COVER
Calgary’s Jae Sterling is helping guide and protect with his art CYANA ANDALIS candalis@cjournal
Jae Sterling, musician and visual artist, began showcasing his paintings to support the Black Lives Matter movement. PHOTO: SIERRA STONE
J
ae Sterling and his group “SANSFUCCS’,’ a multidisciplinary art collective, had just finished their music tour around Eastern Canada right when the pandemic hit. Like everyone else, they were on lockdown for a few months. Sterling says this situation was quite discouraging, and he felt a lack of interest in doing shows online. However, being stuck at home opened other doors for him. While there, Sterling picked up his paintbrush and started painting again. His subjects were his family members, who were of Jamaican descent. Sterling says that he didn’t intend to turn his art into political pieces.
14
MARCH/APRIL 2021 CALGARYJOURNAL.CA
But, with the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, art that honoured Black people took on a political meaning Sterling’s manager took notice and suggested he showcase his paintings. Amidst social distancing restrictions, Sterling’s exhibition – named “Riding Horses with White Men” – was held at NVRLD Gallery in Calgary. It was there that Sterling was approached by Pink Flamingo, a Black-led advocacy organization that uplifts the QTBIPOC community in Calgary, to paint a Black Lives Matter mural downtown. Earlier in the year, Pink Flamingo had received
public money to paint four BLM murals around the city. But the location of the first one — on the current Giving Wings to the Dream site — provoked backlash and hate. They put the public project on pause, but subsequently raised private funds for a new mural at a new site near the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre. Sterling’s work, which was completed this fall, is called The Guide and Protector and features pioneering Black cowboy John Ware. Working on the mural, Sterling said he received racist comments to the point of feeling unsafe. The level of scrutiny was alarming.
