The Black (Power) art event provides platform for South Side artists
On the evening of Nov. 29, at The Black (Power) event, the room was filled with the thick aroma of shea butter and perfume. As people viewed the art, sparked conversation with the artists in the room to express their appreciation and ask the inspiration behind the pieces. This art-filled event was hosted by the nonprofit organization Stash Market. The Black (Power) event was an opportunity to promote South Side artists and vendors during the holidays, as well as shine a light upon their work and creativity. Stash Market partnered with the Rebuild Foundation, which provided the Stony Island Arts Bank for the venue.
Stash Market selected artists and vendors through an application process and some of the requirements were that the art must be handmade or designed by the artist, unique and a rare find. Stash Market and Rebuild Foundation have worked together in the past and partnered together for the Black (Power) event in order to create a gateway for local artists to have the ability to sell and promote their art. The event took around six weeks to plan. Bonner believes this event will have a positive impact on Chicago even after it’s over.
“The impact, I believe, is that it will help to create economic stimulus for artists,” she said. “It creates an experience for any attendees or patrons that actually come so the experience they get is to interact positively on the South-Side with a number of different people who now they get to know, call upon, sort of share. So it's a collaborative effort to sort of create a positive, vibing, dope experience for both the artists and those who come to support the artist.”
Bonner also wanted the event to shine a spotlight on the many skilled South Side artists to help them create connections, gain exposure and find a source of income. Bonner is aware that there are obstacles that black artists face, like the ability to afford the booth fees to get their foot in the door and travel away from the South Side to similar marketplaces. To help address this, Bonner has hosted the Black (Power) event at the Stony Island Arts Bank space that Bonner has used for nearly two years, creating opportunities for new and experienced artists. At this year’s event, there were three returning vendors, artists who participated in one of the previous incarnations, with the rest being new artists. Some of the vendors depend on their art to have a source of income and continue to pursue their passion. Others aren’t able to. Because of this, Bonner created Stash Market to offer support to other artists.
“I am sort of a silent artist myself and I like to buy from other people who are making something that I feel is also connected spiritually versus just buying stuff,” she said. “So it's like a labor of love that I like to sort of support.”
Musical artist Tchiya Amet, also known by her Kemetic religious name, Arit, was one of the event’s vendors. She isn’t currently able to financially survive off of her art and instead has to rely on another source of income, but she hopes that her healing art, KemeTones Cosmic Sound Healing, can become her will financially sustain her in the future.
“I would love for my art to be my primary source of income, but it's not,” Amet said. “I feel it's not because it's not really commercially viable and I know I need to try to change that in my mind. But I would like it to be. It's kind of very spiritual and so there's that whole thing of well if it's spiritual can't make money. But I don't think that's true. So it's not really a hobby. It's more of a mission because I'm wanting to be of service to the divine to the community. So it's a mission. So I have another source of income that funds my mission, my work, my research, my music, the healing arts.”
According to Amet, KemeTones Cosmic Sound Healing is practice similar to acupuncture that uses sound instead of needles. It consists of using sound to help heal illnesses, diseases and pain with the idea in mind that these problems can cause blockages in a person’s flow of energy. Tuning forks are tuned to different planetary frequencies and their sounds are then used to unblock a person’s flow of energy.
Her plan was to be the first black female astronaut in 1984 , following a tragic event ended her path to earn that title and would be later taken by former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison. Amet began to seek out healing methods which introduced her to tuning forks.
“I went away to college and got a degree in physics,” Amet said. “I was going to get a PhD in astronomy and be the first black female astronaut but I was assaulted. I dropped out, became a homeschooling mother, then had a reggae band and an organic food co-op and gave birth at home unassisted.” Because of her previous interest in astrology, astronomy and music, Amet got introduced to tuning forks and sound healing, a practice she used to heal from her assault.
“So I created this system of sound healing based on Kemetic ancestors and then also invented a system of 13 Month kemetic sidereal astrology and I use that in the healing,”
Amet was able to create her experience of healing from assault into something positive and now today she is sharing her method with others who are seeking out heal.