ArtxChange: Public Art
Photo by Uche Iroegbu. Courtesy Jeremiah Bey
The first in a series of Mia ArtxChange events, Public Art, brings together visual artist/storyteller Jeremiah Bey, socially-conscious designer/public artist Ashley Fairbanks, filmmaker/musician Mychal “Myke” Fisher, and artist/organizer Mica Grimm for an open conversation exploring how artistic practice can be a civic practice. Join us and exchange ideas around the power of art as a vehicle to initiate change in our community and beyond. This installment of ArtXChange is curated by artist and activist Chaka Mkali.
ArtXChange features talks and art-making, this salon-style series features local artists who are using their work to create dialogue leading to social change.
Free; advance reservation recommended. Reserve online or by calling 612.870.6323.
ARTIST BIOS
Jeremiah Bey is a visual artist and storyteller. He was born and raised in North Minneapolis as one of four children, and credits growing up in a full house with teaching him the value of multiple perspectives, and the importance of other voices in the creative process. Jeremiah is a Givens Black Writers Fellow, a U of M Center for Urban and Regional Affairs Artists Neighborhood Partnership Initiative Grant recipient, an Intermedia Arts Creative Community Leadership Institute (CCLI) fellow, a John Biggers Seed Project fellow, and a 2015/16 Creative CityMaking artist. He most prides himself in his community work. He works as both an independent artist, and a Juxtaposition Arts roster artist – in both capacities, working to build the social conscience of youth and the community at large. Jeremiah has been a part of planning, and/or leading a number of community arts efforts including summer workshops at Ancestry Books and Learning Works, and most recently Bus Stop Democracy — a popular education event where he and collaborators discuss the various avenues of exercising political power. You can see his public mural work in various neighborhoods around North and South Minneapolis, including the Central neighborhood, Cedar-Riverside, and along West Broadway.
Ashley Fairbanks is an Anishinaabe woman and citizen of the White Earth Nation. She operates as a socially-conscious designer and public artist. She works with a cohort of artists that do racial justice popular education and organizing. She seeks to use her design skills to activate people around issues ranging from police brutality to environmental justice. She has worked with the Energy Action Coalition, Indigenous Environmental Network and Honor the Earth to create campaigns around the KXL and Sandpiper pipelines and protecting our water from mining. Ashley sits on the board of Voices for Racial Justice. She went to the University of Minnesota to study American Indian studies and Political Science, and has completed Intermedia Arts Creative Community Leadership Institute, NACDI’s Native Organizing and Leadership Institute, The Humphrey School’s Roy Wilkins Community Policy Fellowship and is a 2016 Forecast Public Art Emerging Public Artist Grantee.
Mychal “Myke” Fisher is a filmmaker, film editor, musician and cinematographer who brings surreal imagination, profoundly visceral aesthetics and fresh curiosity to narratives of Blackness, freedom, and the urban experience. Since obtaining his degree in Audio Engineering from The Institute of Production and Recording, he has gone on to produce and engineer for a plethora of artists locally and nationally Including Ab-Soul, 9th House (ISelfDevine & Muja Messiah) Sarah White, Greg Grease, Metasota, and many more. In addition to being a producer, Mychal is a member of the psychedelic-rap-afro-future-funk ensemble, Zulu Zuluu. His visual production company, SwayHeavy Productions, has music videos for numerous Minnesota artists including Meek Demeo, ThatGuySoda, Greg Grease, Metasota, K.Raydio & Psymun and others. His past commercial clients include WEtv, Burlington Coat Factory, FXX, Lifetime and AMC networks. Mychal was editor and colorist for the independent film “Matthew 18.” Mychal continues to travel and pursue his creative artistic goals and is working on a plethora of new music and visual projects.
Mica Grimm is an artist, organizer, and founder of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis hailing from the southside. She paints, writes, and manipulates digital glitches to combine the green/natural world & the abstract to construct what she envisions as the universe residing within us all. She utilizes protests, rallies, & dance parties as subverted space to fuel the revolution, moments seeking our interstice to freedom. She spends her days influencing public policy, building new coalitions, & writing legislation on police accountability. Mica works at MPIRG as the Statewide Racial Justice Coordinator & is a board member for the nonprofit, Voices for Racial Justice. All of her work is grounded by the notion that self-love is a revolutionary act, community is not strictly bound by area, and freedom lies within our innate ability to connect with one another.
Chaka Mkali, also known as I Self Devine is a musician, Mc, community organizer, racial justice trainer, graffiti artist, muralist, program coordinator and director of organizing and community building at Hope Community Center in Minneapolis. As an Mc, I Self is known as an integral part of the Atlanta and Twin Cities underground Hip Hop community as ½ of the duo Micranots, ½ of Semi Official, ¼ of the Dynospectrum, and as a soloist. Over the last decade I Self has released over 10 albums of political conscious socially aware music capable of moving the crowd as well as uplift the spirit and sustain the movement. As a graffiti artist and muralist, Chaka Mkali is recognized as one of the crucial figures in the revitalization of graffiti art in the Twin Cities using the skills developed in the streets, alleyways, walls, and store fronts of Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Atlanta. As The Director of Organizing and Community Building Chaka has developed impressive work with very diverse largely low income teens and young adults that is impacting individual lives and collectively helping to bring change to a challenged community.