This Saturday, May 29th, Renton will host a Black Lives Matter Artwalk at 625 S 4th St from 12pm to 5pm, featuring a collection of local artists of both visual and performance mediums.
Event organizer, Franchesca Vargas said she has worked with and been supported by the Renton Municipal Arts Commission to put on this event.
This year’s event, she says, is tied around the theme of “Embodying Black Excellence.”
Vargas hopes that those who attend this weekend’s BLM Artwalk approach the experience with an open-mind and that they “listen,” to what the collection of performance and visual artists have to say through their art.
She said she believes art allows people to connect with experiences they may have otherwise been unfamiliar with and that people who “listen,” with empathy they will leave feeling “touched and moved.”
Artist, Charles “The Original Spur,” Conner, said he has been an artist of varying mediums for as long as he could remember.
After a stint serving in the military, Conner said he felt like he had lost the edge on some of his artistic skills and felt “out of the loop.”
After spending a lot of time drawing and sharpening his skills, he has now developed his own styles and flavors through digital art, abstract art and paint pours.
Conner’s paint pours utilize beautiful color scheme spectrums that organically stretch and bend across the canvas often creating a cosmos-like nebula of both complementary and contrasting colors.
He said his art often uses bright color themes to contrast the deep thought inducing emotions that his art is intended to convey.
Conner said he is excited for this weekend’s BLM Artwalk because with so many Black creatives in the same space, people will get to learn more about who they are and he believes this will bring the community closer together.
“We all have something to say as artists,” Conner said “We all express it differently.”
Painter and collage artist Trenise “Tree,” Williams, said she is proud of Renton for being open-minded and giving this collection of artists a chance to be seen and heard.
Williams uses acrylic paint and collage techniques to make her art. She said often she does not know what her art will look like when she begins and instead lets her vision for the piece develop through her process.
Williams said she often uses poems and sketches from other artists and friends in her collage work.
At this weekend’s BLM Artwalk, she said she plans to work on several canvases at once as she allows people to watch her process.
Williams said she hopes the event allows attendees to gain some perspective and understanding about the artist’s experience and leave with some clarity as to who they are.
“We are connected as Black people,” Williams said “But we are all so different.”
For more information on some of the other artists at the event visit their socials here:
