Photographers Britt Samuels and Sharon Rene have long wanted to see more Black art showcases in Orange County. That artistic mission has finally arrived.
“I wanted an art show that features Black artists within Orange County,” said Samuels, who co-founded the inaugural “Resilience in Art: Black Artists Unveiled” with Rene as part of a Black History Month show. African American residents make up only 2.3% of the county’s population.
Still, that didn’t stop the collaborators from calling on the community and their fellow artists to conceive the exhibit, which ends Feb. 29.
The show includes works by Doris Draffen, Paige Meyer-Draffen, Sharon Rene and Stephen Newman. The exhibit introduces a cross-section of artistic styles through photography, sculpture, digital prints and mixed media from a diverse collection of art.
Samuels and Rene, who have images of their photography in the art show, got help from local realtor Al Ricci in securing a location in Old Towne Orange.
Local art inspires, challenges
Black artistry anchors the exhibit, but it also embraces the challenges of creating, making, and introducing themes in art that ultimately inspire the shaping of cultural narratives. The monthlong celebration highlights artists who are debuting their work publicly for the first time.
Samuels, a board member of the Orange Chamber of Commerce, the exhibit’s sponsor, recently recalled that when he first joined the board in 2021, he didn’t see significant Black art shows during Black History Month. “Resilience in Art: Black Artists Unveiled” took about six months to organize, he said.
Rene, an Orange native, initially expressed interest in hosting an event. After being introduced to Samuels, the pair began brainstorming and ultimately established a platform featuring underrepresented groups in Orange County.
“There’s a lack of representation in the community, and there always has been,” Rene said.
Samuels’ photography is inspired by portraiture, often making images of family and friends. “Sometimes I can just look, and some of these people I got to know prior, and I just feel their energy,” he said.“They have a story to tell.”
Inside the exhibit
When guests arrive and enter the exhibit’s studio floor, they are greeted by a bird-shaped arrangement of framed photos featuring nude models in different poses.
During the photo taking process, Samuels shared that he gave the models the creative freedom to create their own poses and took over 500 images of each model.
In contrast to Samuels’ focus on the human form, Rene showcases more of a slice-of-life approach in her art. Her photos on display were taken on a trip to Ethiopia in 2014, and this is the first time she is displaying them publicly.
“People think [photography is] super easy,” Rene said. “Like you just point and shoot, but it’s not. There’s a whole composition behind it.
Samuels and Rene want to make the event a yearly staple. “Our goal is to exhibit this show with local Black artists every year … a permanent location to exhibit all artists year round,” said Samuels.
New generations embracing art
Paige Meyer-Draffen, a Whittier College sophomore majoring in telecommunications broadcasting who began making art at 13, has four pieces in the exhibit she created in high school, with two additional works.
Meyer-Draffen’s art in the exhibit include “Matrix”-inspired fanart and a “self-exploration piece,” a drawing illustrating her dilemma between enrolling in a community college or a four-year university. Her work also includes a charcoal drawing of a close friend and a piece composed of about 35 CDs that were placed in boiling water and welded together with a wire solder.
“My family is really proud of [the self-exploration art] because they’ve been kind of fighting over who gets it, and my aunt won,” Meyer-Draffen said. “That will probably be one of my favorites forever because it was a very raw moment for me, and I love the colors and how it looks and the style.”
Art, culture represented
A recent panel at the Orange Public Library tied to the exhibit included a private tour of the installation, allowing the public to interact with the artists. Kobina Wright, from Riverside and host of the art history-themed podcast “The Whole Art Nebula,” attended.
“Everybody needs to have their culture represented,” Wright said. “ I am just happy to see this.”
Madeleine Spencer, a founding team member of Calle Cuatro DTSA and co-director of Placemaking US, was ecstatic to see Samuels’ art after viewing his previous exhibit in Santa Ana. “I saw him [emerge] as an artist in downtown Santa Ana,” she said.
Javier Alcala, an administrative assistant in Fountain Valley who attended the exhibit, agrees.
“Especially with the stigma that Orange County has,” Alcala said, adding, “‘The Orange Curtain,’ I believe, has been opened and lifted and may soon be torn down and burned.”
“Resilience in Art: Black Artists Unveiled,” through Feb. 29, is open on Monday-Wednesday, 3-9 p.m., 111 South Orange St., Orange, Calif. 92866. A closing reception will be held Thursday from 5-9 p.m. For more information, contact the Orange Chamber of Commerce, (714) 538-3581.