ART STUDIO RECEIVES GRANT TO RAISE VACCINE AWARENESS WITHIN RICHMOND COMMUNITY

MIKAYLA HEIGHTSHOE Contributing Writer

HE UNMISTAKABLE SMELL OF INK INvades the nose upon entering the glass door of Studio Two Three. Up ahead artists are smoothing vibrant shades of orange, pink and red on matrices, to transfer onto paper or fabric, soon to be merchandise, prints and banners.

The Center for Disease Control Foundation announced in December 2021 that it was granting Studio Two Three $75,000 to utilize printmaking to promote vaccination within the Richmond community, according to co-founder and Executive Director of Studio Two Three Ashley Hawkins.

“The idea is to do on-site printing with food and drinks and music,” Hawkins said. “Bring the prints out and distribute zines with accurate information on vaccinations and boosters from trusted members in the community.”

Studio Two Three’s zines are self-published booklets that are mass-produced with a “high-volume, low-cost printing method using a risograph duplicator, which is a kind of copy machine that produces prints with a similar look to screenprinting,” Hawkins stated.

The studio and 30 other art-based community organizations nationwide received a total of $2.5 million in grants on Jan. 6 from the CDC to advocate and “build COVID-19 vaccine confidence,” according to the CDC Foundation’s website.

Studio Two Three got its start in 2009 when Hawkins and three of her peers from VCU’s painting and printmaking program wanted to create a space that was affordable and accessible to new artists. The studio operates as a community art space with individual and communal studios, classes, workshops and an artist residency program, according to Hawkins.

In addition to equipping local artists with the necessary tools and aid, Studio Two Three’s intends to maintain a healthy and diverse organization that reflects the Richmond community and utilize printmaking as a tool for civic engagement, according to the studio’s website.

Hawkins said due to the nature of printmaking and the studio’s community efforts, the CDC reached out to her and Director of Partnership for Studio Two Three, Kate Fowler, for a vaccine initiative geared toward children and their families.

RPS that it was a “great fit” and a useful way to provide up-to-date information on vaccines.

The studio will tackle this project in three ways: production and circulation of 25,000 zines for RPS students, 10 community print days located throughout the city for RPS students and families and five sets of large-scale banners for installation around various sites in the community, Hawkins stated.

On this day

It’s [printmaking] one of the most democratic art mediums you can make. Instead of one painting, you can make hundreds of prints. It’s historically been a medium for disseminating information and sharing resources and really getting messages and work out into the community in a big way.”

“In the most direct way, we hope to just get our community vaccinated. That is our number one goal, to instate that vaccination can help protect families,” Fowler stated. “The more external goal is to challenge the myth-building. So a lot of the work we’re doing is showing how we can bring data to a community with more play.”

Hawkins stated she “immediately” reached out to Richmond Public Schools for the project, agreeing with

“It’s [printmaking] one of the most democratic art mediums you can make. Instead of one painting, you can make hundreds of prints,” Hawkins said. “It’s historically been a medium for disseminating information and sharing resources and really getting messages and work out into the community in a big way.”

Printmaking and pop-up printmaking events provide a great tool to reach people, according to Studio Manager KB Brown.

“It’s always kind of like this ‘Aha’ magical moment when someone sees a screenprint fold. And it’s the dissemination of information that’s really important there — that you can make this really cool interaction between someone who’s never ever seen printmaking happen before,” Brown said.

A large part of the community initiative includes Studio Two Three producing zines with accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters for RPS students. The studio will make one set of zines specifically for grade school students and their parents, and another for middle and high school students, according to Hawkins.

In addition, the studio will produce pop-up events in conjunction with distribution of the zines at the Arthur Ashe Junior Athletic Center vaccine clinics, but their schedule was delayed due to the new COVID-19 Omicron variant, according to Director of Advocacy and Outreach for RPS Matthew Stanley.

“There’s going to have to be a lot of continued education about vaccines because of the variants of boosters and different age groups, so there’s a lot of information out there for people to digest,” Stanley said. “And this just feels like a way to make it like a little bit of fun and friendly rather than like the sterile page of the CDC.”

The CDC grant will also cover Studio Two Three’s plan to design and install large vinyl banners promoting vaccinations around Richmond, mostly in high-traffic areas that the organizers have yet to determine, according to Stanley.

Studio Two Three and RPS hope to get the community events running by March and eventually move these events from vaccine clinics to school premises, according to Stanley.

“We really appreciate the tie with advocacy at Studio Two Three and how they’re using this partnership to advocate for our community,” Stanley said. “By people printing a poster, that’s talking about vaccines and educating about vaccines. That’s advocacy for our community.”

MYA HARRISON Contributing Writer

A FEW MONTHS AGO, WHILE WORKING at a grocery store and minding my own business, one of my white co-workers came up to me and ran her fingers through my natural hair. Even though I am Black and live in a predominantly white area, I didn’t think this could happen to me.

“Wow your hair is so pretty,” she said. In this case I knew she meant well because she genuinely liked my hair, but I still felt uneasy. While I laughed and smiled uncomfortably, I was not okay with the situation.

Quote of the week

“Hypersexualization is ubiquitous, so visible as to be nearly invisible: it is the water in which girls swim, the air they breathe.” — Peggy Orenstein, girls & se x: navigating the COmPliC ated ne w l andsC aPe

1.

DON’T ASK TO TOUCH MY HAIR AND DO NOT TOUCH IT.

I know when you see my natural hair, it can be interesting to look at. Yes, my hair is kinky, curly, big and perhaps different from what you normally see, but that doesn’t give you permission to touch it.

It invades my personal space, and it gives a perspective that as a Black woman I am just an object to you. By being curious, you are saying my hair is not the “norm” in societal standards and you want to point that out for everyone to see.

My hair is a part of me. It is a part of my Blackness, not a circus act and it is certainly not for you to touch.

3. DON’T TELL ME I AM PRETTY FOR A BLACK GIRL.

To many people, this comment can be seen as just a compliment and nothing more. But saying I am pretty for a Black girl is saying that being pretty and being Black is not a common thing. You are saying that Black women are not conventionally pretty, but I am. I am Black and I am a woman. You are talking about me as well.

On top of these, I am sure you have heard, “I don’t see color,” “I’m not racist, I have a lot of Black friends” or “You probably got a scholarship to come to this school.” These phrases are much more negative than you might think.

2.

DON’T SAY YOU ARE SURPRISED HOW WELL-SPOKEN I AM.

While every marginalized group experiences microaggressions, the Black community is especially affected by them. In a 2020 study, it was concluded that African Americans reported being faced with more microaggressions than any other racial group, according to The Gallup Poll.

These small comments or actions are microaggressions, defined as “everyday, subtle, intentional and oftentimes unintentional interactions or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias toward historically marginalized groups,” according to Kevin Nadal, a counseling psychologist at City University of New York College of Criminal Justice.

As a Black woman, it’s safe to say that I’ve experienced more microaggressions than one can count. These hurtful comments and questions have made me feel uncomfortable in my own skin many times.

Here is a quick and digestible “DON’T DO” guide when it comes to microaggressions.

Saying that you are surprised that I am well-spoken exacerbates the stereotype that most Black people are not well-spoken. When you have that assumption in your head, you are undermining the intelligence of the Black community.

When I was younger some of my close non-Black friends would call me an “oreo,” referring to a person who is Black on the outside and white on the inside.

Being made fun of because I talked and acted a certain way was common. I didn’t act like the one-size-fits-all image they had created of what a Black kid should be, talk or act like.