Local production scene on Delta College.

Public media are made possible with support from viewers like you.

Thank you.

Hello.

My name is Nicolas Williams.

Host of SOUL ISSUE... The African-American Perspective.

Recently, Saginaw lost one of its greatest artists.

And Nyesha Clarke young from the pieces in her personal practice, many of which can be viewed at the Museum of Black Experiences.

Two her contributions to public art, including her work on Saginaw Shine Bright silos.

Nash's impact can be felt all over the city.

My guest today, Yvonne Collins and Lark Allen, the third or two of her closest collaborators.

And today we're going to talk about the artistic legacy she left on her city and how to carry that legacy forward.

Welcome, lark.

Welcome, Deevon.

We're here to talk about the life and legacy of Nyasha Clarke Young.

First things first.

Why don't you guys tell us how you got in contact with Nyasha?

Well, for me, we met in 2019.

Was, an artist on, great mural project.

I had my own team.

But all of the teams had to meet together on a regular basis.

So we ended up meeting, and, I got to know Nai.

I had heard about her already, just through people in the community.

But I finally got to know Nai and Yvonne.

So that's how we met.

I've been doing these, Probably over 30, 30 years, 35, 40 year.

We kind of grew up together and moved around when I came back to Michigan, and she was like, that's work.

That was probably.

15 years ago.

Maybe.

So we've been known each other, I can say, my whole life.

And then Art just brought us closer together.

Was art always a part of your relationship?

No.

Actually not.

It was more like a family friend.

Like her mother was friends with some of my cousins, older cousins.

So we would play together as kids.

So that's what I want to say.

At least 35, 40 years that we've been known each other.

When did art come into the picture?

I probably been back to Saginaw for at least 15 years now, so when I came back, that's when I found out she was into photography and stuff like that, and she asked me to do a body paint as a party, things she was having, and it just was after that, we were just inseparable.

Came to art.

How did you all come together and start, collaborating?

Kind of like, like plaques here at the great new Project.

and we did the core street.

I think he did Michigan I did, yeah, I did Michigan and Michigan court.

We did Hamilton in court.

And there was another artist who did right there across from Ojibway, between Ojibway and Anderson Center.

And ever since that day, we always say it was going to work together and try to build our coalition of black artists to bring more artists together.

Yeah, yeah.

And it was nature's idea to, and it was a really revolutionary idea because she saw the need, for artists to be together, connected because there's a lot of talent in, in Saginaw region, but no one is really connected.

In terms of African-American community is especially important because we have, issues.

That only affect us.

And, so it really requires artists, black artists being involved and making art that really addresses these issues.

So and she saw that she really was really adamant about us being together and stand together.

you let me know?

Let me in on some of nation's biggest, influences artistically?

What?

You know, any, any, black art that she was, moved by and and helped her create, the Goodrich one.

The Goodrich brothers.

Yeah.

Good.

Which brother?

She was really?

Because she was into photography.

What?

Her style wasn't just one thing.

She's like multimedia.

She.

She painted.

She did sculpture, she did photography, she did fashion.

I would often call her the mother of the art movement here in Saginaw because she was it wasn't just a paintbrush.

It wasn't just pencil.

She saw every form as art.

And she she wanted to get everybody together under that umbrella.

You mentioned meeting her as a as a photographer.

You met her as a as a mural artist.

Do you think she had a favorite?

Medium?

Rather.

Do you think there was a medium that she, felt most at home in?

It's that's a hard question to answer.

Because she it wasn't.

It wasn't.

Well, and then that.

That's perfectly fair.

Yeah.

It wasn't just one thing.

Like I say, she was adamant about.

She did fashion, she did sculptures.

She did paintings.

She would draw stuff.

So I wouldn't I wouldn't say one thing was her favorite.

Yeah.

I think for her it was more or less about having a vision.

And her visions were really strong and thought through.

So and I think that's, that's the curating in her too, because she curated events and, and she, you know, she transformed spaces.

That's what she was known to do.

Can you tell me about one of your most proud of times, collaborating with nature?

What?

What's a project that, that you really feel like, you made your mark with?

Go have to say, for me, it was the, painting on Hamilton Street in Cork.

Hamilton in Cork Street.

I think for her, like, that was our biggest project before the great mural.

I mean, before the Shine Bright project, me and her, we discussed, design and layout in.

I think that kind of put us on the map far as being known in Saginaw for large projects, because right after that we started getting a lot of mural projects, big projects.

Well, how do you feel about, the need for public art in Saginaw?

Is super essential.

This is so important.

I mean, it's just so many reasons that public art is important.

Not just, for the static, you know, value of it, but it brings people together.

It really does.

It gives people a reason to be proud of their environment, of their city, and things like that.

So it's really crucial.

It's really crucial for everyone, you know.

Yeah, I know this is, it's still a very recent loss that you're reeling from, but I am curious, how you plan to carry that legacy on artistically?

Are there any, projects even just being conceptualized?

Nice to had she wore many hats.

She had.

She has big shoes to fill because she was involved in so much, not only as an artist, but as an activist, writer of black people.

So one of the shoes I'm gonna step in for her is to continue what she was doing with the African American Culture Festival.

That happens on the pier.

She was, I believe she was the main art director.

And I'm going to try to step in those shoes and fill that space for her.

And she was also, artist director at the neighborhood, her house over on the south side of Saginaw, where she taught senior citizens art, crafts and everything.

Yeah.

And and I it's important to point out that her program at the neighborhood center is unlike any program I've ever seen in terms of art therapy for seniors.

Because they were not just sitting there making things and going home.

She made she made sure they did shows.

They've done murals on the side.

They were really a force within the public sector.

So again, community involvement, getting people in and community involved, they really need, some type of outlet.

And it was crucial what she was doing.

And, never seen anyone.

I can not compare what she was doing to anyone else in the town so that, you know, I have seen, communities that that lost artists, before their time and, I mean, I guess I'm just wondering, you know, from what you described, is that the plan when it seems like somebody had, so much of an impact that those shoes are, aren't fillable.

There have to be multiple people in place, here and there, that they that they touched in certain ways to kind of take those roles on is that, you know, the idea of moving forward, where we're definitely going to carry the torch.

We can never do when I should do it.

Yeah, I solo no, I, I mean, because our lives are structured differently and our, talent and skill sets are different, but in terms of the general, I'll, it will be, you know, projects like.

Yeah, I already talked to another artist about putting a mural up, nicely because of art.

Yeah, she did here, like.

Yeah, some some somebody.

Yeah.

Let us put her on our building.

Yeah.

So, yeah, I'm pretty sure that.

Yeah.

Of course.

And of course.

And she made it possible for us to carry, the carry these visions on.

So we're together now.

We're capable of doing large scale public work down to small levels of things.

So we're really in a good place, so to speak, in terms of art outreach.

So we have people, you know, that are willing to write grants for us and things like that.

So, yeah.

There are some things also, that we had and plans that we continue that we will continue to pursue.

Me, Nyesha and Devon, we started a business.

It's called the Michigan Black Artists Guild.

So out of that, hopefully we can connect, black artists, throughout Saginaw and throughout the state, give them some type of bass in terms of networking and, opportunities and collaborations.

And we're not just talking about visual artists.

We just talking about anyone that's an artist music, film, fashion theater.

So we're really trying to connect everybody because that's all she was trying to do, connect everybody and give them a platform.

And her daughters play an intricate part of that.

Also her one of her daughters is, as she would put it, she was second in command.

So she kind of has, the layout of what Nyesha wanted to do.

And those projects we still look forward to, to, getting done in nice, isn't it?

You know, there are a lot, there's a lot of talk about, healthy outlets, you know, among the youth.

Which is why an idea like a coalition can be so powerful.

Can you talk about some of the outreach work that Nyesha was doing?

And how she, you know, I know you just talked about how she was working with the, the elderly and keeping them involved in the art world and keeping them, involved in their community.

Could you talk about some of the other impacts she was having?

Oh, I don't even know where to start.

Let's say, is activism where she was really into politics and making sure the right people was in office around her.

So there's that aspect of her kind of like I said earlier, she wore many hats, so our connection was art.

Besides the, the other stuff she did is almost just important as the art she was doing, because she did fight for equality.

She did fight for rights for people.

She helped run campaigns here in Saginaw for certain, political figures.

And they kind of lit for her to because she was such a presence in those areas or.

Yeah.

We talked to Jeffrey Bowles recently on this show, and I know that she was, a member of founder of I'm not the Founder.

She was one a co-founder of cap.

And, yeah, we did we the we spoke about having her on the show.

I was one of the last things that me and Jeff spoke about, before leaving this set.

You know, how are you guys, dealing with this?

How are you guys?

Processing your grief in a in a healthy way.

You know, we're artists.

The best way to cope with anything is to make art.

So I really haven't been able to make art that much since.

Not.

And it's not from a mental standpoint.

It's just, basically just from me just being busy with other, other things.

But, you know, it's a day to day thing.

You know, you know, both of my parents are gone.

So that's something that I had to deal with, you know, on a day to day basis.

And it's the same with, nice, you have your ups, you have you down, you have two good days, you have your bad days, but their spirit drives you to keep going.

You know, I, I do, honestly, I, I went to art school, I got a degree in art, and I made a lot of different types of art over the years, and, you know, similar to what you were saying about, I don't know if I could pick one medium over all the others, but I will say that after a loss, it can be incredibly difficult to get back in that mindset.

And I found that I just had to take that time and, wait till I was right.

And once I was ready, that was like I was somehow supercharged somehow, like, I, you know, I knew exactly what to do.

Yeah.

Is there anything just, you know, rolling around in the back of your head as far as personal projects go?

Not specifically, not specifically.

Maybe given can expand, but, there hasn't been much rolling around in my head, eager there were projects that she had on the table.

I would like to see where they're going to go, because, of course, I'm ready to be on board.

So a lot of my thinking is contingent on the previous projects and whether they're gonna be a go or not.

So I can kind of or me and revise.

I can kind of figure out what to do next to make it happen.

Anyway.

Did you have more public art planned?

Yeah.

Yes.

That's part of round 19.

Kind of like in the Buena Vista area where they played basketball at, she wanted to redo the grounds, paint the grounds, give it a colorful basketball court feel.

She wanted to do new basketball around.

She wanted to put lights up there.

She wanted to make it safe for people to actually even play at night time at the park.

So that's one of the projects she had planned.

Yeah, that we wanted to work on this summer, not knowing that this would happen, which is, yeah, something her we would have to talk to her daughter about to see how the plans go.

We're moving forward with that with.

Yeah.

And that was very important to her and us because all of the projects that have been happening within the city and all of the past projects we've done, I say in the last 5 or 6 years, those projects happened, involved the east side of Saginaw.

So, you know, there's 50,000 people that reside on the east side of Saginaw.

And to see a community that that kind of is pretty much being ignored right now, is, something that really needs to be addressed.

So, yeah, that was very important for her, putting party in those areas.

She wanted to, the, Cultural Black Arts Festival.

She had a tent there that she did African sculpture, art inside this tent, which is what I'm gonna continue to do for her.

Like mural projects.

Dylan is.

It'll be named after her.

The tent will be named in my Asia tent.

Or I might call it the house.

And Aisha kind of gave it like a fashion list, because she did.

She brought in materials, she brought in statues, like, everything was, culturally for that area.

So we're going to try to continue that.

Yeah.

Whenever there's the, yeah, the festival, when our festival time comes around.

Because festival organizers, they really want, they really push to bring the arts back to the forefront of the festival because the festival actually began with began with the arts.

But somehow, some way involved.

Yeah, it, yeah, we got removed from the arts.

So we were really making a push to bring the arts back strong to the festival.

Nyesha was doing pretty much everything in terms of the curating the art tent.

That's a lot of a fashion show.

She, the curator, set up the fashion show.

She had to find the artists, for work.

She had to fine art work.

She had to figure out how to display it and curated, so.

And she was pretty much doing it by ourself.

You know, of course, we were there to assist us, to assist her, but for the most part, it was her baby.

It was her, you know, from beginning to end.

So, it just lets you know her impact and her determination because, this was being done without volunteers.

For the most part.

Yeah.

So, you know, serving those areas, bringing art back or keeping our prominent in the festivals, that's also how you, plan to serve that legacy.

Yeah, it's kind of her beautiful.

Is there any, particular place, outside of the basketball park on the east side, or is there any, you know, spots that you guys personally think would be, you know, primed for for a piece of public art?

It probably be the black Art Museum.

I must be, which is where you you still.

He still has a lot of her work in that museum.

A lot of the layout, a lot of the things that's put in there.

Her and Kevin worked on, on her daily on, making sure that place show perfectly for the culture and what was going on with photography, art, just about everything.

So if I could put some public art there, I'm pretty sure Kevin would greatly welcome it.

Yeah.

And just so, everybody knows what you're talking about, the museum, black experience.

Yes.

Correct.

And, yeah, that that museum, fairly recent addition to the city, does not have a public art component yet.

Right.

But, I do think that's a very solid idea because it would also just let everybody know about its presence and it would help announce itself.

One last question.

I suppose the there seem to be a lot of, African influence in the, and even some Afrofuturism in the stuff that I was looking at.

And I used to work, Is that, I suppose, an interest that you guys have in your own personal styles and also, how do you, mix those kind of, you know, world influences, cultural influences with our own local Saginaw Customs?

Yeah.

And and experiences.

She was definitely into the future as she was building robots and certain things she was doing, but she wanted to keep it Afrocentric.

She wanted to show that that aspect of, the art that she wanted to.

So, yeah, I think I can me, I'm more of a painter.

Oh, I airbrush, I do spray paint, I hand paint.

So a lot of the stuff that I do now is more geared toward the Afrocentric aspect.

Art and but doing more feminist stuff is because in that issue, the black woman that she wanted to everybody to notice, like the power of the black woman.

So a lot of my art the last couple of years, it has been based off the black woman.

So I think she'd be real happy about me.

Continue to use black women.

She would always tell me, put some feminist to it, don't make it so male male centric.

So yeah, keeping like keeping the women the femme feminist.

The art aspect is what I try to shoot for a lot.

Just one, a war Ann Arbor based off, a black woman, they call it that was the movie.

Doing it.

The art was doing expired inspired, but it was a black woman.

So she really had played a part in me doing that in the dark.

Is there, is there a particular, you know, Lane, a medium that you're familiar with?

And did you know she have a simi definitely huge, huge impact on my, mixed media.

I think I'm more of a sculptor than anything.

And I make stuff out of found objects, from my home and around the neighborhood.

He's a junkie.

Yeah.

So me and I are instantly connected because we like to connect, like, stuff, you know?

So.

So, yeah, in terms of the afro futuristic appeal to her work, I completely gravitated to it because I was kind of doing things in a similar vein with my mask work.

So and I don't consider my mask work to be that I, I just consider it to be diachronic.

But but yeah, it was just so many parallels, you know, that I would see in her work.

And it was really inspiring for me to continue doing what I was doing because for, you know, in the initial stages, I was kind of unsure if I want to continue that path of working.

But especially but it felt so right.

And, so she definitely inspired me to continue, doing the things that I'm doing right now.

She was the ultimate pusher.

Yeah.

Divine lark, thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for talking about your friend.

She's an absolute Saginaw legend.

Yes.

And, I'm so glad that you can be here and talk to us about her.

Thank you so.

Yeah.

Thank you so much.