Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin King.
Kevin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After not creating art for 16 years, my wife Nicole and daughter Kaiya gifted me with art supplies for Father’s Day. My wife suggested that I start back creating art, thus removing excuses that I’d previously made that prevented me from doing so. After exploring painting for the first time, I experienced moderate success in selling my work. As I engaged the art scene, I found that not many institutions at the time held space for many black artists. My first experience being welcomed into an art community was through a young lady by the name of Traci Howell. After this, I met Michelle Browder that encouraged me to help recruit black artists for her events. At the same time, I met Kalonji Gilchrist who was doing an amazing job at cultivating a collective of diverse artists who were at gallery exhibition skill level . At the time though, I noticed that there wasn’t a space that cultivated artists with experiences similar to mine. I thought about that high school student who was told to pick a “real major” or to get a “real job” because of the perception of art not being a sustainable career. That adult who stopped creating because life happened. That adult who discovered for the first time that they were an artists. I also began to take a small business start up classes from tech and business guru Boyd Stephens. It was in this space that I learned that we as artists are at times so free spirited that we are not great entrepreneurs. As of now Boyd offers 12 week classes that he facilitates consecutively throughout the year. Currently the majority of the students are young adult artists. Lastly, I attended a conference in Arizona that talked about strategies centered around using the arts as a means to address community and economic development. . . I founded The King’s Canvas with the intention of providing opportunity and access to underdeveloped and underexposed artists. As artists have conducive spaces to create, while learning entrepreneurial practices, we can not only become economically sustainable, but we can also utilize the arts to mitigate blight in our economically stressed and historically marginalized communities and encourage black businesses to move back into our communities. This is currently happening in our community, and we look forward to seeing this vision fully activated not only in our community but throughout communities similar to ours across our city, state and country.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road but it definitely has been a blessing. As a black 501c3 nonprofit leader, it is usually tough to receive the level of moral support and financial contributions needed to sustain an organization while executing a comprehensive plan in our communities. I am blown away by the support that we are receiving. In many cases resources are not equitably distributed amongst black led organizations in a way that would offer a foundation followed by long term sustainability. This is a known problem amongst black leaders. We have hearts of gratitude for those who partner with us. Individuals or institutions who decide to redirect their resources once African Americans began to lead these organizations intrinsically participate in a system that rely on African Americans to get the work done but not execute the vision. Some of these individuals would rather fund our white counterparts who are working and leading organizations in our communities rather than black leaders who are working in these communities.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am mostly known these days for my arts organization’s nonprofit work centered around The King’s Canvas. I am now immersing myself back into Art By Kevin King. I am mainly known for my social justice art. I have always used my art to address social and political issues. I’ve also done live event paintings (mostly weddings). For those who view my @ArtByKevinKing Instagram, it seems as if I am all over the place with my art due to the amount of commissions that I’ve done. Recently The King’s Canvas has partnered with 21 Dreams Arts and Culture and I AM More Than formed a collective by the name of “We Create Change”. This is group of multidisciplinary artists committed to challenging inequalities by using art to reflect the times that we live in.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The quality or characteristic I feel most important to my success is my love for God and His creation. This is why my love for not only my people in our communities are so strong, but also a desire to see physical transformation and economic growth. I believe a picture of God’s redemptive process should display holistic transformation that impacts the infrastructure of our communities.
Contact Info:
- Email: kevin@thekingscanvas.org
- Website: www.thekingscanvas.org
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/thekingscanvas
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekingscanvas/
Image Credits
Jill Friedman shot the closer “Welcome To Westside Montgomery” image
