A SPOTLIGHT ON BLACK ARTS VANCOUVER

A space that centers and supports Black Artists and community

YASMINE ELSAYED (SHE/HER) Contributor

While Vancouver is known to have a plethora of art establishments, Black Arts Vancouver seeks to stand out by offering opportunities that open doors to the Pan-African community. Striving to create safe spaces for Black community members to express themselves freely through creativity, made accessible.

Established in 2018, Black Arts Vancouver, run by Chase Keetly and Berlynn Beam, was created with the goal in mind to have a space for Black artists, creatives, and community members where they can feel supported, safe, and uplifted in fulfilling their goals, as well as exploring self-expression through workshops and classes. Black Arts Vancouver continuously works on shining brightly to stand out through creating an original approach to art. Berlynn Beam (they/them), Director of communication programming expressed that Vancouver’s art scene tends to be mural-based. And thus why they aim to break the norms. They also seek funding opportunities and redirect them to their community in a way that helps Black artists gain more exposure and have their voices heard.

Black Arts Vancouver started their career with a 3-day workshop consisting of illustration, painting, and embroidery. And through these workshops, they discovered a new side of Vancouver. "What we found with the outcome is that there are a lot of interracial adoptees, and so that was an eye-opening experience to have in Vancouver." Their experience inspired them to create one of their major ongoing projects, introducing, Historical Black Portraiture is a workshop that illuminates Black history in British Columbia, Berlynn Beam explained that through this project, people would be able to better understand their roots. Stating, "Putting names to faces, teaching kids history through writing it. You're drawing a picture that you can take home and hang up on your wall and call back to this kind of experience." Further proving that the power of art can truly change the way we perceive the world’s history.

As for smaller ongoing projects, Black Arts Vancouver aims to get emerging artists' work displayed in restaurants and cafes. By helping them gain exposure, they hope that the artists will be able to one day get the recognition that the artists’ seek. Beam continues to explain what motivated this project; saying, "We want to build stability for young artists, for people who have never been exhibited." Even though they are small initiatives, it is a great stepping stone to jump start their careers.

Another important part of their work is collecting funds for community members. Currently, they are collecting funds for the Jail Bail Support - which establishes "A rotating bail fund for Black and Indigenous peoples in Vancouver." Black Arts are aiming to make this fund BC-wide. Another important fund is the Back to School Backpacks. Which aims to get 1500 backpacks along with school stationery donated to Pan-African families. Black Arts Vancouver hopes that the Vancouver community will come together and support these initiatives with these two upcoming fundraisers. They believe that having a supportive community can make a major difference. For ways to contribute, you can go to their website: www.blackartsvancouver.com.