REPORTING BY KATIE CALLIHAN AND MARLA KORENICH
PHOTOS BY KATIE CALLIHAN
NNB Reporters
MIDTOWN – On Saturday, February 27th, Midtown hosted St. Petersburg’s first Black Arts Festival. This event pulled various vendors from across the world into one vacant, grass lot at the corner of 9th Avenue South and 22nd Street South.
The owner of Gallerie 909, Carla Bristol, curated and hosted the community event.
“I decided to do this event as a culmination for black history month,” said Bristol.
The Southside Blues Brothers were playing live facing 22nd street south. You could hear the combination of the piano, guitar, and deep, soul-filled vocals from a mile away.
Bristol selected this particular band to attract and to remind the community members of the momentum that the Deuces could still carry once again.
“I wanted to see the energy on the corner again – to see what the corner would be like,” said Bristol.
The weather was cool, the sun was shining. By 11am, the layers of sweaters and jackets started to peel off and the venders were adding their final touches to their displays.
A stimulating energy was in the air and the community started to trickle in just as Bristol had hoped.
Across long, rectangular tables and under the roof of white, square tents, each artist displayed great spectrums of bold colors and textures; you knew that there was a story behind everything.
Handmade jewelry with large stones, paintings with texture, lotions imported from Africa, and other goods were all being sold at fair prices.
In the middle of all the vendors, three art stations catered a variety of crafts for children. You could catch them zipping through and winding between booths playing tag with decorated masks on their faces; colorful feathers falling from them.
A few artists, “Freddy Fred” and “Zulu Painter” from the Bloom Art Center participated in their first art show. “Zulu Painter” was painting live against his easel. He said that he finds inspiration by first looking at magazines. When he finds certain images that he likes, he then paints them together as one collective image.
Another contributor in the festival was traveling Folk Artist, Sandy Hall.
Hall, mother of six, stood in the middle of a small, shaded tent that stretched about as far as both of her fingers could point.
“This is my life,” she said as she directed her guest’s eyes across her display of paintings that varied in different rectangular shapes and sizes.
Hall shared that growing up, her family loved to tell stories.
“Our stories kept us together as a family. I can’t tell the stories, but I can paint them,” said Hall.
When asked how she learned to paint, Hall’s story began to unfold.
In 2001, TV show ‘Bob Ross’ was playing in the background of a hospital room.
Hall was diagnosed with cancer.
Her mobility and her creativity were limited to the stark walls of the hospital that seemed to be closing in.
One day, Hall’s nurse explained that she would soon be expecting a visitor, Hall’s mother. This was the last thing that Hall was emotionally prepared for.
Hall was faced with a deep trance that forced a paralyzing apathy that had taken over her mind and body. She had no desire to do anything.
“The nurse kept trying to get me to crochet or do puzzles,” Hall said.
To make her mother happy, Hall decided that she would try to look busy, try to look entertained and try to hide the pain.
“It wasn’t until my mother came and I had to be on my best behavior,” said Hall.
For the first time in her life, Hall picked up a paintbrush and an empty canvas.
Out of desperation, she began to paint.
Since that day, for Hall, everything changed. Hall succeeded in beating cancer and her newly discovered talent put all six of her children through school.
Traveling in a passenger van, Hall said, “I used to line up my kids in an assembly line and have them help me with picture framing.”
They say that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.
Today, Hall still makes a living selling her paintings online and in various art festivals across the country.
Overall, St. Petersburg’s first Black Arts Festival was a great success and it inspired all ages to find and maintain their creativity.
Bristol plans on putting together more community events like this.
For more information about Bristol’s gallery, Gallerie 909, stop by at 909 22nd St. South.
Gallerie 909 is a stop on St. Petersburg’s Second Saturday Artwalk. The next art walk will be on March, 12th. There is free parking and entry into all participating galleries and studios.
For more information about the art walk, please contact the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance at 727.518.5142 or email them at info@stpeteartsalliance.org.