THE BEST TYPE OF MAGIC

The Official ARTIVISM Blog

Written by Kai Malette

"Don't be creatively stuck within the idea of a plan. You cannot build a road through an ocean."

Hey y'all! Welcome to September! A quick reminder: the 'no white post Labor Day' rule is outdated, and fashion is yours to command. Clothes and fashion also qualify as art, and isn't that what we're here to celebrate?

There is much to look forward to this month, and the ARTIVISM family is ready and raring to spend time with you, the community! As we head into the new month, let's take a moment to revisit the last week of August, just so we can feel all warm inside. It was quite a hot week for ARTIVISM, if I do say so myself.

Anyway. You know the drill; there's no more time to kill, I'll get this recap underway, yes I will. (I can't resist a rhyme, even a bad one)

Tuesday 8/26 - Sankofa Jam Session

After an uneventful Melodic Monday (it's okay guys, we all miss out on something at least once), we returned to our favorite Georgia Avenue café: Sankofa. As always, we arrived, cleared the tables, and set the chairs for our beloved visitors, ready to spend a few hours creating music.

Crowd work is an integral part of any performance.

Words cannot express how magical the night ended up being. Members of the community showed up in droves, some who had never heard of ARTIVISM before, others who had been trying to get to one of our events for a long while. No matter who they were, they all came to create, and as we jammed, we pumped out banger after banger.

From a slow funk to an almost haunting lullaby; from a piece of poetry to an RnB medley that included bits of Beyonce, SZA, and Kendrick Lamar, each second of the night was filled with a moment more exciting than the last.

A special shoutout goes to the artists who took to the mic to perform their own pieces, such as rapper and ARTIVISM regular X (@call_me_popeye on Instagram), alongside new guest Sasha Corlette (@iamsashacorlette on Instagram), both of whom performed unique pieces that enraptured the crowd.

It's magic what we do, and this is an invite to all community artists: feel free to share with us! We'll be here with cheers and support.

Friday 8/29 - Paint to the Sounds

As you can see with the above masterpieces, our Paint to the Sounds event brought out the artist in everyone who joined us.

Hosted by Howard freshman Vance Tyree (@vancess_art on Instagram), the goal was to use different songs and vibes to curate specific paintings, letting the sounds dictate what you drew. Alternatively, if you had an idea of what you wanted to paint, you were free to do so while listening to some fun tunes. Painting is one of the most freeing activities, and this event is here to stay, so grab your tickets when they come back around!

Next Up?

Right. We know that you are all wondering what the next few weeks are going to look like, and because we love you and want to see you as often as possible, we've got this:

September's calendar, my friends! I'll be hosting a few of these events personally- But lo! What do we see at the end of September's first week?

First Fridays are back, baby! Food, live music, open mic, vendors; we've got it all. Take some time to support the local businesses we've gathered, and if you're a local business owner yourself, join us so that you may be apart of the community that shares with one another.

Tickets are still available here:

Tickets

We'll see you this Friday, friends! Trust me here, we have quite the time prepared for you.

That's all I have for you for now! September is looking to be extremely fun. Are you excited? I'm excited.

One last thing, friends. Every day, we are more and more grateful to you all for your insane support of what we do. It is that love that continues to drive us forward, and for as long as we are here, you will have a place where you can be you, unfiltered. That is the essence of creation.

Kai <3