The Collective Care that Comes with Being a Black Artist

The Black Experience: Being Black in America presents different experiences for each person - though there is a collective method for many to emulate that experience through: art.

Western Washington University held a multitude of events last February in honor of Black History Month where many artists came to share their stories and provide guidance to students, one of which was creative director, Jordan Lyle.

Lyle could claim many titles: artist, designer, founder, creative director, and more. Based in Los Angeles, the Jamaican creator founded “For the Culture Club” a brand filled with a variety of goods to sell, all art from a Black perspective.

Pursuing Creativity

Creators like Lyle present an example for young Black creatives. Lyle said it’s something he thinks about a lot.

“Conversations are shifting right now, where the Black community is starting to see ourselves in ways that we hadn't envisioned ourselves in before. There might be some kid looking at me that's like, ‘Oh! I didn't even know that I could do this!’" Lyle said.

"That doesn’t mean it’s easy. When you hear a lot of noes, it can be discouraging,"

“You have to practice ‘persistent starting’ to adopt that mentality of continuing to begin the process,” continued Lyle.

Lyle trained in broadcast design and motion graphics but got his artistic start as a graphic designer, and eventually branched out from digital works on a screen to having a clothing collection.

“Building something that had a legacy for me was really important,” Lyle said. “I think ultimately, a huge factor in creating this brand was that you don't really see a lot of designers or Black creators in that way.”

Lyle emphasized the most important thing is the first step, and having the courage to take it.

“I think sometimes, as a student, your gut feeling is sometimes a feeling that you should go with,” he said. “It does propel you to invest in yourself in certain ways and believe in yourself when you feel like other people might not. That's something I'd probably tell myself: to just do it.”

Lyle said artists need to practice accepting help as much as they practice giving it to others.

“If you’re in a position of growth, we all are, seek out some mentors. And if you're in a position of knowledge, share that knowledge with people who can benefit from it,” he said.

The Colorful History Expressed Within Pieces

Katana Sol is a fourth-year industrial design major at Western whose art creates and works with illustrations and textiles — she explores personal questions and the layers of her experiences.

“I tend to illustrate my thoughts and emotions through the process as my work is really an opportunity to better reach a message to myself or to others to hear words of encouragement and see a representation of the self,” Sol said.

Sol’s abstract art brings a unique perspective through storytelling. She said she aims to share how art can also be therapeutic.

“I love to see Black artists take control over their pieces with voices spoken and colorful history expressed within pieces,” Sol said. “I also see art as therapy and think that within so much trauma and so many performative actions directed towards the community, that art is definitely a method of self-care and healing.”

Sol also thinks about legacy and how history is illuminated through her work.

“There are too many days where I feel like I lack a cultural connection,” Sol said. “I do not know about my family’s history or traditions, and sometimes feel in the dark in regards to what I should feel, with a feeling of emptiness or not knowing who I am.

“But I use design and art to reclaim ownership of what I want to be remembered as, and what I relate to through illustration, in order to move design forward with a new cultural narrative of my own,” Sol said.

The Power of Expression: Art is a Radical Act

Taking all of the years of trauma that the Black community has faced and putting it into art connects Sol and Sophie Meharenna.

Meharenna is a storyteller and strategist who works to find the beauty behind everything. Born and raised in Southern California, she sees the world as endless possibilities.

“Being an artist already in itself is a radical act, and [so is] being a Black artist, especially now in the pandemic era where social justice is a really big challenge,” Meharenna said.

Meharenna said there is a considerable need for art at this time because viewing art has a way to bring people together, uplift them, and focus the mind in the process.

“The arts are important for Black people because how else can we find a creative outlet to deal with the trauma we all experience? That's why I say it's a radical act. ... It’s a way for us also to document our history with honesty,” Meharenna said.

With the Black Lives Matter movement opening new conversations, art has become a method to present events and protests while also helping express the Black community’s voices.

“There’s a quote, ‘Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.’ I think that's key when it comes to Black art for a Black audience,” Meharenna said.

“The Black experience used to happen through a white gaze so often that now we’re taking the reins back by being the creators of our own identity and how that is portrayed. We can't control how we're perceived, but we can control what is put out there.”