Artists of color named to fellowship
Ten honorees of The 224 Ecospace will partner with Hartford organizations on art projects
HARTFORD — Ten local artists of color will be given the opportunity to create a variety of art projects with Hartford organizations through a collaborative fellowship with The 224 Ecospace, a faithbased social enterprise.
From August to November, these artists will go through an accelerator program to create unique projects throughout Connecticut. By partnering with various organizations, the participants will work to use art to build bridges in the community.
Reverend Dr. Shelley D. Best, president and CEO of The 224 Ecospace, says the fellowship will help promote the artistic culture of Hartford and promote long-term collaborations between artists and institutions.
“The artists come with their own skill set, their own gifts and the lens of being a person of color. And then the host organization is encountering this full-developed artist that may not have worked with them, but can give them a different perspective of their work, how to create new audiences, and maybe how to create a different venture of project with this artist,” Best said.
Figurative painter Andre Rochester, one of the fellows, called the program “groundbreaking.”
“There are hundreds of artists in this region alone. And we don’t always have enough opportunities to highlight the work that we do in the way that we desire to. So, this can open the door for a lot of things,” Rochester said.
Rochester will be working with the Amistad Center for Art & Culture and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
The rest of the artists, and their host organizations, are:
chad browne-springer: Springer is known for breaking barriers between genres. Within their music, Springer fuses electronica and R&B soul, while utilizing techniques of musical theater and jazz vocals. They will work alongside Nightfall, the annual celebration of fall performed in the city’s parks.
John Tangsauce Young: The hip-hop artist, aka Tang Sauce, describes his work as an artistic experience of sound, words, movements and thoughts. Coming off the release of his latest album, “Maturity,” he will team up with Charter Oak Cultural Center.
Cin Martinez: Martinez will use her playwriting abilities to work with Hartbeat Ensemble. The Hartford native has worked
with Hartbeat on many projects in the last 15 years. Martinez has also commissioned her own work, like “Frog Hollow State of Mind,” “Pegao” and most recently, “Moonlighters.”
Lael Marie Saez: Saez is engulfed in the dance world, from studying dance at Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts to founding Footlights Performing Arts and Education Program at the Downtown YMCA in Hartford. She will work alongside Spectrum in Motion.
Patrick Rico Williams: From author and educator to advocate audiovisual artist, Williams will bring several talents to his partnership with the Bushnell Center for
Performing Arts.
Quyen Truong: Truong, a visual artist, says art “is a way to beautify our cities and a way to connect with other young artists from around the state.” She will partner with Real Art Ways.
Joy Monroe: Monroe creates empowering images on the bodies of various men and women as a canvas for her work, to promote body acceptance. She will collaborate with Playhouse Theater Group.
Brittana “Versatilepoetiq” Tatum: Tatum, a poetic and spoken-word artist, will bring her spoken-word skills to Harriet Beecher Stowe Center.
Miles Wilson-toliver: Since graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Wilson-toliver has performed nationwide and worldwide. The opera singer will team
up with Hartford Opera Theater.
Each artist will be given guidance from other artists of color through various online seminars. The curated network will assist in training them on their journey to pitch day, where they will bid their projects to a group of art venture capitalists for broader community support. At least two of the teams will receive $5,000 to bring their projects to life.
The fellowship is funded by a $200,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving’s Artists of Color Unite! advisory group.
The 224 Ecospace website, www.the224. org/aoc, will post updates on the artists’ progress.