Before a packed house, six artists discussed their painting, collage, sculpture and multimedia work, elevating Black stories through art and focusing on themes of joy, rejuvenation, social justice, and history at the Rye Arts Center on Feb. 10.  

“Black Artists in the Spotlight: Currents of Creativity,” was part of Rye Arts Center’s Black History Month exhibition, and the featured artists included Anthony Boone, Evan Bishop, M.C. Kevin Veal, Alvin Clayton, Barry L. Mason, Courtney Minor, Bryant Small, Dennis Shelton, Sandra White, and Brian Cannady II. As they spoke, the artists cited their inspiration from other artists, from hip hop music and graffiti art to Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, and they viewed art as a way to tell their stories and share universal truths. 

“Our Brother Kalief” by Bishop and Johnson, honors the life of Kalief Browder, a Bronx teen who was wrongfully arrested for stealing a backpack and imprisoned for three years, spending more than 800 days in solitary confinement. With a vision of hope and solutions, Clayton’s painting, “Three Girl Friends,” shows three young multiracial girls sitting on a wall, arms around each other. Their backs are to the viewer, and they are looking out at a blue sky with wisps of clouds, symbolic of a brighter future.

The artists mixed their personal histories with broader historical contexts. As Dennis Shelton said near the end of the talk, “We are not here by ourselves.” He told the story of his grandmother, Mineola D. Smith, who is the last surviving witness to Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus. Smith is featured in his work “Seats for the Ancestors.” In “Imagine That,” Courtney Minor honors her hip hop-loving brother and car rides with him through Jersey City, listening to a Nas and Lauren Hill’s “If I Ruled the World.” When Minor took the stage as the sixth artist in the presentation, an enthusiastic voice in the audience gave a spontaneous nod to the importance of representation by exclaiming, “Yay! Finally a woman!” 

Throughout the artists’ talk, the audience cheered the artists’ journeys, some of whom had been making art since they were kids and others who came into art as a later-in-life career change. These distinctive works on the gallery walls at the Rye Arts Center will be open until the end of February.  

“Black Artists in the Spotlight: Currents of Creativity,” was presented by Rye Arts Center Executive Director Adam Levi, Director of Development Allie West, and Curator Kiki Storm. 

Picture: Alvin Clayton discusses his painting, “Three Girl Friends.”