Support for Kalamazoo Lively Arts is provided by the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, helping to build and enrich Our goal is to amplify the black artistry.

So any medium of art that there is, that we want to amplify that and the artist that involved.

The Black Arts and Cultural Center is the hub for Black culture.

I would say that if you need a space where you feel welcomed, if you need a space where you feel heard, if you need a space where you feel seen, this would be the place to be.

Started as just a festival, and over time, it evolved into an actual center, so that there would be a place where artists can also curate their work and then showcase their work.

So the Sidnor galleries named after, obviously, one of our founders, so that we can make sure and display the art that comes out of our creatives.

So that could be any medium again.

It can be watercolors.

It could be photography.

We’ve got some sculptures here that were created by artists.

So it’s all mediums.

This organization is built on volunteerism, It’s built on philanthropy.

Like, for example, the space that we’re in now.

Part of it is called the West Cafe, one of our benefactors, you know, gave a significant amount of money to create a cafe.

It’s a cyber cafe, come in and you can work throughout the day, bring your laptop, or have a meeting, you know, set up a time, you can have a meeting.

And then recently, we acquired another space in here.

That is, for artists to create their work.

So it’s the artist’s lounge.

One of our main artists that teaches our comic creators, Kinji, he’s up there a lot, so he’s working with the youth and kind of having a mentorship, too.

So the display you see now is about the divine nine, so it is the NPHC.

So black letter organizations, which started, um, mostly, um, at HBCUs.

This was nine, um, black Greek organizations, uh, founded, uh, particularly on college campuses during an era where there was a struggle to have spaces for black folk.

And so Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, which is my fraternity, is the first intercollegiate fraternity, founded at Cornell University, Ivy League School, for black men.

And so during those particular times, we understand what the struggle was.

We understand we just didn’t have a space.

And so we had to create our own lane, so each organization within a divine nine has that unique story, there’s definitely some uniformities, but each one was founded on, whether it be a fraternity or sorority, was founded on spaces for black and brown people, on college campuses.

The work here was the foundation for the city in our community.

I can remember as little as six years old when it was founded in 1986. is this was the place where I found my identity.

If there was anything, as far as African American culture, um, we could find it within the Black Arts and Cultural Center.

And so this is the foundation of that.

It has grown tremendously since 1986.

But, um, if you look back at history, there was nothing for African Americans in the Kalamazoo community before the Black Arts and Cultural Center was founded.

I’m from Detroit, born and raised.

Imported here, went to Western, graduated from Western.

But in Detroit, as you know, it’s Hitsfield, USA, Motown.

And so I grew up in the culture.

I, uh, started DJing as a, uh, I learned how to DJ.

I should say that as a teenager, but I was surrounded by artistry, music, culture.

So a lot of times is that vetting, entertainment, as well, particularly raw talent.

Um, it’s, uh, it definitely has its challenges.

Um, when you’re trying to get certain acts from out of town or, you know, further areas, but for the most part, it is going to other, uh, events, other festivals, you know, that type of thing.

I think one of the highlights that I loved was, we had our Black Arts Festival on the mall.

Um, something that I would have never thought would be able to happen.

It happened, and in grant form.

Um, but just to see that, and then transition back to, um, its tradition of being back at Bronson Park, um, it’s just beautiful, and to see 7,000, 8,000 people come year after year, um, to celebrate and to support black artistry in all of its forms, is a major highlight.

So it’s interesting during art hop, is when we see a lot of diverse audiences come into the space, and want to identify what it is, what we do, and understand our mission and vision.

So that’s how we kind of evolve into the community.

Well, it has to be a, uh, definitely a collaborative effort with different business owners to want to open those doors to say, Hey, you know what?

Our lineup seems to be either a little bit mundane, or seems like we’re missing a demographic of people.

So those conversations start in the office.

Those conversations start at sometimes mutual events, like, Hey, you have a space?

Oh, well, let’s welcome in maybe some spoken word, something like that.

So those conversations can happen, um, by chance, you just absolutely just run into someone at an event, and they say, I have this unique space.

And we’re looking to open some doors, and so, there you go.

Those relationships are key to our existence.

One of the things in our culture, African American culture is collaboration over competition, and for us to be sustainable for us to have longevity and have a legacy for the next generation, we have to collaborate with outside organizations.

And so, what you can see is collaboration.

We are all different organizations, but we all come together and work together for the common good, although we are a part of different organizations.

And so, if you are a member, you can utilize the space, you can rent the space.

You can come here and create.

And then you can also talk about new programs, if you have any ideas.

Janine is very open to collaborating and coming up with new ideas to engage with the community.

You know, we have lucked up on some incredible young people and very talented young people.

And we wouldn’t see them otherwise, because they’re very introverted, so we’re able to give them a space where they can be creative and freely express themselves in their artwork.

So, our comic creators class.

We bring that in twice a year, where the youth can come in and create the comic book character, and a storyline behind it, and I feel like we do this so that our youth feels safe, and they feel heard and seen.

And that’s our teens.

Now, we’re gonna start a little toddler class.

We’re gonna test it out, and just let them explore art, and let, you know, make a mess.

That’s what you do.

So we’re trying to hit, you know, the full gamut of our intergenerational, you know, family that we have here.

The amount of doctors, lawyers, professionals that have not only come from through our organizations, but even some of the HBCUs that some of the organizations were founded on.

The bright spots are that we are in almost every aspect of endeavor, you know?

And so you can find someone in one of our organizations that either open the door, led the way, or is currently leading in those perspective areas.

So that’s something to be proud of.

I can talk a lot about our history, but each of our organization have, you know, founders or individuals in those organizations that really, um, knock down doors, opened up, you know, raised ceilings and set the bar, you know, so to speak.

Some of the challenges, to be honest, is capital.

Um, having those funds to really engage, push the envelope, make it bigger, and better, um, to expand not just Kalamazoo, but the county.

We have African Americans all over the county of Kalamazoo, not just in the city of Kalamazoo, but it takes funds to be able to do that.

And so, that’s one of the major challenges, not just for this organization, but other non profits and black owned small businesses, as well.

Well, I would encourage to make sure and pay attention to our website, and find out what activities that we have going on.

Becoming a member is great, ’cause membership has its privileges.

I still did.

But membership has its privileges.

Kalamazoo is open to a lot.

The openness to celebrate those who don’t look like you.

And it’s great spaces to be a part, whether it be downtown, or in certain communities.

It is great to be able to celebrate one with another and appreciate each other’s culture.

The bright spot is our existence.

I mean, we’ve come from, um, nothing.

We come to this country and build things for ourselves, and the black arts and cultural center is, um, an example of that.

And it gives people, like, myself hope that I can do it.

I’m now an entrepreneur, and I own several businesses throughout Kalamazoo that are successful.

And the first thing that I saw, or the first image of myself, of somebody being in charge was the Black Arts and Cultural Center.

And so now it’s our job to be able to be that for that next generation and show them and be able to build and expand upon what has been created.

How do I even get started?

Well, first and foremost, I’m a comic book illustrator.

That’s my main passion.

That’s what everything phones down to.

I’ve been many things through my life.

I was a musician, professional musician, from 16 to 28.

I’ve been a yoga instructor at Bent 9 yoga studios since, uh, about four years ago.

I was a boxer out of Alliance AZO, a Muay Thai boxer for about seven years.

So I’m about a lot of things.

Yeah.

Did you doodle as a kid?

When did you know the comic book would be your destination?

I didn’t know comics were gonna be my destination until only a couple years ago.

I did Doodle as a kid.

I’ve been a comic book fan since as long as I can remember.

My generation had the benefit of growing up with the X Men animated TV series on Fox Kids.

And so I watched that a lot, and then in 2000, the X Men movie dropped.

That’s, like, the first movie I remember seeing in theaters, and from there, I was hooked.

So I was really into comics, kid, dude a lot.

And then I stopped drawing around 10, just kind of, just kind of fell out of it like any other kid and explore other things.

And then I didn’t get back into comics, into drawing until about 2021.

And what made you start getting back into this art?

So, um, it was the YouTube channel called Cartoonist Kayfabe, um, by Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg, and it’s by far the best, uh, comic book resource, uh, archival history that you can find on the internet.

And so their enthusiasm.

and their constant presence of building, like, this community of artists.

We’re all coming together.

It inspired me to get back into drawing.

I had a gut reaction.

Like, that’s what I should be doing.

Tell me the process on how this becomes a comic book.

Well, so, it starts with a blank sheet of paper, and then an idea, that idea to life with a pencil.

And so there’s a couple different stages.

There’s, like, a blue line stage where you have this pencil that doesn’t get picked up by a scanner, so you sketch an idea out on, and then you refine it with a graphite pencil, and then you refine it again with ink, and that’s what takes it from a blank piece of paper to published work.

The part that I find, like, the most fun is the idea stage where I’ll draw, like, small thumbnail drawings.

I’ll get the concepts out, the penciling stage, so when you go from a blank piece of paper to the actual drawing, the only thing I dread, but I think it’s really important is the lettering.

So a lot of my, a lot of my stuff.

It’s all hand lettering.

Generally, that’s the most time consuming is doing the lettering, but the final product looks a lot better.

So, yeah.

I’ve always had that mustache.

Yep.

Out of the womb with it.

That’s all we need here.

All right.

And there’s Thundercat.

Such a sweetie.

So, get my non photo, uh, red pencil.

So that’s what I’ll start out with.

This story is going to be for, one of the three publications that are workforce, Kayfam, Comics, AKA Power to the Panel, which you can find on YouTube.

We’re on page seven.

This is page, uh, four or five right here.

So working on page seven.

So right now, I’m drawing out the borders.

See, when you print a comic, it’ll be size down from this 11 by 17 size paper, and then the error of printing.

is that some of this material will be cut off.

So we try and draw a certain length from the side to avoid any printing errors.

Cool.

All right.

Yeah, let’s do it.

And there’s some things I think about when I’m drawing, like, as far as composition goes.

Like, taking in thirds when it comes to the image, so I’m not drawing something generally directly in center, unless it’s intentional.

Also trying to think about guiding the eye.

So text will probably go, and in this area here, it faces being about out here.

And so the idea is, I kind of want the eye to go, and about a zigzag formation.

It’s gonna be kind of funny if, uh, if you guys catch the faces that I make while I’m drawing, ’cause I’m trying to get the expression of the character, so I’ll do it from feeling, you know, trying to make the face myself, and I probably look mad.

Like, disturbed, mad.

You know?

And so the red photo, uh... the non photo red pencil... is a... It’s a tool that a lot of animators use, a lot of comic book artists use.

I might use a non photo blue, which I might have around deer, but non photo mean it’s not gonna be picked up by the scanner.

And so I’ll put my rough ideas down on this first... is, what was his name?

Spencer?

He still out there playing with the cat?

Then I like having my phone buy me for, for the timer, for, for reference.

All right, see what I can pull from that.

All right, so we’re getting a pretty good idea.

of... of what I’m gonna do here.

I’m doing what I can to try and stay loose.

and do the actual, like, executing of the drawing, through the pencil, but that’s still something, like, the graphite pencil.

That’s still something I’m working on that my, um, art mentor, Brian Moss, is trying to get me... trying to get me to comprehend.

Okay.

Your end product.

Where does it go?

Well, uh, it’s been traveling around the West Michigan area quite well, in fact.

So once my pages have been scanned, and I send them to whatever publisher or additional artists that I’m working with, and we have a team that helps us assemble the books.

And from there, they ship them to me, and I’ll take them to fanfare in Kalamazoo.

They’ve been great with us.

They’ve supported us from the beginning, so nearly all of our books you can buy at fanfare.

There’s also comic book shops around the area, like Perfect Storm, out in Paw Paw and Battle Creek.

But we have a goal of trying to get beyond the comic book store.

Comic books used to be a bit more easy to access.

They were at the grocery stores, the drugstores.

Now it’s pretty much exclusively comic book shops is where you buy comics.

So we actually have our books at satellite records, as well as a lot of dispensaries around town, because comic books used to be a big part of that culture.

So they kind of, they kind of go anywhere and everywhere.

I also table many different places.

I hardly really table at Comic Con.

I think I’ve only done two now that I think about it, and it’s just been the Ed Pisco Comicano in Pittsburgh.

Otherwise, I do markets, art markets, I do the vintage market all summer, lots of raves, actually.

So, yeah, our books are, you can find, if you’re in West Michigan, you’ll find them in many different places.

I understand part of your fan club includes a cat or two?

Uh, yes.

So I’ve had I’ve had my cat venom since she was five days old.

She’s around here somewhere.

Actually, have her tattooed on the back of my neck.

She’s 12 now, and we just got a couple kittens about seven, eight months ago.

I think the gray one’s my favorite.

Yes, Astra, she’s around here.

She’s definitely been loving all the attention.

And we have another one named Thundercat, who’s around somewhere.

And is the Kalamazoo area, a good area for an artist like yourself?

I cannot recommend... I love Kalamazoo.

Deeply.

Um, Kalamazoo is such a art positive area and community that’s very grassroots.

Some places can be quite competitive, but I don’t get that in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, everybody tries to lift one another up.

If you put yourself out there, someone’s probably gonna reach back and try and give you a hand.

What’s the future?

I mean, what’s your goal?

Well, my my goal is to just keep doing what I’m doing.

I’m so lucky.

I’m so grateful to be on the path that I am.

To me, it’s about building community through comic books.

Comic books are such an approachable art form that all someone really needs is a pencil and a piece of paper.

I mean, Jack Kirby created almost the entire Marvel universe, which is a type Congeroga number two pencil on a piece of paper.

And someone once told me, uh, that if you want to get involved with the community, share what you’re passionate about.

And so that’s what I hope to do.

I hope that my story is something that might inspire somebody else, that if they have that thing that really interests them, but they’re trying to tell themselves, that they can’t do it.

I mean, look, five years ago, I remember telling somebody that I couldn’t draw a stick figure.

And here we are.

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