By Hailey Stangebye

Photos courtesy of Evan Williams

Evan Williams is redefining caricatures.

His aim with these caricature-esque portraits is not to poke fun or demean, but, rather, to honor and pay tribute to cultural icons. The ultimate goal is to tell a story.

Evan’s story as an artist begins at a very young age. He says his interest in art started when he was just 8 or 9 years old. Throughout his childhood, Evan bounced from town to town whenever his father moved for his military career: Colorado, Virginia, Kentucky — even Belgium — and, ultimately, Ohio.

“My mother and father did a really good job of encouraging me and giving me the tools I needed to further myself,” Evan says. “I was always one of those kids who, when given the choice, would stay in the house to draw and paint. I’ve always been a more creative type.”

“I was always one of those kids who, when given the choice, would stay in the house to draw and paint. I’ve always been a more creative type.”

In high school, Evan became more serious about his craft. That was due, in part, to the influence of a few memorable teachers who empowered him to pursue his passion. He went on to graduate from the Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) and, today, he’s a visual storyteller in this city.

After a hiatus from his pursuit of the arts, Evan returned to his craft about 10 months ago.

“I got my art pad out and started sketching again. Then, I got my computer out and I created my own brushes in Photoshop. I started playing around and dusting the rust off, and I’ve just been seeing a lot of returns on my efforts,” Evan says.

In Oct. 2018, Evan became a RAW artist. RAW is an international community of creatives that hosts platforms for expression both online and off.

“Right after Thanksgiving, RAW had a big event here, locally. I got into that event. It was a huge show, and I got a lot of great feedback from it,” Evan says. “Since that, I’ve been trying to pump out as much stuff as I can.”

Evan is accepting commission pieces, working on a children’s book and selling prints. He also reached out to Columbus businesses — tattoo parlours, coffee houses, barber shops and more — to hang his work around the city. So far, the response is encouraging.

“It’s kind of weird to see someone react in an overwhelmingly excited way about something I’ve made. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, I do,” Evan says. “It’s just unusual to see something you create that can generate so much joy and laughter and happiness in someone’s life. That’s rare.”

“It’s kind of weird to see someone react in an overwhelmingly excited way about something I’ve made. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, I do. It’s just unusual to see something you create that can generate so much joy and laughter and happiness in someone’s life. That’s rare.”

Evan’s Work

By Hailey Stangebye

Photos by Marshall Shorts

On Valentines Day, the Gateway Film Center will host a special screening of “My Great Day in Harlem” for children from Columbus City Schools.

The documentary, which follows five local artists on a landmark journey to Harlem, was originally released at the Gateway Film Center on Nov. 30, 2018. On Thursday, it returns to the big screen to inspire the young minds of Columbus. After the film, these lucky kids will have an opportunity to ask each of the featured artists questions about their experiences and the realities of being a creative in this city.

“My Great Day in Harlem” is more than a documentary. It’s an opportunity for kids in our community to connect with and relate to passionate creatives. The people featured in this film are our contemporary trailblazers. They’re our role models for the next generation.

Meet the stars of “My Great Day in Harlem”

TRIPP FONTANE

“Art is not a right. It is a necessity by virtue of the people… I believe that art is the translation of the cosmos.”

Originally from the small town of Xenia, Ohio, Tripp Fontane moved to Columbus to find new opportunities in the realm of poetry. Before breaking into the spoken-word scene, Tripp focused primarily on rap. That all changed when he went to an open mic and decided to perform a song without the beat. People started calling him a poet, and Tripp says he still hasn’t corrected them. Today, he boasts international acclaim.

SAMARA TILLMAN

“We have so many talented people here. I think that the vision for the future of fashion in Columbus is bright.”

Samara was born and raised in Columbus. She left for college, but after graduating from Kentucky State with her degree in fashion merchandising and business management, Samara returned to Columbus where she ultimately opened a fashion boutique in 2005. For the next five years, she ran boutiques all around the Columbus area. Today, she runs a dance studio and continues to design. She plans to release her next clothing line in fall of 2019.

JAY SWIFA

“Whether I affect one person, or five people, or a million people, I just feel like I have insight to add on the world today.”

Jay is a musician who hails from the north side Columbus, but he feels close to every corner of the city. He grew up surrounded by creative energy — his father was a musician and his mother was a dancer. With all of those influences, Jay developed a witty, creative sound from a young age. After lots of success with his former group, Fly Union, Jay set out to work on his solo sound.

PERCY KING

“The older I get, the more I understand what it means to celebrate your heroes. My work celebrates heroes.”

Percy is a Columbus native who was raised on the south side of the city. He says that he’s always been an artist and a creative, but he didn’t think of pursuing art as a career until recently. Instead, Percy devoted most of his time to his football career. His creative outlet over the years became woodwork and home improvement. Today, he’s transitioned that passion for woodwork into fine art portraits carved out of layers of wood.

LORI LINDSEY

“Whenever I am honored to dance in front of other people, my goal — my intent — is to move them. Whether it’s to think a different thought, to take action on something, maybe it’s just to brighten their day or to  give them hope. It’s more than steps to a song.”

Lori has lived across the globe, from Dublin to L.A., but she’s originally from Columbus. Her passion is dance, which she started at only 3 or 4 years old. In high school, Lori briefly stopped dancing after hearing hurtful gossip from the dance community. Today, she’s proud to say that she doesn’t let someone else’s opinion define her or determine her future. Now, Lori inspires young dancers at Elite Performance Academy.

By Hailey Stangebye

Photos courtesy of Alvoyce Douglas

Alvoyce “Voszi” Douglas began drawing fashion designs from a very young age. Four years old, to be specific. She says that while she and her brother, Sylvester, waited for school to start they would draw characters. They drew an ongoing saga that they called “The Lovers.” He drew the male figure and she drew the female. And — as is to be expected — Voszi’s character was always impeccably dressed.

Today, Voszi is a Columbus-based fashion designer with two clothing lines: Voszi Designs and the Alvoyce Collection. She’s also an artist who designs jewelry and accessories.

“I always wanted to be a designer. I didn’t know that I’d have to make clothes. I really thought somebody was going to sew for me because I was so fabulous,” Voszi laughs. “I drew my whole life. But I started sewing when I was 25.”

Learning to sew had a profound impact on Voszi’s style. She quickly developed a dislike for patterns. Instead, she prefers to sew more freely. The pieces in her collection are versatile, bold and, above all, undeniably Voszi.

“I do one of a kind designs. No buttons, no zippers and no patterns. And I make everything this way: coats, jackets, dresses, accessories, everything,” Voszi says. “I use a lot of colors and I like to mix patterns together. My clothes aren’t conservative at all. When myself or a client is wearing one of my designs and walks into the room, some people might love it. Some people might say, ‘Oh, that’s too much.’ Some people might not like it at all. But everyone will notice it.”

“I use a lot of colors and I like to mix patterns together. My clothes aren’t conservative at all. When myself or a client is wearing one of my designs and walks into the room, some people might love it. Some people might say, ‘Oh, that’s too much.’ Some people might not like it at all. But everyone will notice it.”

Voszi and her designs stand out in a crowd. She’s never been one to shy away from honest self expression. That’s, in part, why she developed her own annual fashion show.

“When I started in 1982, people wouldn’t let me do shows. A lot of them weren’t feeling what I was doing,” Voszi says. “So that’s how I kind of birthed having my own show.”

In 2018, Voszi hosted her 36th annual fashion show. And she has no intention of slowing down. In fact, this year Voszi might host two fashion shows in Columbus — one in the spring and one in the fall.

Despite the resistance Voszi faced in Columbus during the start of her fashion career, she managed to pave a way to success. The places that once rejected her designs now proudly include them in shows. Now, Voszi hopes to create a space that supports emerging designers.

“I’d like to see more boutiques for small business people to show their clothing. I also plan to have my own fashion house and studio space with an area for emerging artists because I remember what it was like,” Voszi says. “Fashion is just important to me. So is art. That’s because fashion is art. To me, fashion is the art that you’re wearing.”

“Fashion is just important to me. So is art. That’s because fashion is art. To me, fashion is the art that you’re wearing.”

Contact Voszi

Voszi Designs: 614.483.4099

alvoyce.douglas@gmail.com

By Hailey Stangebye

Photos courtesy of Tripp Fontane

A bus ride changed Tripp Fontane’s life.

He was leaving Dayton and heading to a poetry workshop in Cincinnati. As he settled into his seat, the older man next to him struck up a conversation.

“He looked like he was maybe in his 70s. You know, the elevator didn’t necessarily go all the way to the top floor anymore. So he was drifting in and out of the conversation,” Tripp says.

The chatter started simply enough: Where are you from? Where are you going? What do you do? Tripp said that he was a poet, and, in a twist of fate, the older man said that he, too, was a poet. The man began to list names of artists he’d studied under and his friends in the industry.

“And then he just stops and looks off into space,” Tripp says. “And he said, ‘I want you to know something. We’re doing this wrong. We’re doing it wrong.’”

Tripp, a bit caught off guard, asked what he meant.

“As that man starts to pull it together, he said something that has stuck with me and it really changed my life. He said, ‘Art. We’re doing it wrong. Art is not a right. It is a necessity by virtue of the people. Art should not be seen as a luxury, but as, instead, one of the last spiritual languages that we have left.’ And that really shook me to my core,” Tripp says. “And I believe that. I believe that art is the translation of the cosmos.”

“He said, ‘Art. We’re doing it wrong. Art is not a right. It is a necessity by virtue of the people. Art should not be seen as a luxury, but as, instead, one of the last spiritual languages that we have left.’ And that really shook me to my core. And I believe that. I believe that art is the translation of the cosmos.”

Tripp’s artistic medium of choice is spoken-word poetry. But that wasn’t always the case. While he wrote his first poem in the fifth grade, he didn’t embrace it as his vocation until college. Originally, he focused primarily on rap.

“The music I was making wasn’t necessarily appealing because it wasn’t, sonically, what people wanted to hear,” Tripp says. “I don’t consider myself a conscious artists, per se, but my music has been pretty reflective of my life and the lives of those around me. That’s just not the music that was poppin’ at the time.”

His luck changed when he decided to go to an open mic. He watched a young lady perform a spoken-word poem and, while he was familiar with the medium, it wasn’t at the forefront of his mind at the time.

“When I saw her, it kind of all came crashing back, like, ‘Ah man, if I just do one of my songs without the beat, then they don’t really have a choice but to listen.’ So I did it, and people started calling me a poet, and I still haven’t corrected them.”

“When I saw her, it kind of all came crashing back, like, ‘Ah man, if I just do one of my songs without the beat, then they don’t really have a choice but to listen.’ So I did it, and people started calling me a poet, and I still haven’t corrected them.”

Today, Tripp is a big fish with international acclaim in the spoken-word community. In fact, he was recently commissioned to write a piece that he’ll perform next year in Cuba. He’s also one of only five Columbus artists who traveled to Harlem, New York as a part of the city-wide Harlem Renaissance campaign.

That reputation didn’t bloom overnight, though. It took years of practice and persistence to overcome each obstacle he encountered.

“I think one of the huge problems I had early on was just the lack of opportunity,” Tripp says. “Spoken word is still very much underground, as popular as it has been, as popular as its getting now, it’s still a very underground thing. Which I love.

“But, in Dayton, before I became the big fish, I couldn’t get anything. The few shows that there were, no one was trying to book me. And I was performing for free, so I use the term ‘book’ loosely. I was going to Cincinnati for free. I was driving up to Columbus for free. I was driving to Indy for free.”

The limited amount of opportunities in Dayton proved all the more challenging given Tripp’s personal circumstances.

“You get used to the odds being stacked against you. I think any impoverished person, often, is reduced to survival. You don’t necessarily have the luxury of looking down the road and planning long-term,” Tripp says. “You’re really worried about whether you’re going to get this next meal, whether the lights are gonna be on tomorrow, whether you’re going to be able to keep the fridge running and put food in it, you know what I mean? So, a lot of times, I would defeat myself before I ever tried because of my circumstances.”

“You’re really worried about whether you’re going to get this next meal, whether the lights are gonna be on tomorrow, whether you’re going to be able to keep the fridge running and put food in it, you know what I mean? So, a lot of times, I would defeat myself before I ever tried because of my circumstances.”

Despite the obstacles — or, perhaps, because of them — Tripp continued (and continues) to write poetry. That’s because he sees poetry, and art in general, as essential. His craft is not a luxury. It’s a force that reflects and changes the world.

Though he doesn’t tend to dwell on the past, Tripp says that he witnesses the similarities between the Harlem Renaissance 100 years ago and the cultural climate today. He posits that we’re currently in a Renaissance of our own.

“There’s this influx of art. Everybody is picking up a camera now. Everybody is a blogger, everybody is a vlogger, everybody is a writer, everybody is a poet. There is this push against what we are told we are supposed to be, and what we’re told we’re supposed to be doing and the path that we’re supposed to take,” Tripp says. “Every revolution, every cultural shift, every societal shift starts with art. Whether that’s an orator, whether that’s a painter, whether it’s a poet, whether it’s an engineer. Everything starts with art.”

Tripp channels this momentum of revolutionary change in his poems. Not just because the words are beautifully true, and not just because he’s talented, but because art is a necessity by virtue of the people.

Tripp’s poetry is one of the many signs that we’re in a Renaissance. He says that if we’re plugged into this reality and this moment, then we can take a movement and change the course of history.

Tripp Fontane’s Work