Love’N Co set up fast at the end of the block on Orange and Crown Streets and brought joyous songs to Black Art Matters, an art, music, and craft fair held on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. that — masks and social distancing and all — brought the arts back to New Haven’s summer streets, with a message.
An event organized by Connecticut Against Brutality and Dymin Ellis of Artspace, Black Arts Matters invited “Black artists in CT to participate in an art fair that centers young artists and creative entrepreneurs. Our mission is to create a profitable platform for Black artists, and make their artwork accessible for locals and pedestrians to be inspired and ignited by the power of art,” as its call for artists read.
Noting that “Black artists have always been essential to the revolution,” the event organizers wanted to respond to the ways the pandemic has hit the Black community hard amid ongoing news of police brutality. “With events cancelled and galleries closed most of us have had a hard time financially,” the organizers wrote. In reaction, they sought to “animate the Black Lives Matter movement in Connecticut by making Black art and artists accessible.”
Brian Slattery Photos
The call for artists drew the participation of dozens of visual artists, clothing designers, and craftspeople, and led to a full roster of musical and poetical performances throughout the afternoon and evening — which in turn brought people to the block. “Many of us have used quarantine as a time to create, and the need for revolutionary change plus the dismantling of an oppressive system has been our muse,” the organizers wrote.
Love N’Co’s own set was ample proof. As drummer Eli Farland and guitarists Lamar Smith and Grey got ready, singer Lovelind Richards announced that the band’s five-song set (each performer had 20 minutes) represented what they had been working on during quarantine. Love N’Co’s first song was perhaps a first in this reporter’s experience of art created during the pandemic — it was a humorous take on how romantic foibles seem to persist, even when there’s a virus raging through the community. Genuinely fun and funny, the song set a mood of strength and joy that lasted for the duration of the band’s set and got the masked crowd cheering in the street.
Rather than individual visual artists setting up tables of original artwork, each artist sent printable pictures of their work to the organizers. Lotta Studio then donated its services to make prints of the art. The prints were priced at $20 each, with the possibility of artists selling more than one copy. Artists could advertise that they were willing to sell original artwork if customers were interested. The organizers settled on this arrangement “with consideration of space, and the health and safety of all guests and participants. This way, we are also able to include more artists. Additionally, we understand that original artwork is of high quality and value. Put simply, this just isn’t the sort of event where a $300 piece is likely to sell. We want this to be worthwhile for all participating artists. Prints are more likely to be bought, meaning artists are more likely to be paid.”
From the looks of the steady trickle of visitors to the table, the arrangement seemed to be working.
Meanwhile, a small group of vendors set up tables for their more hands-on creative products. Juice Box — siblings and Westville residents Sage and Farrin Paglia — was on site (removing masks only for the above photo) displaying its customized sneakers. Sage, 16, did the artwork; Farrin, 13, managed the store. Sage said he got interested in sneakers as a collector, buying rare pairs and sometimes selling them. But “then I started painting my own,” he said. “I’ve always been into art,” and “I realized there are way more people in the retail than in the custom game.” (Customizing shoes is legal and has become big business.) And, he added, “it’s a nice hobby for me.”
His favorite sneakers he’d done so far, he said, might have been the ones he was wearing, a hydro-dipped pair that left the tops white while letting the sides swirl with color.
A passerby stopped to admire the Paglias’ work. He asked for a way to give money to their operation, though he didn’t need a pair of sneakers. “I’m not going to buy — I’m just here to support,” he said.
Sydney Bell — who is 21 and a student at SCSU — is a multimedia artist who does photography, videography, graphic design, and illustration. She was attended the fair (also removing her mask only for this photo), however, as a fashion designer. “I got into clothes because I wanted to express myself through a different medium,” she said. “There are always more media.”
She started making clothes last year. She had already known how to sew, and got the equipment to make clothes from a friend who wasn’t using it any more. “I started small, but I noticed the response was good — people liked my stuff,” she said.
She found herself drawn to sportswear, like jerseys and sweatshirts, and particularly gear from the ‘70s through the ‘90s, with their designs and color palettes. “Everything I make is something I would wear,” she said. For some pieces, she bought vintage jerseys wholesale and vinyl-printed designs on them. Other pieces she cut and sewed herself, and created one-of-a-kind designs for them. She hadn’t yet made big runs of the same design. “I want my stuff to look designer,” she said. “I want every thing to be different.”
The inspiration for her line of clothes, she said, was to create “memorabilia for an HBCU.” But rather than choosing an existing institution of higher learning, she founded one in herself. “I’m kind of narcissistic,” she joked. But more seriously, she said, “my aspiration in life is to be an inspiration.”