The Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity hosted their Black Art Gala, sharing different forms of art focusing on the impact of Black culture in the artists’ work.
The gala showcased a variety of Black art on Monday, Feb. 17 in the Cats Den at the Gatton Student Center including paintings, music, poetry readings and dance performances.
Caleb Taylor, an integrated strategic communications senior, said art creates a family through connection.
“You create a space where people feel like they can freely express themselves to other people they don’t even know and now you are building connections with other people on campus, just another way to spread love and that’s something we need nowadays,” Taylor said.
Taina Speight, a biology sophomore, sang the Black National Anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to start the event by performing this song.
Speight said taking pride in this event was uplifting and setting the standard as a Black artist has become important to her.
“I just feel like it’s a good opportunity for people involved in arts and creativity,” Speight said.
Speight said she wanted the audience watching her to feel empowered during her performance and to feel supported by them being there for her.
“I feel as if our talents are potentially one thing that is always overlooked because no matter how good you are, I feel like they’re (Black art) never good enough,” Speight said. “I feel like this is a great way to showcase. Regardless of your race, nationality, ethnicity, art is art.”
According to Speight, taking pride in her artwork was one of the most important parts of the gala.
“We should be honored to be able to display what started it (cultural movements) or who really came up with the ideas because oftentimes I feel like that’s hidden from us and turned into ‘oh this Black person made it,’ but you’re beneath us, so now we get to take ownership over it,” Speight said.
MacKenzie Flowers, a dance and art administration sophomore, performed her first-ever solo performance during the gala.
Flowers said representation in dance spaces is important, especially at the University of Kentucky where she is one of the only African American students in her dance classes.
“I wanted to showcase the projection and expression of love,” Flowers said. “Being able to represent African Americans in those (dance) spaces is really big for me.”
Flowers said she hoped the audience enjoyed her lyrical dance, which focused on the push and pull of loving and embracing her identity.
Jayela Davis, a featured painter and human health sciences senior, said her inspiration behind her two paintings she presented was allowing herself to take her art less “serious” and embrace silliness.
One of Davis’s works titled “When the Internet Dies,” was displayed during the walk around of the gala.
Davis said the paintings showcased two guys who were popular memes she wanted to paint to keep recollection of these moments in time.
“I want them (the audience) to take away the creativity of it all and actually the dedication to do these things and the passion behind it,” Davis said. “Art is everything. It’s the root of everything and all that we do.”
Davis said art captures everything Black people have done, capturing this by painting in real-time about her identity.
“It’s communication without words honestly and it’s such a deep feeling of what we do and we put everything into our art and getting it out there because that’s how we speak when our voices aren’t heard,” Davis said.
According to Davis, the gala wasn’t just about the performers, but about touching its audience. Specifically, when connecting with their artwork and finding their own identities in their pieces.
“Art in many different forms can touch a lot of people,” Davis said. “You don’t have to be Black, you don’t have to be in this one category, it touches everybody.”
