Today we’d like to introduce you to Schetauna Powell.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I found Artivism Community Art Supply in 2008, during my sophomore year in college. At the time, I conceived of Artivism Community Art Supply Store I was inspired by the conversations about activism that I engaged in during classes in the African American Studies Department at the University of Houston. In the past, I mediated my time between writing and making art – which really relieved my college days stress. Half of the year, I took fine arts classes and the other half I took English and Philosophy classes. Being able to demonstrate my knowledge by creating physical works such as paintings, sculptures, and photography, allows me to be free, and create the world I experience.
As I continued my academic career in Pan African Studies at the University of Louisville in 2012, I began to realize the cultural, political, and philosophical lessons I received as a young adult needed to be communicated to a larger audience. So much of what I absorbed from my days in the university lead me to begin organizing to bring communities together through arts-based education. In 2018, Artivism Community Art Supply focuses on creating social learning events in which participants are invited to engage with “issue-based” art through a variety of simple, everyday actions such as art making, dance or performance-based interactions with artists. The community projects that result are very powerful because they reify community ties and shared values; they help start difficult conversations; and remind us that we all can work together to make the world a beautiful place.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I will not characterize any business venture as being a smooth process! I will say that it has been a long road and the success that I am experiencing now is a result of my endurance and my willingness to change my artistic and business practices as I grow. Because I started my practice when I was 18 years old, I have had a chance to experiment and learn during the period in life when most people are afforded the opportunity to make mistakes. For this, I am fortunate. The true question most people ask me is “why I even began a business at such a young age?” or “how did I find the will to keep going for ten years, despite the changes I have experienced in life?” The truth is that my whole life, many people have defined me through their own lens and thus never truly took any of my endeavors seriously. My artistic works, my literary works, my academic work has been seen as “nice” but not necessary – not serious.
My whole life, I feel I have been working towards legitimacy. I have told myself “the things I am interested in are valid and worthy of serious pursuit”. If you ask me now if I have struggled, the answer is yes, but those struggles have made me the woman I am today. They have allowed me to be prepared for the million miniature struggles that I encounter whenever I am organizing an event, creating a series of paintings or sculptures, or applying for public work projects. I look back right now and I am happy for those struggles because it allows me to remain confident and undeterred for the struggles down the road!
Please tell us about Artivism Community Art Supply.
Artivism Community Art Supply is an organization dedicated to social learning, arts education, travel, and community. We provide mobile art projects that allow communities to engage in issue-based discourse. Our ultimate mission is to provide different communities within Houston free exchange of cultural ideas. We specialize in creating “community projects” which are large-scale projects that require many hands completing simple actions.
One of the projects we completed at the outset of 2018, in conjunction with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, is the project titled “We Remember You.” The project was commissioned by The Methodist Hospital to pay respect to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th year since his assassination. Members of the hospital community were asked to create a paper figure representing a friend, family member or acquaintance who helped them achieve success in their life. These figures were stacked to resemble a march and then placed in front of the backdrop of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marching in Selma. Once all of the paper figures were placed, a bright light was shined on the figures, creating twice as many shadows. The shadows represented all those who died so that we as a nation could stand.
Though the project was simple it allowed people of all races to discuss Dr. King’s legacy in a powerful way that bought everyone together; of this, we are very proud. Artivism Community Art Supply has created many other projects with a variety of organizations in Houston focused on issues ranging from violence prevention, African American motherhood, and race as it operates in a society. Our events are different from the typical art showcases because the focus is not on selling art or extolling the techniques by which a piece was made, rather it is on bringing the audience into the creative process so that they may further engage in the larger ideas the project works to highlight.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was very young, my mother would put me into this white slip, which looked like a full dress. It had silk and lace with all of the frills and bounce that a fluffy wedding dress may have – only it was made for a toddler. Immediately after she would put me into this slip, I would begin to twirl around, so that I could see the bodice of this undergarment fly. Every time I got to wear this slip, I remember the room being filled with sunlight. Every time she outfitted me with this slip, she took out the formal dress that was to lay on top of it. I would ask her “why I had to wear two dresses out of the house?” to which she replied, “You are only wearing one dress. The other one is your underwear.” Later in life, she shared with me that whenever we went out in public and I was wearing my favorite slip, I would lift up my dress and say “Hey look at my underwear!” to show everyone the pretty white slip that I loved so much.
Contact Info:
- Website: artivismcommunityart.com
- Email: spowell@artivismcommunityart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artivismcommunityartsupply/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtivismCommunityArtSupply/
Image Credit:
Photographer: Victoria Cooke
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