Journalism

Meet the Female Artist

Inspiring Art Spaces One Exhibit at a Time.

J. Kinna LeBlanc

 

 

         The hazy sunrays of July peered into the airy art space as guests, mostly women, gathered to view the 2nd annual “Future is Female” art exhibit held at sk.Artspace.  Melissa Sutherland, a bubbly brown 33-year-old multidisciplinary artist, stood arms crossed against her lime green satin slip dress, with a warm smile observing the happenings in the room.

 

Local artist, exhibiting for the first time, brought her so much joy and it beamed across her face as she twirled through the bright and airy art gallery.

 

"In 2010 I wrote in my journal 'I want to design and develop organizations that will allow me to give back to various communities.’ Today I get to do that with sk.Artspace" She once said in a #TBT Instagram post reminiscing on where she’d like her art career to actually go. 10 years later that journal entry has blossomed into a palpable dream. 

 

            The annual “Future is Female” art exhibition is one of the many creative events and artistic programming held at the charming art gallery in the heart of Brooklyn's industrial Brownsville zone. First opening it's optimistic yellow doors in June of 2018, sk.Artspace was originally created to keep the local artist in mind.

 

A safe studio for a wanderlust to dream, an art space for today's hopefuls to create and a novel platform for tomorrow's icon's to exhibit.

Melissa, one third of a black owned, female operated partnership is a multidisciplinary modern artist herself and, along with two of her best friends, decided to create an art space of creative programming for local artists to showcase work and connect with like minds, within the community.

 

The 30-somethings and their budding network, of urban creatives consists of various members from all avenues of black, pop and artistic cultures, who joins forces to bring monthly solo exhibitions, pop-up shops and music events, free art exhibitions, fundraisers and much more.

 

 

During times of distress and chaos, having a platform and safe space for artists to express themselves and be celebrated is truly life-saving” Melissa expressed as we walked through the quiet space, one afternoon, recapturing the moments of accomplishments, she’s had with her partners and creative stakeholders inside, during a short time.

 

“These women created a space for people of color in an area of New York where no other space of its kind exists.  They chose to provide a safe space and a prestigious, artistic one, for those who desire the quality of life that is so often refused to their demographic.”

 

 

 

 

 

Confidently shared by Lena White the gallery assistant of one year, who was also in attendance.

 

 

Lena, a multidisciplinary artist herself, moved to New York City with big artistic dreams from a small Georgia town just six months before landing the art gig. She was immediately engulfed by the energy of sk.Artspace and, under the leadership of Sutherland, has expanded her art career beginning with training as an Arts Marketer and Curator. In the 1 year that I’ve worked for the SK Team, I can truly say that I’m honored to be a part of a company of black women who are seamlessly providing, creating, relating, and elevating the community." She also gleamed.

 

White is just one chakra in the flow of divine feminine energies that surrounds Melissa, her partners and the space; having a hive of like-minded artistic women has always been the driving force behind Sutherland’s overall focus. There’s also a common theme that takes place within all of her artwork: the transitional elevation of “The Woman” specifically “The Black Woman” resonates through most of her current work. 

 

The phenomenal powerhouse of other female artist gives her a centralized focus with keeping the gallery and it’s programming fresh and exciting and having the efficiency to match has kept SK in its exclusive premier stage for two years, remaining true to its mission of being a space for local artist to shine.

 

With the help of this community and in less than 2 years they have curated over 12 first time solo exhibitions and provided paid opportunities for up and coming artists, curated eight  first time Artist Talks, created an online community of over 32,00 supporters, curated 18 free online classes, along with being able to remain open, as a physical space, for future events.

 

 

“At sk.artspace you can run amok!

You have that freedom of expression!

you normally don’t get the from other spaces.”

 

 

As Creative Director and Socialite, Melissa continues to be the inspiration that connects each of the contributing artist and their creative visions for the space and its community.

 

“You’re somewhat of the ‘nucleus’ huh.” I genuinely affirmed to Sutherland. At first in awe, she gazed off for a moment before quietly nodding with a generous smile and replied, “I just want to inspire.”

 

 

 

“I had no idea what I wanted to do,

but I just knew I wanted to learn how to do that!”

 

 

            But first, effortlessly creating is something Melissa does as naturally as breathing, she currently focuses on collage art and creates exceptionally beautiful jigsaw puzzles of pictorials, a communion of divine feminine energy and story-telling using scale, contrast, composition and sorted magazine clippings. One can often get caught in a whimsical rapture watching her bring a mental concept to artistic form. Standing in a corner of her studio can make you feel like being on a merry-go-round at a busy carnival- the confusion is imminent but the inner jubilation is surreal.

 

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I looked on and began to imagine myself as a fly on the wall of a young and hopeful Melissa’s room, watching Mrs. Lidia Sutherland, her mother, agree to another artistic adventure. Melissa shared with great amazement how her mother made it possible to express her creativity. Before focusing on any fine art skills Sutherland was an aspiring tap dancer, ballet dancer, a piano player, an actress and much more under the arts umbrella!

 

“Wow, my mother…I appreciate her now more than ever, because she’s never limited me. Ever. She just knew there was something there and said ‘well, let me keep feeding this and see where it goes.’” Melissa said.

 

It wasn’t until the end of high school when another family member made an introduction to Act-So, a free arts excellence program for inner city youth, did Melissa begin to hone her innate artistic abilities.

 

“I always knew I was a creative. One day my cousin who went to FIT for Illustration asked if he could draw me for a project. And I was shocked when I saw his work, I was like, ‘I really wanna do something with this! I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I just knew I wanted to learn how to do that! And so I did from that moment on.’” She said with confidence.

 

Over the years, Melissa has done just that, produced a body of work that exemplifies the exceptional talent and recognizable influence through groundbreaking and thought-provoking collections. It became important for Sutherland to produce remarkable work and create the same opportunities for nearby artist, the way her family once did for her. Melissa’s art and social influence seemingly reflect one another, in perfect synergy, which is the formula behind any project she’s a part of.

 

When I asked Sutherland to describe her overall purpose as artist and entrepreneur she replied “It’s been like a rebirth because I just recently found my purpose. And my purpose is to inspire people. I’m inspiring people to have additional creative outlets.” She continued, “I’ve always been that person…that people look to for motivation. If they need some light, they’ll call me cuz they know I’m gonna be that Hype Man. I always want more out of people! I always want more period.”

 

 

 

What keeps her motivations high is having and sharing opportunities.



When the 2020 Pandemic ransacked its way through small business in New York City, it was the “wanting more” mentality that led Melissa, her partners and their collective of 5 female artists, to start a fundraiser to keep its doors open. #SaveskArtspace 2020 was born and becoming a frequently used hashtag in a 5-week period.

 

As they moved into a virtual space, the women continued with the innovative arts and culture programming they’ve been known to popularize in the past. Sutherland, along with White, curated online classes—via Instagram Live-- for the public as a result of the stay-at- home order and the SK list of exhibits, art demos, concepts, collaborations and creative events continue to grow.

 

sk.Artspace has been able to remain open, as a physical space, for future events and with their loyal artist community Melissa is determined to keep the SS.sk ship afloat. “At sk.artspace you can run amok! You have that freedom of expression! you normally don’t get the from other spaces. If you wanna paint a wall, you can paint a wall! If you wanna swing from the chandelier, you can swing from the chandelier!” She reminded with laughter. “It’s important to keep the physical space to be able to share your experiences with one another. We still need that. It’s the same idea of wanting to inspire.”

 

 

Since posing as her cousins inspiration Melissa has held on to that moment and continues to move steadfast, keeping the original mission of being a beacon of light and possibility in mind. What keeps her motivations high is having and sharing opportunities, this has been the utility in powering the creative process and the fulfillment of its outcome. Sutherland reminds me that “the process of creating was my outlet and that’s the same energy of wanting to inspire.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SEPERATION ANXIETY: 

How Preventing the Spread of Covid19 is Tearing Families Apart.

 

 

            A once-vivacious 65-year-old lady who conducted choirs and hosted community bake sales, my mother, Clara J. Valentine, lay passively in a state-of-the-art hospital bed as the April flowers began to bud in Brooklyn.  She can’t see those flowers, as she’s on what seems like an indefinite leave of absence from her children and community service. When she went to the emergency room on Feb. 21 for congestive heart failure, she had no idea she was about to experience the scariest, loneliest two months of her life.

 

When the Coronavirus touched American soil, its viral spread quickly followed. In efforts to contain and stop spreading the novel virus, institutions, medical facilities, schools, corporations and small businesses alike hunkered down in a national quarantine. Life as we once knew it was halted.

 

One of the safety measures taken to protect vulnerable patients like my moms was abruptly sealing them inside of hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers with little information until further notice. The nation quickly understood that staying six feet apart was necessary to stop the spread. However, no one ever thought the last time they would see or hear from dying family members would be through a medical representative that was unsure of how to even pronounce the family name.

 

The inability to communicate with sick and dying loved one – who are not fully informed about the pandemic due to illness of lack of information from the outside world ---ads an emotional depression to a patient’s growing list of symptoms.

 

My mother was able to narrate her entire experience during the first month following her trip to the ER. She continued to be diligent, chatty and friendly with her familiar caregivers until the day her body mysteriously transformed with new symptoms. Her airways began closing. “They don’t even come here anymore,” she explained of her once-friendly nursing team: “I can just see them talking about me from the door. I feel like a lab rat.” That was March 21, the last time I spoke to my mother.

 

 

With an influx of coronavirus cases, high mortality rates and an over-worked medical staff, many patients are left intubated and alone with their ventilators. Some left in clinically induced comas with no one familiar to provide ease or comfort. Medical teams are doing the best they can. “It’s tough because you’re the only one there to hold their hand,” says Kimberly A. Williams, a transitional, medical and surgical unit nurse at Maimonides Hospital in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

 

 

Williams has witnessed a macabre series of deaths but has resorted to the most uncommon measures in order to save lives. After a seven-week period of lockdown and crisis in New York City, Williams has realized how hard this has become for everyone. “On a human level I don’t think it’s fair for family members, its’ unfair for the patients and it’s unfair for the health care providers,” she said.

 

In recent days, the nightly news has spotlighted local medical heroes for their above-and-beyond service, showing how they’re taking their own initiative to visit hospital rooms with technical devices, hosting video chat sessions between estranged loved ones.

 

As I wait for my video call check-in with my mom, I wonder why a service like this wasn’t immediately available at the onset of lockdown. For many families like me, getting an actual answer on the other end was a breakthrough let along a modern construct, yet still way too advanced, form of communication.

 

 

As the weeks turn into months, many of us unable to visit our loved ones in the hospital or care facilities have made a realization: we must continue to find ways to cope during the crisis.

 

After a long game of phone tag with Silvercrest Rehabilitation Center for Nursing, where his mother is a patient, Brooklyn native Jaytee Spurgeon shared his anxiety. “I come from a big family and not being able to see us…I'm quite sure she’s worried about us the way we’re worried about her,” he said.

 

“I’m just glad my sister has a rapport with the nurses where they FaceTime her….that’s a good thing.”


Quarantine Scenes:

Where Hunter Students Are Tuning Into Their Online Classes


Students around the country have moved to online learning due to COVID-19, meaning their seat in

the “classroom” may now be at a kitchen table, in the corner of a bedroom or cross-legged on the

living room couch. Some are home alone, while others are sharing space with siblings, parents and

grandparents — or children of their own. For an exercise on descriptive writing, students in instructor

Susie Armitage's Hunter Reporting and Writing I class wrote up dispatches from their current study

environments. 


Read More on Hunter Contagion
Quarantine Scene: Students At Work Remotely





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The Rebellious Black Artist





Once a gritty alleyway and graffiti-draped artist playground, Lispernard Street in Lower Manhattan is now a luxury one-way block home to million-dollar listings, chic restaurants and popular art galleries. [Nice lead!] On a recent Tuesday evening, giggling millennials, modern moms and self-proclaimed art enthusiasts flocked there to the Untilted Space gallery to celebrate the eccentric black woman and multidisciplinary artist, Nicole Washington.

Bopping down the licorice-colored winter asphalt, emerging artists from all walks of life moved feverishly in the same direction. Out of Brooklyn, were a sharply talented group of prominent female artist and curators. Often mistaken for ebony runway models, the enthusiastic and modish group came to meet and greet with like minds in the modern art world.

The colorful trend-setting world of female artists, alternative creatives and black exhibitors was out in full force [or something] About 40 to 50 art lovers, buyers, enthusiasts and supporters popped in and out of the space to view Washington’s works.



With psychedelic and alternative hip hop music blaring through the speakers, the small but bright and vivacious gallery was the perfect size for an exclusive house party. [Nice scene setting here.] Notable art scene characters and collectors stopped by to support the female artist, in celebration of Black History Month.  Alternative art attendees also fit the mold of divine feminine spiritual energy packaged in a kaleidoscope of punk rock style. [Show not tell — how? Give your reader a few examples of attire, hairstyles, looks, etc..]
A array of large scaled spray-painted, lineal excited feminine movement bounced [nice] from one end of the room to the next. Much like Washington’s work and personality, the vibrant mood decorated every corner of the gallery keeping attendees’ attention for much of the evening. Yes, rebellious black art is not only here to play, it’s here to stay.




  


Nicole Washington Art Exhibit
February 17th, 2020
Untilted Space Art Gallery
Opening Night First solo collection debut
Art Exhibit


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The Problem with overcrowding at CUNY Hunter

 

Many students think the overcrowding at CUNY Hunter college is a hinderance to their college experience. Instead of using state of the art facilities students find off-beat and creative ways to eat, study and socialize while on campus. At peak times the overcrowding at Hunter  cause students to be late to class or unable to ever find appropriate seating in the library.

In the Fall 2018 Hunter announced, via their school’s website, that “Elevator Upgrades” were to take place through Fall 2019 in the north building. In a statement left on the Hunter College facilities management website, it’s said that “Select elevators in the North Building will be temporarily out of service while upgrades are being performed...during peak times”.  A request for comment from the Hunter Office of Facilities and Management Planning was not returned by press time.

Many students find difficulties maneuvering through Hunter halls. 19 year old Freshman, Sherlyn Carpinteyro shared her experience saying “I am affected to an extent but not tremendously. I have a class in the north building and ten minutes after that class I have to rush to another one in the west building.” Carpinteyro continues “There tends to be a lot of people moving between the buildings which can make it a bit difficult getting from class to class.”

Rather than socialize in the study group section of the library, some students rather sit in dark corners, plug in any smart device and get lost in an anti-social world. While others form a jovial squad of like-minded freshmen, mob through the third-floor bridge laughing and talking all at once.

As a repair and maintenance sign hang in the doorway of an open, north building first floor elevator, some students discovered a way to stroll down a quiet and dismal staircase over in the west building - after finding a faster route to its seventh floor. “I prefer to walk up stairs then to wait for the elevator which again barely has room to fit all the students who are waiting.” Says Mindup Lama, an upper junior in the media studies program. Mindup goes on to acknowledge the popular third floor bridge adding “I don’t mind it that much but sometimes my classes are in west building and north building and I only have 10 minutes in between – it is really difficult to transit in that short amount of time when I have to go through the swarm of students.”

 

In addition to overcrowding, our physically impaired students are also expected to commute through a sea of people and wait for the same crowded elevators due to minimum alternatives for our physically impaired population. Instead, students most impacted by this has an assistance hotline on the same website that reads “Individuals requiring mobility assistance should contact Hunter College Public Safety at 212.772.4444.” Simply not enough.

 

Upper junior, William Arland adds to the list of hazards that plague students stating that “The escalators are so crowded sometimes that it feels like a safety risk.”

 

The overcrowding at Hunter college has allowed some students to become ninja-like as they maneuver swiftly throughout the joint buildings while giving way to corner naps, avoidance or study time in make-shift cubby’s. And The Hunter office of facilities and management planning has placed an update on their website as of November 7, 2019: Elevator cars A1, A3, A4, A5, B1, B2, B4 AND B5 are currently available for passenger use. All other cars on campus are temporarily out of service. A request for comment from the Hunter Office of Facilities and Management Planning was not returned by press time. Hmm, I guess they’re still working on repairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





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