November 14, 2025
Inaugural Artist In Residence Dr. Yaba Blay and Most Incredible Studio Create ‘The BAMBOO,’ Elevating Icon to Cultural Artifact
The residency program will expand in the coming year, spotlighting creators from a variety of traditions.
In an act of cultural preservation, Most Incredible Studio (MIS), the creative house specializing in translating memory into collectibles, has announced its inaugural Artist-In-Residence: scholar, cultural worker, and visionary, Dr. Yaba Blay.
The first release from this collaboration is The BAMBOO—a highly detailed cultural artifact built with LEGO® bricks that transforms the enduring iconography of the bamboo earring into a monumental, collectible testament to Black womanhood.
The project is far more than nostalgia; it is an assertion of inherent worth.
Shared on both parties’ Instagram accounts, the BAMBOO announcement was dropped with much fanfare. For the next year, the prominent professor will “infuse Black Girl culture into LEGO culture.”
“THE BAMBOO is making its way into y’all’s hands!! There’s a HUGE and growing community of #BlackGirlsWhoLego, so it means EVERYTHING to US to witness y’all create collectibles reflective of our own culture — Black girl culture! Thank YOU @jen_builds_!! THIS is PHENOMENAL! AND OH SO PROFESSIONAL!! #ProfessionalBlackGirl #MostIncredibleStudio“
The BAMBOO preserves a shared language of style, self-definition, and belonging, reminding its collectors that everyday culture is sacred.
The collaboration with Blay turns a familiar, often-politicized symbol of identity into a cherished monument of memory—a beautiful homage to the creativity, beauty, and brilliance of Black women everywhere. Building the LEGO® artifact with one’s own hands carries the same weight as the pride with which the earring was worn, elevating the symbol from street fashion to the cultural canon.
“BAMBOO is here. The first piece of collectible art designed in collaboration with Dr. Yaba Blay, the inaugural Professional Black Girl-in-Residence at Most Incredible Studio, this limited-edition collectible reimagines the iconic bamboo earring using 303 LEGO® bricks. A symbol of beauty, identity, and legacy, BAMBOO celebrates the women who made “at least two pair” a rite of passage. Each piece comes with a custom assembly guide and photo editorial, capturing the essence of culture you can build, play with, and proudly display.”
The caption continued, “BAMBOO — A Cultural Composition is available exclusively at mostincrediblestud.io. This is not a LEGO® set. LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies, which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this product. Read the full article now on our app or at MVEMNT.com. @mostincrediblestudio@yabablay@professionalblackgirl@jamelshabazz@thesirtaylor@nobodyfamous #JoinTheMVEMNT#MVEMNTNews#ProfessionalBlackGirl#MostIncredibleStudio Download our app and @jointhemvemnt for more events, news, and content .”
Dr. Blay, the force behind Professional Black Girl—a dynamic multimedia platform celebrating the everyday genius and lived experiences of Black women and girls—brings her incisive scholarly eye to the residency. As the author of the groundbreaking One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race, Dr. Blay’s work continues to validate and codify marginalized narratives.
The residency marks the beginning of a new MIS initiative designed to partner with cultural leaders who carry vital stories, traditions, and communities into the physical realm through permanent artifacts.
MIS’s mission of making memory visible, combined with Dr. Blay’s ongoing work to assert an unapologetic identity, is a hellafied force of cultural preservation.
The philosophy of Professional Black Girl posits that “Black Girl Magic” is not an exclusive achievement reserved for those who have accomplished unprecedented feats, but a ubiquitous state enjoyed by all.
By declaring themselves “Professional Black Girls,” the community asserts its identity against a world constantly promoting respectability politics on how they “ought to” act, embracing the freedom of self-definition. They are, as the platform proudly affirms, professional code-switchers who hold Ph. D.s and listen to trap music; they twerk and work.
For Dr. Blay, the material creation of the earring was a necessary step toward canonization. She noted the intrinsic demand for the partnership’s focus, “When Syreeta mentioned to me that she wanted to infuse Black girl culture into Most Incredible Studio’s canon, I told her there was no way I would allow her to do that without ME! She laughed, but I was serious. The idea of merging what she does with what we do and how we do it is beyond exciting—it’s necessary.”
The limited-edition cultural artifact arrives with MIS’s signature collectible packaging, including a custom booklet and keepsake elements, reinforcing the notion that this is not a toy, but a piece of history.
The residency program will expand in the coming year, spotlighting creators from a variety of traditions. The new residency ensures that the MIS universe becomes a permanent gallery for the stories and traditions that shape contemporary cultural life.
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