By Joann Stevens – TPMS Board of Directors
The Riggs Park neighborhood was alive with art and celebration July 10th . Artists, neighbors and entrepreneurs from throughout the DMV convened on Riggs Road between South Dakota Avenue and Chillum Place, NE to celebrate the 4th Annual Riggs Park Art Crawl presented by Culture Coffee Too and The Parks Main Street.
The annual event was developed by Culture Coffee Too owner Veronica “Ms. V” Cooper and supported by Edwin Washington, executive director of The Parks Main Street, one of 26 DC Main Streets under the District’s Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) DC Main Streets program supporting local small businesses.
The Art Crawl highlights the Culture Coffee Too mission to be “a destination for culture, coffee, and community” and the TPMS vision “where businesses know their neighbors and neighbors know their businesses.”
Neighbors emerged on the sunny, moderately humid Saturday with children and dogs in tow to enjoy dance, Double Dutch, and live art displays along with vendors featuring handmade jewelry, crafts, tee shirts, cultural games, and to learn about a gym being built for the neighborhood.
Four-year-old Jiya, a first time Double Dutch jumper, wore out rope turners with her jumping prowess. Her aunt Elise Perry even took a turn jumping and summed up the value of the Arts Crawl for residents.
“This really strengthens the neighborhood connection,” Perry said. “Jiya likes meeting her neighbors and it gets kids excited about going to places like Culture Coffee Too.”
The work of the Art Crawl artists can be seen at Culture Coffee Too at 300 Riggs Road NE, located next to the Walmart, as well as on building murals at Riggs Wine and Liquor located at 5581 South Dakota Avenue, NE – across from Walmart.
Meet the Art Crawl Artists and Entrepreneurs
Meet the artists and entrepreneurs. If you missed them at the Art Crawl in Riggs Park, you can still enjoy their art by visiting local businesses Culture Coffee Too and Riggs Wine & Liquor, or check out the artists and vendors businesses online. The Parks Main Street will also benefit from the sale of donated art that will be sold to help sustain and support local businesses.
The Art Crawl Artists
Artists Kiki K, known as “Queen,” and Levi Robinson, called “Levi,” are paying it forward, along with other artists donating their Art Crawl paintings to TPMS, to help sustain neighborhood businesses that have supported them.
Kiki has been a painter more than 15 years. Her artwork depicts Black women’s crowns (natural hair and head wraps) and dignity, and is currently on display at Culture Coffee Too, which features new artists monthly.
“Ms. V has been a blessing to me. If my work can be a blessing to TPMS to keep someone else in business, I’m all for that. I create for us”, Kiki said.
Levi Robinson cites Ms. V as “a priceless and incredible asset to the community.” A native of Newark, New Jersey, Levi now lives in Riggs Park and participated in the Art Crawl before the pandemic, at Ms. V’s invitation.
“When Ms. V calls, I am all in.” He said he is donating his artwork to “support businesses in the area and to keep people and businesses nourished, in more ways than one.”
Zsudayka Nzinga was joined by artist husband James Terrell to promote Terrell Arts DC. Her mixed media work blends textiles, paper, and portraits to tell stories about African American culture. She says, Ms. V was the first person to “give me an opportunity” when Nzinga moved to DC from Denver a decade ago. Denver has several arts destination districts and a vibrant arts scene, “but I found more appreciation and opportunity here,” she said of the District, along with cultural understanding and year-round support of her work.
Alex “Turtle” Semidey, painting in front of Riggs Wine & Liquor, calls his self-taught style cognitive graffiti of an abstract mind. In the nearly five years he has been painting, he said art has also been his lifeline, easing depression and disconnection. Through Ms. V, he was invited into a nurturing arts community that supports and believes in him.
“I love being out here in the community,” said the Riggs park resident. “I met Mr. Hudson over there,” he said, pointing to Jay Hudson, “and he told me to go large and to go bigger. I’m going to take that to heart.”
Jay Hudson is an international fine arts and commercial graphic artist whose artwork is in anything from television animation to murals. His art direction has supported development of the Art Crawl.
“I feel like it was created on a bootstrap with myself and Ms. V,” he said, “these younger guys need linkages to the older community,” he said, to create art that doesn’t just decorate, but also facilitates meaningful self-expression and community voices that advocate and tell stories.
“Your art is your asset where you have a chance to say something, to express yourself by talking to the community, day after day. The way I was taught in art school (Southern Illinois University), your art captures a moment in time and makes it special, to make people pay attention.”
The Art Crawl Entrepreneurs
T Corrine’s Cheesecakes is a fashion image consultant with a food business offering custom cheesecakes in flavors from plain, banana pudding, key lime, and red velvet to pumpkin, caramel pecan, and strawberry, making life yummy inside and outside.
Urban Legends is the creation of Paris White, a teacher intent on inspiring African American youth with the relevant role models through the board game, trivia cards, and learning resources he created. Drawing on a book he wrote to highlight the history and achievements of African Americans in arenas such as sports, literature, and politics. “I’m telling the accomplishments of our people,” he said. “Everyone can benefit from this knowledge. History is history. These are great artists who expressed our need and pain as well as heroic accomplishments that will never die. They are legends.”
K Shavalo Boutique offers clothing with humorous or though-provoking, customized, images.
