a network of Black women creatives, some overlapping themes become clear.
Renaissance talks candidly about being in awe of the opportunity to work in Rome with Monáe and her team, but she constantly grounds the grandiose in the smaller, meaningful moments that speak to perseverance, pushing through self-doubt, and creating a legacy bigger than the self.
It’s this authentic, keeping-it-real mindset that centers her role as a mom of six while still making it feel possible to balance a burgeoning career. Her honesty seems born from a genuine desire to show other artists, particular mothers building careers, that the grind is not only worth the reward, but it’s also attainable – particularly if you’re willing to break down barriers, build up a helpful network around you, and be gracious in both giving and accepting support.
Renaissance gives it to you straight, being blunt about how big things don’t come easy. She likens it to diamonds being created by pressure over time.
“I didn’t know how I was going to get back into the workforce after having Yaminah,” Renaissance said. “I was definitely nervous about what people would think and how they would receive me when I showed up on location with a baby strapped to me.”
Renaissance, who also shares her story and dispenses professional guidance during speaking engagements, hopes to leave a legacy that encourages both her kids and creatives in her hometown of St. Louis to harness their power to manifest their dreams.
Renaissance remarked on how both she and Monáe come from the Midwest, how their paths have most recently converged in Rome, and what this means to her as a mom whose career continues to rise.
“I want all my children to look at me and see that I didn’t allow anything to keep me from going through with the opportunities that were given to me – big or small,” Renaissance said. “I want them to look at themselves and say, ‘you know what – my mama did that. She did it with community and was able to reach out to people who believe in her.’ I want my kids to know that they have the power to do the same.”
All photographs courtesy of Myrina Renaissance
