RVA ARt

“Prometheus Rising” at Shockoe Artspace

Brianna Scott | September 18, 2018

Topics: art, Endeavor RVA, Ian Hess, mixed media, RVA ARt, sculpture, Shockoe Artspace

Ian Hess was just another art student trying to find his place at VCU. Getting lost in the sea of aspiring artists on campus, Hess flunked out of his drawing class. What could have derailed his career, though, ended up leading to his first solo show, when Hess found himself in a summer make-up course with Professor Ryan Lauterio.

The relationship that would form between professor and student would feed a storm of creativity and individuality brewing inside Hess, nurtured by the teachings of Lauterio.

“This is solidly the most meaningful bar-none relationship in the arts that I’ve had. I’ve been injected, IV-style, into this overall process,” Hess, now 26, said while laughing.

Even after Hess completed Lauterio’s class and moved on to painting and printmaking, he kept up with his former professor. Lauterio, co-founded and director of Shockoe Artspace, invited Hess to regular critiques at the gallery, an experience Hess found more helpful than his university education.

“During one of the critiques, I asked Ryan when am I gonna get a show here? And he was like, ‘Uhhh, I don’t know man, not anytime soon!’” Hess laughed. Years later, and after two other artists had to back out of doing a group show, Hess got the chance to debut his work at Shockoe Artspace with his solo exhibit, “Prometheus Rising,” which opened earlier this month.

Dozens of paintings and a few sculptures by Hess fill the downtown gallery. They’ve been inspired by Greco-Roman busts, Hess said. The artist feels drawn to the style and period by an interest in antiquity and the fallibility of the Greek gods. Despite the fall of Rome, and the noted flaws of gods like Zeus, remnants of Greek culture remain in American society today, enshrined in our democratic processes and displayed in great architecture.

“There’s some part of power that corrupts people, so even in the gods there was an idea of perfection, an understanding of what is human that could not be separated from any of their philosophies or religion,” Hess said. “There are things within this civilization that fell…that still stand.”

By bringing it back to the classics, Hess has created vividly intense images that are whimsical, erratic and bold.

His paintings are physically distressed, creating the appearance of character and age. Hess used a variety of mediums from etching to cross-stitching to even recycled arcade machine parts to create the artwork for this exhibit.

A unique feature of Hess’ work, even going back to his older art, is his ability to obscure the face. While this came out of Hess not feeling skilled at drawing faces, he has carved his own style out of broken fragments, literally, from Greek culture whilst studying portraiture.

Using busts that were either seriously broken or just had a chip on the nose, Hess gravitated towards these imperfect sculptures. “It’s the broken aspects that end up naturally in the work, and a large part has come through me,” Hess said, revealing that this project started after a romantic break-up.

“You’re thrust into the ether, the mercurial madness of chaos of trying to figure out what the hell is going on,” Hess said. “There is no doubt everyone’s going to experience loss and in some way, I’m trying to get those moments into the work.”

Hess said the pieces of art are having a conversation with each other, but he’s still figuring out what the dialogue is about. “If in the pieces, there is enough room that someone can insert their own story in such a way that it resonates with them more so than the reason it was created, then there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said.

It’s been a long journey from Hess’ school days to having his own solo exhibit. He went from holding down a job trying to teach people how to paint while they drank heavily, to now being one of the founders of local gallery, Endeavor RVA. Many aspiring artists have the dream of making their talents a full-time gig. When I asked Hess how he made this transition, he said it’s about taking every opportunity.

“It’s such an organic and relentless process but it’s one of those things that the work you put into it, you’ll get the rewards or experience or meet the right people,” Hess said.

The theme of the exhibit,”Prometheus Rising,” stems from the title of a book by Robert Anton Wilson. The subtext of “Prometheus Rising” is “Whatever the thinker thinks, the prover proves.” From a psychological perspective, this means that your brain wants to manifest the thoughts you have. For Hess, a quote from a book he read at 16, became a way of life.

“From this book and what it’s taught me, I’m gaining my own power through my thoughts,” Hess said. “I think we have unlimited power to make the most utopic, incredible vision for all of civilization ever.”

On the night of the opening, the gallery was filled with people gazing at beautifully bizarre paintings–many of which would be sold by the time I stopped in. The utopic and incredible vision Hess talks about came true in a space he stood in as a young art student only years ago.

“Prometheus Rising” will be on display until Nov. 24 at Shockoe Artspace, located at 12 N 19th St. Follow Hess on Instagram @ian.c.hess to keep up to date on his future projects.

The Cotton Candy Underworld of Richmond’s Wingchow

Christina McBride | September 11, 2018

Topics: abstract, abstract painting, art, Artspace Richmond, Endeavor RVA, RVA ARt, Wingchow

Richmond abstract painter Christina Wingchow‘s impeccable use of color and hypnotic sense of dimension is what first drew RVA Mag to her artwork. The artist has grown from painting for fun in high school to majoring in paint and printmaking at VCU, to helping to launch the Endeavor RVA gallery, to exhibiting at Virginia MOCA. And now, Wingchow has just premiered her first solo exhibit, “FLUX,” at Artspace Richmond.

Opening at the end of August, the colorful show is full of nature motifs and flowing movement. The abstract and figurative works feature what looks like anthropomorphic dew droplets living in a cotton-candy underworld. Looking at Wingchow’s work is like reaching into the drain that leads to the Upside Down in “Stranger Things” — if the “Upside Down” got a Candyland makeover that was splattered on canvas and wood. Her artwork, consisting of a menagerie of vibrant eye-popping blobs, swirling colors, and shape-shifting creatures, are all influenced by nature, energy, magic, and dreams.

“Everything around us is constantly moving and changing. My fascination in this natural state expressed itself in my work long before I consciously acknowledged it. I paint intuitively, and improvisation is key,” Wingchow said in a statement about her art. “It is inspired by movement, and driven by weird thoughts, restless energy, and the need for free play,”

Wingchow has made a habit of doing some kind of art every day, whether it be drawing, painting, or writing about her work. She urges other aspiring artists to take the advice she had to remind herself at the beginning of her career, “Remember, this is what you want to do. Make sure you make time for it.”

“All artists go through struggles and difficulty in figuring out what they really want to do or explore since there’s only so much time you get,” said Wingchow. “The most important thing is trying different things. And, of course, continuing to do it.”

“Flux” will be on display at Artspace Richmond, located at 31 E. 3rd St., until Sept. 23. You can follow Wingchow’s Instagram, @wing.chow, to keep up to date on her latest projects.

All Photos Courtesy of Wingchow. Top Image: “Caretaker”

“Glitter and Grit” Exhibit Pushes Female Artists Out of the Margins Into the Center

Brianna Scott | September 6, 2018

Topics: Amelia Blair Langford, art, female artists, Gallery5, Glitter and Grit, graffiti, Kate Duffy, Meme, Nico Cathcart, RVA ARt, street art

“It’s sort of my mission in life to empower women in the arts,” Nico Cathcart said, dressed in her paint covered jeans and plaid shirt, fresh out of working on her latest mural.

It’s an honest goal to want to use your platform to help elevate others in the margins. Richmond’s art scene is bursting at the seams with artists of different mediums, creating diverse and beautiful works across the city in galleries and on the side of buildings. But even in a city with a top arts school, the newly opened ICA, and an abundance of art galleries hosting exhibitions, it still can be a challenge for women and minority artists to have their talent appreciated and supported.

“Sometimes I’m the only woman on the bill…people aren’t taking the extra step to get outside the boy’s club,” said Cathcart, a local muralist and sign maker.

Image may contain: 1 person — Nico Cathcart, “Mother Missi” – Oil, Spray, Gold Leaf on canvas

So, in an effort to lift up and highlight female artists, Cathcart worked with Gallery5 to put together the “Glitter and Grit” exhibit opening this Friday. At first, the gallery approached her about doing a solo show, but the artist had a much bigger idea in mind.

“I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to gather female artists who were strong artistically, with strong voices and get them all in the same room,” she said.

Over 10 artists with mediums ranging from graffiti to abstract to drawings are featured. And while their styles differ, the one factor that ties them together is their connection in trying to navigate the male-dominated art world.

For many of the artists, it’s not about putting men down—it’s about creating a space for female artists to thrive where their art and voices are front and center.

“I think it’s very important for women to have the lens in the art world,” said Amelia Blair Langford, a fellow Richmond artist who is among those participating.

Many of the artists took the opportunity to make something meaningful that may not be feminine in nature.

Artist Kate Duffy has been working on a piece called “Trail Eyes” for the exhibit. It focuses on being outdoors, playing outside as a kid, and getting down and dirty with bugs and picking flowers.

“I keep joking with friends that I’m not bringing any glitter I’m only bringing the grit,” she said. “I think it’s cool for Nico to curate this, but then also trust us to create whatever we want because she respects us as artists. It’s important for us [women] to network with each other to help each other get opportunities.”

For some of the artists like Duffy, finding confidence in their work and finding a voice was a major challenge to overcome.

“I wasn’t taught to advocate for myself and take up space and to take what was mine,” Duffy said. “We teach our young men, and society is shifting, but that this is their world and it’s for them so they take these opportunities. For some young women, it can be difficult finding that confidence and taking what is yours.”

Shaylen Broughton, a local abstract artist who uses acrylic paints and ocean water to create her fluid artwork, is also on the bill. The “Undercurrent” artist echoed similar sentiments as Duffy on the male-dominated art scene.

“People tend to think that the men, especially with mural art, are better cause they’re stronger or more capable. I think it’s important to push that away and highlight female artists to show that we can do just as good if not better,” she said. Broughton will showcase her bright, colorful, and electric art on canvas alongside Amy Smith Marie, Andrea Owens, Austin Miles, Chelsi Fiore, Lucky Signs, Nikki Leone, and Meme.

Miles, a local painter, tends to focus her work on women of color and stressed the importance of representation in art.

“It’s interesting when you’re in a show with a group of artists and notice you are one of a few women or one of two black artists,” she said. “But it’s also a proud moment when I’m able to enter this space, what I’m doing is paving a way for other artists.”

Most of the participating artists are based out of Richmond, but Meme hails from the West Coast. The Northern California graffiti artist and skateboarder found there weren’t many females involved in street art or skating. Meme helped form Few & Far, a movement that brings together creative women involved in various forms of art.

“I wanted to be more about what I can contribute to society, more than just taking for myself,” Meme said.

Like Cathcart, the two artists who hail from different backgrounds, have used their platforms to expand the network of women they work with and put more female artists on the map.

“I had a guy say to me that feminine art isn’t serious and guys won’t respect that—it made me really angry,” Cathcart said. “Women are powerful and create life. I get called a ‘bitch’ because I call out sexism and racism, but it’s important for people to question why an art show has no women or only one female artist. It’s normal to have a show with a bunch of guys. Question that.”

“Glitter and Grit” opens this Fri., at Gallery5 at 7 pm. In addition to the art showcase, check out music from Georgie Isaacs, Dani Nelson and Chris Smith, Shangri Lords, and Adar. Gallery5 will have a market with fellow vendors Dag Nab it, The Raw Aura, Eliza Jane Prints
Lebow’s Art & Design, Caroline Seaman Resin Art & Jewelry, and Gold Star Vintage.

Top photo: Amelia Blair Langford

Confronting Racism: A Conversation to End Hate

Sarah Honosky | August 30, 2018

Topics: art, civil rights, discrimination, equality, hate, racism, RVA ARt, sexism, Virginia Holocaust Museum

This September, a nationally-recognized exhibit is coming to the Virginia Holocaust Museum to start a conversation on which lives depend. “Break Glass: The Art of V.L. Cox – A Conversation to End Hate“ is a striking collection of found-object sculptures meant to shape a timely narrative about civil rights and equality.

“Discrimination never stops with one group, that has been my message since day one,” said Cox, an Arkansas native. “If you allow one group to be dehumanized and treated as second-class citizens then it will automatically bleed over into others. Discrimination is like a virus, it spreads.”

From the series of doors once installed on the Lincoln Memorial steps to protest a discriminatory Arkansas religious freedom bill, to an original 95-year-old bloodstained Klan Robe, the works offer a cathartic commentary of the discrimination and prejudice that plagues American southern culture.

After seeing the exhibit at the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts, VHM’s director of education Megan Ferenczy knew immediately the works would be invaluable installations in Richmond’s museum.

“This is really relevant to what we do here,” said Ferenczy. “It doesn’t necessarily focus on the Holocaust, but it focuses on the larger issues of discrimination, intolerance, and hatred in our own country.”

Ferenczy explained that most importantly, the works create a conversation that is crucial to the ignition of positive progress. Although many of the works aren’t directly commenting on the treatment of the Jewish population in America, they further an essential dialogue in a space where creating conversation is the mission.

“The purpose of it is to confront this legacy of racism,” said Angela Rueda, assistant curator at the VHM. “It’s shining a light on this legacy, where hate and bigotry hides, and then using that as a platform to start a conversation…to create a space where people can confront this and…reach a place of civility.”

“White Bread” – This piece was created after Cox read about “Klan Camp” for kids held this summer at the National Ku Klux Klan headquarters in Harrison, Arkansas. The teddy bear is facing backwards to represent the loss of innocence, and addresses children and early indoctrination

Many of the pieces are massive, like lifesize hooded figures, columns, and doors. “You enter the space and you’re immediately confronted with it,” said Rueda. Superficially, many of the pieces present messages that feel at odds with the space–like the gut punch of walking into a room and coming face to face with a Klan member–but deeper reflection reveals the stark juxtaposition of the intended use of these objects, and the way they are being offered to the exhibit’s audience.

Closer examination of each piece unveils hidden messages that, even when subtler than the iconic imagery of the white hood, still hits just as hard. For example, a mixed-media American flag–”Stained”– is actually created from pages of the Bible, ripped from their binding to represent the harm done when these verses are torn from context and used to oppress others.

“Stained”- Represents the damage the extreme faction of the ‘Tea Party’ has done to our country when the pages of the Bible are ripped out of context and used to harm others. Stained is created with over six hundred and six (606) individual pages of the Bible made into tea bags with real tea leaves inside.

Cox worked with ministers of different denominations when creating this piece, careful to tell her story, but to include the voices of others as well. “People rip pages out of the Bible every single day to harm others, you’re taking them out to show them that that’s wrong,” said Cox.

Rueda posited that while most people entering the museum are ready to face the atrocities of the Holocaust, they are not always ready to turn their eye inward on our own country, and the current perpetuation of hate and injustice in America today.

“This stuff is in our backyard. It’s right here in our state,” said Rueda, a fact made apparent by the recent one-year anniversary of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August. Despite declarations of progress and advancement, white supremacists and fascists were more empowered than ever to hoist their Nazi-ideologies sans hood, and revive World War II era anti-semitic chants, like Nazi slogan “blood and soil.” It’s vital to confront these issues as a current national epidemic, and not arbitrarily confine them to a past that isn’t so long gone.

“It all starts with conversation,” said Cox. “People don’t talk to each other anymore. We communicate behind keyboards, and behind cell phones. It’s important that we get to know each other again.”

According to Cox, the best way to do that is through art. “You can look at something and you’re impacted by it,” she said. “You see it, feel it, it moves you. It communicates something to you, and that’s been going on since the beginning of time.”

“When archeologists do a dig in an ancient civilization, the first thing they look for are objects. They look for murals, they look for mosaics, they look for hand carved tools. That’s what tells them about this society, this civilization,” said Cox. “The arts are very powerful.”

Works like this help create the language future historians will use to understand our culture, but more importantly, it’s inserting that language into our current narrative. Through her work, Cox provides a context that can begin to change minds–even those as deeply rooted in Southern culture as rural Arkansas, or as historically chained to toxic narratives as our own former capital of the Confederacy.

Cox is from deep in the Bible Belt, where miscommunication, isolation, and misconception are to blame for much of the area’s deeply intolerant rhetoric. Arkansas has only 70 percent broadband access, Cox explained, and much of south Arkansas lacks cell phone service. The ability to surf the web is a luxury not everyone can afford. “Sometimes messages get cherry-picked, twisted, and turned around to be a misleading statement, and then it’s spread into the population.”

That makes the circulation of intelligent and thoughtful conversation critical, and is part of the reason why Break Glass is presented hand-in-hand with a number of educational components and opportunities.

The VHM is holding a professional development workshop for teachers to give educators the resources they need to have difficult and essential conversations with their students. “It empowers teachers and gives them the tools to have these conversations,” said Ferenczy. “If these conversations aren’t happening in the classroom, then where can they be had?”

They also invited reformed former skinhead Christian Picciolini to speak at the museum on Oct. 17, presenting to students, then later in the evening to the public. Once a leader of an American white power organization in Chicago, he is now the co-founder of a non-profit peace advocacy organization who works to get others out of a life of violent extremism.

Education is crucial to break the cycle of ignorance. Though it would be easier if our history remained rooted in the past, the cyclical nature of prejudice guarantees the repetition of inequality if a dialogue is never created.

“IT’S TIME WE START OVER AND TALK ABOUT HATE”

“The arts step up in times of need, in dark times,” said Cox. “They play a powerful role in our society in reaching across boundaries and bringing about change.”

For some, the Holocaust is ongoing, and it’s only through conversations like those created by Break Glass that we can shatter the established national narrative.

“There really isn’t ever an end to the Holocaust, is there? Yes, maybe we hold people accountable, and maybe justice in some legal sense is served, but for Holocaust survivors, the Holocaust is still going on, for their children it’s still happening,” said Ferenczy. “This hatred still exists, it never went away.”

Break Glass opens on Sept. 28 and will run through Feb. 11 at the Virginia Holocaust Museum. Admission is free and open to the public.

Photos Courtesy of V.L. Cox. Top Image: “Soiled” A 1920 (95-year-old) bloodstained Klan robe installation. The robe was kept intact, and Vox purchased the vintage metal signage to show the true level of hatred this robe and installation represents.

Fresh Paint: Richmond Muralists Tell the Story of Virginia, From Prehistory to Today

Saffeya Ahmed | August 20, 2018

Topics: amelia langford, art, ed trask, Hamilton Glass, Mickael Broth, Natural Bridge, noah scalin, RVA ARt, virginia museum of history and culture, Wing Chow

A handful of Richmond artists will be creating murals inspired by the history of Virginia – and you’ll be able to see the mural-making process live and on-site.

“Fresh Paint: Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia” intertwines Richmond history with street art, as muralists take inspiration from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture’s 9 million item collection. With artifacts ranging from photographs to World War I uniforms to stills for making alcohol, every piece is inspired by an item of their choice.

“This is an expression of [the] history happening outside of our museum,” said Andrew Talkov, Vice President for Exhibitions and Publications. “And so we wanted to bring that into our museum. [These] objects have a deeper, broader story to tell.”

For muralist Amelia Langford, “Fresh Paint” is right up her alley. As an avid storyteller through intricate, black-and-white illustrations, graphic designs, and murals, Langford is ready to infuse her unique artistry with the historical account of her artifact.

“I am a vessel of storytelling. There’s always a story that drives my work…every little piece that’s in there, is there for a reason,” Langford said. “And now, [I want to] tell the story of Virginia.”

The 28-year-old Richmond native draws much of her inspiration from ecosystems and 18th and 19th-century naturalists. Although she isn’t ready to reveal her historical object of inspiration yet, Langford said she is excited to see street art meld deeper with Richmond art history.

Triple Crossing Brewery Mural 2017, Amelia Langford

“I’ve been painting murals for 15 years,” Langford said. “Street art was, at one point, something that was frowned upon. But in today’s culture, it’s something very accepting and it brightens a community [like] Richmond. We have over 100 murals from artists all over the world and locally [becoming] a part of our community and our modern-day culture.”

“Fresh Paint” will feature 10 artists: Mickael Broth, Nico Cathcart, Wing Chow, Hamilton Glass, Chris Hulburt, Amelia Langford, Austin Miles, Toobz Muir, Noah Scalin, and Ed Trask. With distinct artistic styles, each muralist’s artifact will be displayed next to the finished mural for viewers to see where the inspiration came from. Some of the specific artifacts to be highlighted include a 1921 photograph of social reformer Janie Porter Barrett, an automobile made early in Virginia, a sword from a Civil War battlefield near Petersburg, and a hat worn at the 2017 Women’s March.

Abstract artist Wing Chow plans to connect her personal style with a historical photograph of the Natural Bridge, a geological formation in Rockbridge County that forms an arch. Chow’s art is characterized by amorphous, flowing forms and a cooler-toned palette – blues, greens, purples – and sometimes, the occasional pop of orange or pink. Talkov said the curators were particularly intrigued to see how her artistic style would marry with that of historical Virginia.

“[Chow] doesn’t have a lot of historical pieces in her portfolio,” Talkov said. “But we really thought seeing her art style applied to historical objects and stories would be interesting.”

“Spring on Jupiter,” mural for Tiny Victory, Wing Chow

Wing Chow was drawn to the photo by the scale of the story it tells. She said, “More so than just the history of Virginia, [the photograph] relates to the history of the world as a whole.” She added, “You see these giant, geological formations that took millions of years to form and there’s this sublime quality about it. It’s incredible to realize that [these structures were] formed so many years before we could even fathom…and you come to terms with the fact that our lifespans are so short.”

As a firm believer in creating through consciousness and infusing spirituality into her work, Chow plans to symbolically depict the Natural Bridge as a portal into the metaphysical. Or as she puts it, “portals into other ways of thinking.”

Alongside “Fresh Paint,” VMHC will launch the exhibit’s companion publication, called “The Story of Virginia: Highlights from the Virginia Museum of History and Culture,” compiling a survey of Virginia history into photographs.

The collaborative exhibition offers Richmonders the chance to watch these stories of Virginia history come to life as muralists paint their creations. As the artists create, their workspace will be open for people to observe and meet the artists. The featured artists will be working on their pieces between Sept. 10 and Oct. 12. A schedule can be found at virginiahistory.org.

“Fresh Paint” will officially open on Oct. 27 and will be on display through April 14, 2019.

Black Artists Claim Their Own Creative Space in Manchester

Chelsea Higgs Wise | August 14, 2018

Topics: Ajay Brewer, black artists, Brand New Wave barbershop, Brewer's Cafe, First Fridays, J. Bizz, Jay Bordeaux, Justice Dwight, manchester, Manchester Manifest, murals, RVA ARt, rva creatives, Silly Genius

For black creatives living in Richmond, it’s not enough to follow the trends and changes in our ever-shifting city. While all artists have to stay relevant and engaged with the broader culture, there are extra challenges black artists face. A partial list of the extra barriers black artists face includes racism, both implicit and intentional, gentrification in their communities, and the appropriation that happens when white communities step in to fill the gentrified spaces.

This article originally appeared in RVA #33 Summer 2018, you can check out the issue here, or pick it up around Richmond now.

The aesthetic and look of Richmond are part of a rising popularity that’s sparked infatuation with our collective creative energy. But what about the people who have been here, made it ripe for the picking, and who now struggle to get by? For black folks, organizing isn’t just for marches and confronting white supremacy on Monument Avenue, but an everyday practice to ensure economic justice when threatened by local government and corporate entities. Sometimes, it’s about establishing new spaces for black art, after gentrification and white angst have pushed us out of the neighborhoods where we once lived and worked.

Work by Justice Dwight

On Southside, in the Manchester neighborhood, community boosters formed the Manchester Manifest group to support and build up black art. Working with AJ Brewer at Brewer’s Cafe, they’ve brought back the First Friday Art Walk, an event which first began in Jackson Ward, to celebrate black music and visual arts from the local community.

Black artists in Richmond are used to facing extraordinary challenges. When 6th District City Councilwoman Ellen Robertson proposed using city funds for public art to balance the budget, a measure that passed by a majority council despite opposition from Mayor Levar Stoney, it shocked Richmond’s white art community. For black artists, it was just another day of being undervalued and silenced.

Silly Genius

One of these artists, who goes by the name Silly Genius, said the “lack of support does not feel new.” He links the sprouting of the RVA brand with new challenges to black artists in Richmond; starting with First Friday, which began in Jackson Ward as a civic boost for black residents and businesses owners.

Genius said that event has changed, in tone and audience, due to efforts by the city and Virginia Commonwealth University to create a more mainstream, trendy space for white outsiders. As First Friday became centered on a part of Broad Street that was eventually officially classified as “the Arts District,” police presence increased, the area became viewed as more dangerous, and the original art walk was shut down.

Silly Genius

Genius said First Friday may have become “easier to swallow” for the city, but “the shift left an impact on local artists.” It’s just another example of a city that uses the energy of its black population to appeal to white visitors.

Artist Justice Dwight said the problem also happened with individual galleries not taking an intentional approach to include local artists. “Spaces are almost like a secret. There’s no info out there [about] where to find these spaces for artists. While some spaces are obviously moving forward, some still seem to have quotas. Meet those, and move on,” Dwight said.

Creative Bordeaux

Muralist Creative Bordeaux has his own story of facing racism as an artist in Richmond. After being hired for a mural, he saw it pulled down almost as quickly as it went up. The problem: The work depicted a black man.

“I was doing a nautical theme mural, I wasn’t specifically asked to do anything that was cartoony. When [the client] initially viewed the work, and said it scared him, I was confused at his fear because the sketch was a man in a field with butterflies,” Bordeaux said. Despite the beauty of his work, the man said he “didn’t want any Nelson Mandela faces or black power fists on the piece. But I wasn’t drawing Nelson Mandela, I was drawing a man, who was black. He had the full lips, wide nose and pronounced black features. The hand wasn’t closed, it was open and there were butterflies. It took a second to hear what he said… well, what he was really saying. He was saying that a black man, in any form, is scary. I am a black man, being told not to draw black men.”

Creative Bordeaux

These experience illustrate why organizing in black spaces is vital to the survival of black art as well as black creative minds. Receiving messages that your body invokes fear and is generally unaccepted in your own city is what keeps black folks in a silent rage. The cure for this rage is to enter a space made for black folks, by black folks, where the silence turns into the sounds of laughter and home.

J Bizz at Brand New Wave

Historically, one space that has supported the innovation of black events and culture free from gentrification is the barbershop. By the early 1900s, barbering and the men’s grooming industry became the hub of learning and produced unprecedented wealth and opportunities for black men during some of the toughest eras in modern history. If we are watching and listening carefully, we can see how this is manifesting in Richmond. Chatting with black artists, creatives, and go-getters, the Brand New Wave barbershop was a place continually mentioned as a place to get a haircut, but also to share ideas. Brand New Wave is a barbershop on Hull Street owned and operated by J. Bizz, who is also a musician who hosts events in the city. What happens in the shop is more than expression of hair and socializing of friends; it is also a place to organize the community.

When J. Bizz meets with clients, he hears their interests and what they want to see in their neighborhood, which is how the RVA Ball for a Cause Charity Basketball Game at the Ben Wallace Gym has come together. For two years, the event has raised funds for the youth of Richmond Public Schools. J. Bizz uses a team approach, gathering clients, business owners, artists, and friends to play a pretty decent game of basketball. It provides a fun day for the community with food, entertainment, and resources, but also a stage for local musicians to promote their art. Brand New Wave gives more than hair; it gives hope of new pathways for creatives in the city.

That hope needs molding, planning, and execution to help artists overcome challenges that appear insurmountable. Alex Gwynn, a creative who has lived in Richmond since 2011 and works with J. Bizz, said that creating a team to showcase art for the world means creating a whole network of support within a community. The challenge is that everyone is working with limited resources of space, supplies, and promotion. But at the end of the day, the artistic community is coming together to make it happen. Through venues like Brewer’s Cafe and the Manchester Manifest group, the same energy that started First Friday in Jackson Ward is keeping spaces for black artists alive, long past the quota that limits our participation on Broad Street.