A week after shocking the world with her self-titled visual album, Beyoncé got up close with fans at a screening of the project at New York’s School of Visual Arts on Saturday. Bey walked the carpet in a black Tom Ford dress and boots before heading inside to play her 17 music videos and host a Q&A. Check out some of the highlights below:

On her inspiration: “It’s interesting how motherhood changes you and it changes your perspective on life. I took all the things that I wanted to change about myself and all the things I wanted to share, and I put it into this record.”

On the message behind BEYONCÉ: “More than the music, I’m proud of myself as a woman. The biggest message is owning your imperfections and all the things that make youinteresting because I refuse to allow someone to put me in anybody’s box.”

On secretly releasing it to iTunes: “I just got off the stage, I had a glass of wine and my cousin Angie was like, ‘Are you alright?’ because I was talking to myself and I was terrified. I was so scared. I had already gone through all the horrible ways it could go in my mind… I saw it live on iTunes and I waited for the first comment. Then I woke up the next morning and… [breaks into dance].”

On the birth of ‘Yonce: “We were in the studio, and Justin Timberlake started beating on buckets. So, when you hear the beat, it’s literally a bucket. … And Dream just started, ‘Yoncé on his mouth like liquor,’ and I’m like, ‘What does that mean?’ But I love it, I think Beyoncé is Beyoncé, Mrs. Carter is Beyoncé, Sasha Fierce is Beyoncé. And I’m finally at a place where I don’t have to separate the two. It’s all pieces of me, and just different elements of a personality of a woman, because we are complicated.”

On taking charge of her career: “My father taught me so, so much. When I decided to manage myself, it was important to me not to sign to some big company. I wanted to follow in Madonna’s footsteps and be a powerhouse. When you get to thislevel, you don’t have to share your money or your success… And we did it. And it’s my company.”