GET FOKUS’D: TALES FROM THE PORCH EXTENSIONS
The Tales From The Porch exhibition series has become a staple in the city of Buffalo. Run by Get Fokus’d Productions, the multi-medium project shines a light on artists and figures in the community with an aim to understand different perspectives and break down stereotypes. Set to open the follow-up to the series this Friday, April 28th, Aitina Fareed-Cooke who oversees the project spoke with us about the event.
“Tales from the Porch extensions gives an opportunity for emerging artists to tell their own stories based off of their perspectives of what the porch is to them,” she explained. “And so they looked at the Tales From The Porch that was created from last year and then I guided them into interpreting those stories to a certain degree and transition into how they use their own artistic mediums to tell their own porch stories.”
Fareed-Cooke who is a rapper and also the owner of Get Fokus’d, organized a large community event around the 2nd iteration of her Tales From the Porch series that highlighted local community leaders last year. With a backdrop of musical performances, vendors, and a mobile photo installation, the multimedia showing of figures like Gail Wells of Buffalo Freedom Gardens or Alexander Wright, founder of the African Heritage Food Co-op, just to name a few was to showcase positive community perseverance and representation.
This go-round is all about highlighting young emerging artists. Under Fareed-Cooke’s leadership and her production company’s apprenticeship program called Fokus’d Kreatives, the 5 selected artists will take inspiration from Get Fokus’d last exhibition and apply different artistic applications to their work including photography, film, video production, illustrations, and many more - as a response.
Learn More About These Emerging Artists Below. And Learn more about Tales From The Porch HERE
ISAAC FAREED
Isaac Fareed, artistically known as Aizyk, is a multimedia artist who is a homeschooled high school sophomore. Fareed uses photography and illustrations to show people how he views the world. Using a fisheye lens coupled with digital illustrations, Fareed gives a “porch” to inanimate objects as a way of giving a voice to the voiceless.
TALLULAH GORDON
Tallulah Gordon is a SUNY Buffalo State University student studying Experimental Media Production. Gordon's piece focuses on the role that the Jewish folktale of the golem plays throughout history and the duality of the message it tells. Printed onto large curtains, the piece is meant to be read from right to left as is from the Torah.
KAITLYN LOWE
Kaitlyn Lowe, also known as The Galactic Griot, is an interdisciplinary artist from Brooklyn with a bachelor's degree in Media Production from SUNY Buffalo State University. She feels called to tell stories of the African Diaspora that encapsulate who folks truly are and what they dream they can become through poetry, photography, and video. Lowe's work is a direct response to some of the painful first photographs of Black folks in America. Lowe’s work captures the essence of African American artists from New York City as they purposefully take up space.
MYKISS WASHINGTON
Mykiss Washington is a student at Cheektowaga Middle School and studies photography at the Contemporary Photography and Visual Arts Center (CEPA Gallery) as a Photography Works participant. He chose to use a Polaroid camera to capture images of people and locations while gathering advice. His goal is to use photography to collect stories in order to gain counsel and share knowledge with others.
STEPHEN FORMAN JR.
Stephen Forman Jr., also known as Paulie! attends SUNY Buffalo State University as a Drawing/Painting major. He draws upon his Christian faith and the Black experience to create illustrations that tell stories of those who need to be seen and heard. His contributions to the Tales From The Porch Extensions exhibition include two paintings that critique the late-stage capitalist greed that affects Black bodies and homes all over the country.
ANTHONY 1999’s “24: CELEBRATION OF THE SEPARATION” ALBUM REVIEW
“I haven’t really felt like I had a real birthday to myself in some years. This is a birthday where I actually feel like it’s my birthday.” - Anthony 1999
Anthony 1999 wants his music to speak for itself. Since the young rapper’s move from Buffalo to the West Coast a few years back, his approach toward his music has been through phases of intense passion and exclusivity. With minimal social media presence, the rising artist dropped over 8 projects last year spanning 18 tracks or more. His sounds of high-octane party music turned bass-boosted confessional raps is a result of what he calls an “incubation” stage. His most recent offering 24: Celebration of the Separation which dropped on his birthday, (March 7th) aims to be a creative culmination of his life as an adult far removed from the familiar tundras of the Queen City.”
“Ever since I left Buffalo, Ive been able to jump. I was able to leave Buffalo and jump into the outside world conversation,” Anthony 1999 explained.
Anthony1999’s experiences since his move are recounted throughout the album. From rough patches of relationships (“Pack All Your Shit”), evaluating his life (“Deep End”), and focusing on his aspirations (“Headlight”) the rapper doesn’t shy away from both his lows and highs. Touching on the bittersweet moments of living and leaving Buffalo, Anthony 1999’s project is full of catharsis: including an animosity that has fueled his consistency in commentating on his life.
“People aren't real. People aren't authentic, and I know I am the most when it comes to my music.” - Anthony 1999
Overall, “24” is another effort for Anthony 1999 to validate his experiences, and he does it with selected group of collaborators - Beno Jay, Zelly Ocho, and 1600J - attempting to capture moments as authentically as possible. Leading with his passion for life and art, 24: Celebration of the Separation is just the beginning.