Studio Noize: Black Art Podcast

The new director of the BAIA Foundation, Faron Manuel returns to the Noize! Faron and JBarber talk about his years of experience as a curator and writer that took him from Clark Atlanta Museum as a docent to the High Museum of Art and now his new role at Black Art In America. Faron talks about his plans for the foundation, new partnerships and programming on the horizon, and curating in the contemporary art market. We dive into the upcoming Fine Art Print Fair and his thoughts on the work of Richard Mayhew. More of that good art talk you love on the Noize! Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 177 topics include:

being an informed collector and artist

working on the Black Art in America Foundation

working at the High Museum of Art

partnerships with the Future Foundation

real-life experience in institutions

curating Better Days: Joy and Revolution

thesis about Richard Mayhew

Fine Art Print Fair at BAIA Gallery

Faron Manuel is the Director of the Black Art In America (BAIA) Foundation. A 501c3 organization that provides funding and professional development opportunities for Black artists and arts professionals in Atlanta and beyond. Before joining the BAIA Foundation, Manuel oversaw two Mellon Foundation-funded curatorial fellowship grants at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta from 2016-2023. Before joining the High Museum, he was the Special Projects Curatorial Assistant to the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum Director. He also served as the Assistant Editor at Black Art In America from 2015-2016, where he regularly interviewed collectors and reported widely on contemporary art.

Manuel earned his B.A. in History from Clark Atlanta University in 2015, where he completed several museum fellowships. He has worked as an independent curator and art writer with notable collections and institutions over the years, doing much to expand the footprint of early-career artists. He was presented with the Hammonds House Honors Award for Curatorial Excellence in 2019 and recently served as a Resource Specialist for the Aspen Institute’s 2022 Fall Workshop Series on grant program development.

See more: BAIA Welcomes Faron Manuel As Director Of BAIA Foundation

Presented by: Black Art In America

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The Postman is here! We got the esteemed collector Kerry Davis joining the Studio Noize fam. Kerry built his legendary collection while working 30 years as a postman at USPS. How impressive is his collection? Well, it’s in the middle of a 5-year national museum tour, and he could have a whole other show from work currently up in his home. The collection includes the biggest names in Black art, from Charles White to Radcliff Bailey, Mo Brooker to Louis Delsarte. The collection alone is enough to discuss, but we go deeper than that. Kerry tells us about the relationships with those names on the wall. Mildred Thomas was his real friend; those personal stories are so great to hear. We talk about how he started touring his collection, got so much incredible work, and all the artists he met and got to know on his journey. Another great episode with that good art talk for you. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 176 topics include:

-buying art vs collecting art

-getting to know artists

-Mildred Thomas stories

-helping Louis Delsarte in his studio

-meeting artists as a postman

-organizing a collection

-developing an “eye”

-touring the Davis collection

-how to handle a big collection

-appreciating printmaking

“It’s been called “a museum in a home.” The private collection of art amassed by Kerry and C. Betty Davis over nearly 40 years is one of the richest collections of African American art in the world. The Davises – a retired postal worker and a former television news producer – have invited friends, neighbors, church members and their children’s friends into their home to see their art.

Now they are sharing their extraordinary collection with a wider audience. “Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art” opens Feb. 4 through May 14 at the Taft Museum of Art.

The exhibition features 67 of the more than 300 works that grace their suburban Atlanta home. It includes Romare Bearden’s colorful portrayal of a jazz quartet, photographer Gordon Parks documentation of racial disparity and abstract pieces by Sam Gilliam, Norman Lewis and Alma Thomas. The show spans from early Black pioneers, such as Elizabeth Catlett and Jacob Lawrence, to contemporary artists.” -Janelle Gelfand

See more: Cinncinnati Business Courier:Retired postal worker, wife share their world-class collection of African American art

Presented by: Black Art In America

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We’re covering the other side of this art game today! Ashley Lee, a lawyer by day and art collector, every other moment of her life. Ashley is committed to building her art collection, and we discuss how she does it. It’s a little bit of budgeting, a little bit of research, and a whole lot of passion for the work that she loves. We break down things like budgeting and framing, getting to know artists, and how the pieces make her feel. Ashley tells us about her favorite artists, her dream pieces, and the importance of telling everyone how they can build a great collection without being rich. It’s a great art collecting conversation for you today on the Noize! Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 175 topics include:

why collect art

the art-collecting community

connecting with artists and art

defining your art collection

budgeting for collecting

artist wish list

framing and presenting work in your home

understanding abstraction

studying art

growth in collecting

Ashley is an attorney, black art blogger, and private Black art collector based in Atlanta, GA. Although she acquired her first open edition print by notable artist Gilbert Young in 2005 as part of a leadership program with her alma mater Spelman College, she became a serious Black art collector in 2018 when she acquired the "Obama No Drama" linocut by David C. Driskell to commemorate her experience as a 2012 Democratic National Convention Obama Delegate. Over the years, she has collected scores of works including works from established artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Sam Gilliam, Faith Ringgold, Elizabeth Catlett, and Samella Lewis. 

Ashley collects Black art exclusively because in the words of Faith Ringgold "art is a form of experience of the person, the place, the history of the people, and as Black people, we are different." While she has acquired amazing pieces thus far, her art collecting journey is in full swing as she continues to purchase pieces that resonate with her and represent different aspects of her soul.

See more: The AML Collection website + The AML Collection IG @theamlcollection

Presented by: Black Art In America

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It’s always an honor to bring on one of the greats in Black art. We got Leroy Campbell joining the Studio Noize fam! Leroy has been an artist for 31 years, and his signature neckbone paintings can be seen worldwide. We talk about Leroy’s path to becoming an artist, from how he created his signature neck bone work to how he honors his culture and embraces his Gullah heritage. We talk about a couple of upcoming books he’s been working on, new experiments in painting, and a look back at the Black galleries, collectors, and artists that defined his career. This is a great episode to get you inspired. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 174 topics include:

Getting started in Art

the Black Art Renaissance

producing work for the community

being self-taught

being inspired by Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence

embracing his Southern Gullah heritage

honoring the Black galleries and collectors

creating a children’s book

writing a memoir

created new experimental work

Charleston, South Carolina native, Leroy Campbell’s art speaks of the contributions to humanity through the African American perspective. More than just art, each piece serves as Campbell’s tithe, as he uses his gifts and talents to teach others about the richness of the Gullah/ Geechee heritage and the beauty of his people.

 Leroy Campbell describes humanity like a garden. In the 1300s Native Americans invented a system of gardening called “Three Sisters,” which involved strategically planting corn, beans, and squash together. The corn provides support and structure for the beans to grow. While the beans pull nitrogen from the air, returning it to the soil and enriching all the plants. The squash, planted at the base, spreads its large leaves, which offer shade and protection, keeping the soil moist and cool. When each of the plants is whole and thriving and healthy, it is able to reach its full potential and contribute to the garden. If one of the plants becomes sick, it affects the balance of the garden.

 Master gardener, painter, storyteller, and lover of souls, Leroy Campbell paints a beautiful hope for humanity through his art and through his words. In telling the stories he knows best, he is offering the wisdom and lessons of the elders as a gift to us all. As part of the human experience, we are all searching for our place in the garden, our purpose, our connection, our significance in this world. Those stories are the most powerful gifts in the universe as they provide a sense of self and a foundation of wisdom based on patience, love, and discernment. Campbell’s vision is of a healthy garden, where each is whole, liberated and validated, where people are free to love who they are and in turn nurture others around them.

 Leroy Campbell’s paintings, infused with history, tie the past to the present in the practice of sankofa, the understanding that you can’t move forward until you receive the lessons of the past. The vulnerability of his art, his soul, his ability to tell a story through the use of acrylic, paper, tapestries, and organic materials, creates an opportunity for conversation, for something real, for the human connection that we are all desperately seeking.

See more: Leroy Campbell website + Leroy Campbell IG @leroycampbellart

Presented by: Black Art In America

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The new book Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021 collects the art, poems, essays, and statements of over 70 African American artists as a glimpse into their lives during the pandemic years. Co-editors Berrisford Boothe and Klare Scarborough join the podcast to discuss this passion project that includes some of the Studio Noize fam like Tokie Taylor, Imo Imeh, Alfred Conteh, Delita Martin, and more. They talk about how it all came together from the Shuga and Wata online talks to the artwork and essays. They also discuss the need for community, whether online or in person, how events change artists, and the need for art during tough times. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 173 topics include:

Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021

artists working during COVID

how artwork changed over time

networking during the pandemic

virtual communities

Shuga & Wata sessions

creating the book Shifting Time

lessons from the COVID years

the trend of Black figuration

Berrisford Boothe was born in Kingston, Jamaica and is now a U.S. citizen. Boothe has served on the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts. He is currently a Professor of Fine Art at Lehigh University. Berrisford Boothe is the Principal Curator of the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection. He was one of 100 artists nationwide featured in Robert Wuthnow’s book ‘Creative Spirituality: The Way of the Artist.’ Berrisford’s digital print collages, ‘Virtual Lithographs’ were part of the exhibition African-American printmakers: The Legacy Continues at The Aljira Center for Contemporary Arts in Newark, NJ. He was in the 2008 seminal exhibition: In Search of the Missing Masters: The Lewis Tanner Moore Collection of African American Art at The Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia, PA. His work has been featured in exhibitions at The Allentown Art Museum, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA, The African American Museum, Philadelphia, PA, The William Benton Museum of Art, The New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA and The State Museum of PA.

See more: Order Shifting Time from Amazon + Berrisford Booth IG @verbena2160

Presented by: Black Art In America

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Lauren Tate Baeza is the curator of African Art at the High Museum in Atlanta and recently curated an amazing exhibition featuring the work of African printmaker, Bruce Onobrakpeya. We got Lauren on the show today to talk about the exhibition (you know your boy JB loves the prints!), the approach to contemporary African art, Bruce Onobrakpeya’s long storied career, judging art and all types of topics. Lauren has a brilliant thought process and is here to enlighten us all about the wonder “transitions” in the art world. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 172 topics include:

Bruce Onobrakpeya’s work and career

“The Mask and the Cross” exhibition at the High Museum

Catholic church’s influence on Nigerian art

telling a story with an exhibition

designing an exhibition

artists embracing mistakes

technical printmaking

unlocking mastery

exoticizing African art

2022 Hudgens Prize

Lauren Tate Baeza joined the High Museum of Art in November 2020 as the Fred and Rita Richman Curator of African Art. Baeza oversees the African art collection of more than one thousand objects, including extraordinary examples of masks and sculpture, exceptionally fine textiles, beadwork, metalwork, and ceramics.

Prior to joining the High, Baeza served as director of exhibitions at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights from 2018 to 2020. During her tenure there, Baeza maintained the Center’s two ongoing installations in its American Civil Rights Movement and Global Human Rights Movement galleries and organized sixteen temporary exhibitions and installations, including Fragments, a collaboration with celebrated designer Paula Scher, featuring passages from Dr. King’s handwritten speeches and letters.

Concurrent with her position at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Baeza also curated the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, featuring approximately ten thousand items, and managed the James Allen and John Littlefield Collection. Previously, she served as executive director of the APEX Museum in Atlanta, which interprets, presents, and celebrates Black history.

Baeza holds a Master of Arts in African studies from the University of California, Los Angeles; a Bachelor of Arts in Africana studies with a cultural studies concentration from California State University, Northridge; and a certification in curatorial studies from Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

See more: Lauren Tate Baeza at The High Museum + Lauren Tate Beaza IG @elletatebaeza

Presented by: Black Art In America

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Jamaal Barber: @JBarberStudio

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Today we got Jacksonville artist, muralist, painter, Chris Clark on the Noize! Make sure you follow Chris everywhere you can to see how vibrant and experimental an art practice can be. You’ll see him painting a mural one day, hitting you with some Midjourney collaborations the next. This type of energy is always great to see. This episode we talk about what inspires Chris and how he works across mediums to explore the themes he loves. We talk about his recent solo exhibition New Growth and we as how he approaches using AI in his art. he tells us about the shenanigans with Black Wall Street Gallery, the value of putting Black face in his murals and more about his motto: DO THE WORK! Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 171 topics include:

learning about Black artists

exploring AI art tools/ Midjourney

what AI generators mean for artists

how Chris uses AI imagery as reference and collaboration

having an art practice

#dothework

studio space

being inspired by family

approach to making murals

New Growth solo exhibition

gallery shenanigans/ Black Wall Street Gallery

Chris Clark is an internationally recognized painter, illustrator, and muralist based in Jacksonville, FL. Renowned for his portraiture and celebration of Black culture. Clark’s captivating artwork has garnered awards and exhibitions nationwide, showcasing his exceptional talent and powerful narratives. With a distinct artistic vision, Clarks work transcends boundaries, evoking powerful emotions and fostering connections between art and viewers worldwide.

See more: Chris Clark IG @cooli_ras_art

The New York Art World Had High Hopes for Black Wall Street Gallery. Allegations Against Its Founder Have Soured Those Dreams

Presented by: Black Art In America

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If there ever was an artist that wasn't scared to say what needed to be said, it’s Dawn Williams Boyd. Whether it is issues of gun violence, abortion, or voting rights, she will make sure she shares her feelings about it in her wonderful cloth paintings. We talk to Dawn about her recent exhibition, Tip of the Iceberg at Fort Gavsenvoort in New York, and some of the issues she’s covered in the show. We talk about how she makes her complex compositions, sources her fabrics, and the power of doing work that makes people uncomfortable sometimes. Her cloth paintings are powerful, and we talk all about it today on the Noize! Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 170 topics include:

using different mediums

doing work about current events

sourcing fabrics and materials

The Tip of the Iceberg show at Fort Gansevoort Gallery

saying things that need to be said

continuing to learn history

the process of putting together Dawn’s work

revising work in process

the necessity of saying something

tackling new subjects

Dawn Williams Boyd was born in 1952 in Neptune, New Jersey. She earned her BFA at Stephens College, Columbia, MO in 1974. She has exhibited her works at Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC; Southwest Art Center, Atlanta, GA; Hammonds House Museum, Atlanta, GA; Bulloch Hall, Roswell, GA; Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA; Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, Atlanta, GA; and Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA. Her work is included in the collections of The Columbus Museum in Columbus, GA and the Richardson Family Art Museum at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC.

See more: www.dawnwilliamsboyd.com + https://www.fortgansevoort.com/artists/dawn-williams-boyd/selected-works

Presented by: Black Art In America

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Studio Noize wants to make sure that you are handling your art business properly. We are bringing back our resident tax specialist, Esohe Galbreath with Sohe Solutions , to give the fam some tax tips and help us start to get our affairs in order. Artists do a lot of freelance work, but we still need to ensure we stay out of trouble with Uncle Sam. Esohe talks about the different deductions available to artists, how to keep track of receipts and mileage, and the consequences of NOT doing your taxes properly. Nobody wants to talk about taxes, but we got to do it! Time to get yourself and your art business all the way together. Listen, subscribe and share!

Episode 169 topics include:

important tax deadlines

what artists can deduct on taxes

how to build a habit of tracking expenses and receipts

using a tax preparer

not hiding your income from Uncle Sam

the Youth Artists Program

lifting up Black talent

Articulate ATL 2023 artist call

organizing and elevating your art business

Esohe completed her collegiate studies in Electrical Engineering at the University of Kentucky. In 2004, she began her career at UPS and held management roles in Distribution Solutions, Implementations, Operations, Engineering, and Transportation Solutions, and in her free time assisted small businesses with planning, financial documentation, and tax preparation. In 2012, Esohe merged her corporate experience with her passion for the arts and working with creatives to form Sohé Solutions – Boutique Small Business Consulting.

In early 2015, Esohe decided to dedicate 100% of her time to her entrepreneurial endeavors. Through consulting clients, Esohe discovered a love and passion for working with creatives, artists, and visionaries and with her husband George was inspired to co-found ARTiculate ATL – an annual art social featuring 30+ artists with 1,000 art enthusiast attendees; and the Youth Artists Program – a 501c3 non-profit bridging the exposure gap of some of Atlanta’s most visually talented youth. Esohe and George are also avid art collectors and recently published The Galbreath Collection: A Decade of Collecting Atlanta featuring over 100 pieces of artwork from 70 artists.

See more: wwwsohesolutions.com + Esohe Galbreath IG @sohesolutions

Presented by: Black Art In America

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Jamaal Barber: @JBarberStudio

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The Noize is giving you a special episode replay with one of the best contemporary artists in the game, Jamea Richmond-Edwards. The 7 Mile girl, joins the podcast to talk about her amazing mixed media work. Her work centers Black women fully and unapologetically. She crafts narratives around her life experiences growing up in Detroit in the ’90s. We talk about her inspirations from Ebony magazine spreads to Howard and beyond. It’s another great conversation with one of the best contemporary Black artists in the world. Listen, subscribe and share!

Episode 168 topics include:

AFRICobra influences

embracing color

being a Black Indigenous woman

spiritual energy in art

symbols in Jamae’s work

using women as subjects

growing up in Detroit in the 1990s

the power of style

Jamea Richmond-Edwards graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Jackson State University in 2004 where she studied painting and drawing. She went on to earn an MFA from Howard University in 2012. She offers a repertoire of portraits of women drawn using ink, graphite, and mixed media collage. Richmond-Edward’s work has garnered the attention of various art critics including in the Washington Post and the Huffington Post’s “Black Artists: 30 Contemporary Art Makers Under 40 You Should Know”. Richmond-Edwards has exhibited her artwork nationally and internationally including the Delaware Art Museum, California African American Museum, Charles Wright Museum in Detroit, MI, and Galerie Myrtis In Baltimore Maryland. Her works are in the permanent collection of private collectors across the country including the Embassy of the United States in Dakar, Senegal.

See more: www.jamearichmondedwards.com + @jamearichmondedwards

Presented by: Black Art In America

Read the Studio Noize Artist Feature

Artist Jamea Richmond-Edwards: Story of a 7 Mile Girl

Episode Transcript

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