Sponsored by The Pittsburgh Foundation and Opportunity Fund, the Exposure Artists Program (EAP) is guided by a shared belief in the need to support creative practice, to cultivate and fund diversity, and to advocate for racial justice in the arts community. EAP aims to elevate the work of artists through activities that create/generate/enhance visibility for the creative process, artwork and social issues of our time. LaVerne Kemp is a 2022 EAP honoree.

Sponsored by The Pittsburgh Foundation and Opportunity Fund, the Exposure Artists Program (EAP) is guided by a shared belief in the need to support creative practice, to cultivate and fund diversity, and to advocate for racial justice in the arts community. EAP aims to elevate the work of artists through activities that create/generate/enhance visibility for the creative process, artwork and social issues of our time. Winston Bell is a 2022 EAP honoree.

In February 2022, The Pittsburgh Foundation awarded over $200,000 in funding to recipients of its inaugural Exposure Artists Program. This award is designed to support creative practice, and promote diversity and racial justice within the arts community. TABLE contributor Jasmine Zavala sat down with four awardees, each awe-inspiring and tenacious, who shared the impact that this grant has had on their lives and their artistry. One common theme: space. Whether physical, emotional or aspirational, each artist discussed how this award granted them more room to continue expanding their craft. Jasmine hopes that their stories inspire you to save a little art in your heart by attending one of their upcoming events, lingering at that mural a little longer, or even whipping up a sketch of your own. After all, as artist Clara Kent says, “Art is for all of us.”

With a smile as grand as his picked out ‘fro, musician Winston Bell lights up as he talks about the power of music. “One of the main things that I try to focus on as an artist is my service to others. I want to make other people happy for a moment, however long it may be, so they’re not worried about what essay they have to write, what taxes and forms they have to fill out. They’re just vibing out to my music and having a good time. I feel like everybody needs a stress-reliever like that, so if I can offer that to people, it’s really nice,” shares Bell.

I listen to the radio edit of his track “First Step” and soon find myself among the vibes of which he spoke. The rhythm within his latest single compels the body to find a natural groove, prompting the shoulders to bop in time with the downbeat and the hips to sway as they please.

Bell is a seasoned artist in spite of his youth. He has released multiple singles as a solo artist since 2020, but is no stranger to collaboration. Over the past 10 years he produced music with his former group, Funky Fly Project, as well as with his father, drummer Charles “Poogie” Bell. “My father is such a free-thinking person,” says Bell. “He’s never cared about negative opinions. You can hear that within his productions, especially on the record that we’re currently working on. This approach really helps us be free in our productions together.” This freedom that Bell speaks of is very much a part of the creative process for his upcoming album, a body of work that he is visibly excited about.

There goes that smile again. “It is one of the most fun albums I’ve ever done! The ability to create is such a blessing that makes everything enjoyable. Artistic people thrive upon the process of creation to allow us to just be. We get to say, feel, speak, and see whatever we want,” says Bell.

Bell’s new project promises multiple ideas that he is eager to share. The album’s themes are in tune with the all-too-familiar tumult of the past few years. “We touch on the events of 2020; not so much on the COVID side, but more so on the racial ambiguity of America. There are so many elements of the stress and loss that we experienced in the album, but there is also the freedom that we found. There is the happiness that we found, because we can’t let all of that stress bring us down. We tried to put as much of our experiences as possible into the album,” mentions Bell.

Bell is one of the first-time grantees of the Exposure Artists Award and he’s making the most of it. In the midst of producing his forthcoming album, he has managed to stay busy with other projects. He’s been on the road with pianist Alex Bugnon, performed numerous gigs in Cleveland with guitarist Xavier Lynn, and most recently played with DJ D-Nice for the Club Quarantine event at Carnegie Hall in New York City. “Receiving this award has shown me that one of the biggest things that you can do as an artist is to just shoot your shot. Applying for this award was me taking a massive shot. This experience has shown me that hitting your target is achievable,” says Bell. May the hits continue!

Listen to the musical stylings of Winston Bell on any music-streaming platform, or catch him live while he’s on tour with his family this year. @yuji_beats and @bell_music_group

Read about other 2022 Exposure Artist Program honorees:

LaVerne Kemp

Clara Kent

Selima Dawson

STORY BY Jasmine Zavala/PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jeff swensen

Sponsored by The Pittsburgh Foundation and Opportunity Fund, the Exposure Artists Program (EAP) is guided by a shared belief in the need to support creative practice, to cultivate and fund diversity, and to advocate for racial justice in the arts community. EAP aims to elevate the work of artists through activities that create/generate/enhance visibility for the creative process, artwork and social issues of our time. Clara Kent is a 2022 EAP honoree.

In February 2022, The Pittsburgh Foundation awarded over $200,000 in funding to recipients of its inaugural Exposure Artists Program. This award is designed to support creative practice, and promote diversity and racial justice within the arts community. TABLE contributor Jasmine Zavala sat down with four awardees, each awe-inspiring and tenacious, who shared the impact that this grant has had on their lives and their artistry. One common theme: space. Whether physical, emotional or aspirational, each artist discussed how this award granted them more room to continue expanding their craft. Jasmine hopes that their stories inspire you to save a little art in your heart by attending one of their upcoming events, lingering at that mural a little longer, or even whipping up a sketch of your own. After all, as artist Clara Kent says, “Art is for all of us.”

“I think it is as natural as having the urge to walk when you’re a baby. You just want to move forward. That’s how music was for me. It wasn’t even a second thought,” says local multi-talented artist Clara Kent.

As she talks, she looks off into the air as if the answers to my prodding questions are floating in front of her. She pauses for a moment, considers her next thought and continues, “I knew that music was what I loved and what I wanted to participate in because it felt very in line with who I am as a person.”

The past few years have been busy for Clara as she has worked to help grow the Pittsburgh art community by performing with other talented musicians and forming meaningful partnerships with organizations through her company, Bounce House Studios and Productions.

“Bounce House began as an after-hours event at a venue and gallery space I co-owned called Flow Lounge. It was one of several events we held there, where we would host small open-mic events after hours. We’d just play music, enjoy each other’s presence, and have fun. That grew and grew and grew and people started to learn who I was as an artist because I would always perform live at those events. I was trying new sounds and people loved them,” says Clara.

Unfortunately, the space for Bounce House was lost in what Clara describes as “typical Pittsburgh fashion” to gentrification, but she used that moment as an opportunity to delve further into art and music. As I look through her brightly hued paintings of goddess-like characters in serene spaces, I selfishly lament that one of them, Keep Your Head to the Sky, has been sold. However, there is hope. Clara has continued painting and promises that there is more to come with new art and music. She’s made quite the name for herself in the meantime as the opening act for artists Nnamdi and Thundercat. She was also featured as a hometown creator in a Turner’s Iced Tea commercial for its 50th anniversary. “I’m in a very explorative, raw, creative state right now,” says Clara. “I’m just doing everything. Music and art, I’m exploring all types of sounds, and seeing what I can do with my vocals. My eyes and my ears are my main focus right now.”

Talking with Clara, it’s hard to not become enamored with the way that she describes her interests. Her passion emits from every direction. Her eyes widen with excitement and narrow with vocal underscores. She smiles generously, laughs often, and uses her hands to amplify her point. Clara even communicates creatively and shares her story with healthy doses of warm gratitude.

“I had really good and pure experiences when it comes to being raised and loved by Black women. I saw the challenges they faced and witnessed them be vocal about it. They were not afraid to speak up. That energy pours into every part of my artwork because I know how important it is for us to have a voice,” says Clara.

Black women in surrealistic spaces serve as her muses for her current paintings, but Clara’s forever muse? Her mother. An artist herself, Clara’s late mother fostered the perfect space for her daughter to create within. “I think that my mom is probably the biggest muse of my life, because she made the environment. We were living in this apartment in Wilkinsburg when I was a kid. She had the big, raw canvas murals; she would play vinyl records with jazz, old school blues, rock and roll. It was just such a hug of an environment. Incense burning, food on the stove. I remember that and how that felt,” says Clara.

She shares that core memories like those served as confirmation for the kind of life that she wants to live. When I think about Bouncehouse and its comeback in August at Carnegie Museum of Art’s Hall of Sculpture , I realize that Kent is once again following in her mother’s footsteps by holding space for the city’s artists. Kent elaborates on Bounce House’s return by sharing its slogan: “We elevate the underground.”

“What I noticed in Pittsburgh, especially with Black artists, is that it’s very difficult to promote yourself here. I want to change that so I’m going to hold events for the next couple of years. The ultimate goal is to find a permanent space for Bouncehouse, because there’s a lot of talent here and they’re not getting any opportunities to convey that. That’s the goal for Bounce House; to elevate the underground,” she says.

Clara is proud to be working with a team of strong Black women who also want to foster growth within the arts community, but she’s inviting everyone to partake in this work. “I would also like to have allies come through because that’s what is so cool about what happens when you have a mix of people. At Flow Lounge (a former venue of Kent’s), you could tell that they had respect and that they valued the Black artists there. It wasn’t appropriation, it was appreciation,” she says.

When I ask her about what meeting these career milestones and receiving the Pittsburgh Foundation’s Exposure Artists Award means to her, she brings it back to space. “I think if you put a plant in a pot that’s too tight, its roots bind up, and it gets tense. With having an award like this I feel like I can get repotted. I get new soil! I can grow and reach certain goals so that the things I want to do in the future can actually manifest themselves.”

Read about other 2022 Exposure Artist Program honorees:

LaVerne Kemp

Winston Bell

Selima Dawson

STORY BY Jasmine Zavala/PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jeff swensen

Sponsored by The Pittsburgh Foundation and Opportunity Fund, the Exposure Artists Program (EAP) is guided by a shared belief in the need to support creative practice, to cultivate and fund diversity, and to advocate for racial justice in the arts community. EAP aims to elevate the work of artists through activities that create/generate/enhance visibility for the creative process, artwork and social issues of our time. Selima Dawson is a 2022 EAP honoree.

In February 2022, The Pittsburgh Foundation awarded over $200,000 in funding to recipients of its inaugural Exposure Artists Program. This award is designed to support creative practice, and promote diversity and racial justice within the arts community. TABLE contributor Jasmine Zavala sat down with four awardees, each awe-inspiring and tenacious, who shared the impact that this grant has had on their lives and their artistry. One common theme: space. Whether physical, emotional or aspirational, each artist discussed how this award granted them more room to continue expanding their craft. Jasmine hopes that their stories inspire you to save a little art in your heart by attending one of their upcoming events, lingering at that mural a little longer, or even whipping up a sketch of your own. After all, as artist Clara Kent says, “Art is for all of us.”

As she lifts up a piece of gilded wire mesh and runs her fingers along the carefully placed wood and shell beads, I feel in awe of the task that visual artist Selima Dawson has ahead of her. Dawson is owner and metalsmith of Blakbird Jewelry, a line comprised of sleek, hand-cut bronze accessories. With pieces like bean pod hoops and ginkgo leaf dangle earrings, it’s hard to imagine how Dawson manages to make such a strong material look and feel so light.

“It’s the toughest thing I’ve ever worked with, and I think I really like that. There’s a certain amount of strength you have to put into working with metal,” she says.

Selima’s smithing is well-known in Pittsburgh, but she has recently felt the call to shift to something that hits a little closer to home. Her current project involves using genetic memory to study African ancestry, by combing through her old family photos, conducting research at the Schomburg Center in New York, and having conversations with newly found loved ones. The end result? Pieces that share her family’s complex story, preserve their memories, and deepen her connection with her late parents.

“My dad [a painter] had a show in Paris and I found a self-portrait that he took at Notre Dame. I showed my nephew that photograph and it turned out that nobody in the family had seen it before. It’s interesting because it seems like this is something that’s meant to be. You know? That my dad wanted me to have this picture so I can share it with my family,” says Selima.

Embarking on this artistic journey has allowed Selima to connect with her father’s relatives, share stories about his life, and make new memories together. “I was actually able to give my nephew one of my dad’s prints because he didn’t have any of his work and it really, really means a lot,” she says.

 As the daughter of two artists, Selima learned early on to listen to her intuition and to start creating with what she had. “My mother was a seamstress, she was a quilter. She was just always doing things with her hands. There’s a lot of things that I actually didn’t see my dad do, but my mom would tell me about the way that he worked. He definitely used everything that he had. He would make something out of nothing,” she says.

Selima’s father passed away when she was 10 years old, but she still finds a way to connect with him through her artistry. “Art was a way that we connected before he passed away, but that’s also a connection that I’ve maintained with him because as I’ve grown up. I’ve learned more about him as an artist and have taken things from that,” she says.

With the grant from the Exposure Artists Program, Selima has pivoted from producing new jewelry for Blakbird. Her current project, The Memoranda Project, has prodded her to expand her artistry through the utilization of new techniques, and to meld her metal craftsmanship with her visual art background.

“It’s a very intuitive process that I’m still figuring out how to do, but I know that I’m supposed to be doing it,” she says.

I scroll through her social media page and find handwritten letters worn at the edges, a lovingly framed photo of her mother whose eyes she shares, and small metallic paintings that depict snapshots of what is to come. Each post provides a heartfelt reflection of the complex emotions that she unravels at this stage in the process. I ask Selima what receiving this award means to her. “It’s just very validating. It is confirmation of being on the right path and it’s nice that somebody was interested in my story. They thought it was something that they wanted to see more of.”

To witness what Selima refers to as “An Artistic Tribute to [Her] Ancestors,” follow her Instagram @thememoranda. The vignettes that she provides into her creative process are just as awe-inspiring as the story that she is unfolding about her family.

Read about other 2022 Exposure Artist Program honorees:

LaVerne Kemp

Winston Bell

Clara Kent

STORY BY Jasmine Zavala/PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jeff swensen