During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, local artist Vixon Sullivan and several other artists joined together to form an art collective as a way to continue their work throughout the shutdowns caused by the virus.
That collective, known as the Space Makers, persisted through the pandemic and is now set to present its third art show, titled “Making Spaces: Celebrating Black History Month,” in honor of the month, which is held each year throughout February. The group’s artwork will be on display until March 2 in the Lucile Parker Gallery, located in the Asbury Academic Building on the campus of William Carey University.
“Just supporting one another – that’s the main (motivation),” Sullivan said. “We kind of act as a resource to encourage and lend helping hands, and we just want to be an inspiration.
“In regards to Black history, the people before us – whether they knew it or not – (inspired us). I know what we’re doing right now, people will look back at they’ll have an advantage. This lets us do for the future what other people have done for us.”
The art show, which is free and open to the public, will feature work from several local artists: Josh Ferguson, Jonathan Sims, Zay Morris, Dominique White, Xenx Proctor, Kole Sutton, Nathaniel James Lias Jr., Ciera Hill and Sullivan. The various mediums include pottery, paintings, metalwork and fiber art.
“(Fiber) art kind of lends itself to fashion, because it’s mostly garments but one guy made a denim couch this time,” Sullivan said.
The Space Makers have held three previous shows: one at the Mobile Street Festival and another at the University of Southern Mississippi.
“Every time (we’ve done a show), people really appreciate us sharing our perspective and doing what we do in the community,” Sullivan said. “They just appreciate us having the courage to put our work out there and have a presence in the community.
“There’s more artists in the community, so I think it’s always refreshing when artists show their work, because it can inspire other people to display theirs.”
