- (Kelly Clarkson) Following the death of George Floyd
as protest spread from coast to coast, many cities
board it up literally. Uh
But in that moment of tension artists, sense an opportunity,
check this out.
- After the death of George Floyd, we were all traumatized.
Riots ended up breaking out.
- Within a day. You just saw plywood.
Soho it's like a barricaded city.
- It was re inhabited by over 200 artists
like this explosion of creativity.
- I felt like a sense of urgency. All a sudden to create.
(upbeat music)
- Then all of a sudden the whole neighborhood was covered
in art.
- It's artists that have taken to the street as a
peaceful protest.
- We have an open exhibit to the worlds
in the capital of the worlds.
How often does an artist get to do that?
That's power, art is power.
(clapping)
- (Kelly) That's power. Art is power.
Over a year, that's such a cool thing
I'm so excited about this. Over a year later
these artists continue to use their talents to beautify
their city and create social change.
That makes them good neighbors y'all.
So from the Soho Renaissance factory,
please welcome Amir. Sulay and Constance
(clapping)
- (Constance) Thank you.
- Oh
- They, they walked out here a minute ago and I was like,
I just feel shamed.Like you're so cool.
Like it's like certain, like it's like being around dancers.
I was telling them,
it's just like you walk in and you're just cooler.
It's fine, um, but I want to introduce you to Melissa.
- (Melissa) Oh what a pleasure.
(clapping)
- It's such a beautiful face.
- (Constance) Thank you.
- (Kelly) I absolutely just that, even just that small
bit of that package we got to see
like, it's just such a beautiful thing. We all are doing.
So uh to Constance and Sulay specifically
take us back to the death of George Floyd.
This was a tough moment for this city, right?
- It was beyond tough. It was so scary. Uh
Everything. First of all, we were like in the pandemic,
everyone was home, there was a curfew
and we didn't know what was going on.
Like people were, were dying and you know,
everyone needed healing.
And so when George Floyd was killed,
literally the city exploded. You know,
there were riots, uh this is uh in, in Soho specifically.
Um, it was just boarded up. You know, it was,
it was really apocalyptic.
- I was born and raised in New York city and we've been
through all sorts of huddles hurdles, 911 for example.
- And huddles
- You're trying to figure it out.
- Exactly.
Um but we've watched it go through all sorts of stuff.
And I'd never seen New York city, like this,
imagine times square, completely empty,
no street performers, trains are empty.
- It's scary
- It's really, it was very, it was,
it looked apocalyptic to,
to be there, but.
- And especially see a place you grew up like that.
And then you see the live kind of stolen from it.
- (Sulay) Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Literally, literally
- Yeah
Um well Amir, you're experience was especially
difficult, right?
- Yeah, um. Actually my grandfather had owned a funeral home
and um Brooklyn and I actually was helping him carry
a lot of the bodies during COVID. and
Thank you, um
actually during the protests when George Floyd
had died, it invigorated me to go out there
and really get into it.
And the first piece that I made was this piece called set
our Kings free. And with this piece,
it was a black man with a chain around his neck because when
I saw that video,
that's the first thing that came to mind for me to paint.
- (Kelly) Oh my God.
(clapping)
- (Kelly) And also the moment that you just
like brought total tears to my eyes, like how amazing it is.
That's what I love about artists who, you're so open.
They're so vulnerable, not everybody's in a couch.
We'll just hold hands and be like, no, I got you
you're having a hard time. No, I know,
but that's not everybody has that.
There's so much to learn from the arts and even how you are
socially interacting with people,
how you're moved by things, how you're open to things.
I feel like music, Melissa is very much a huge impact.
- (Melissa) This is huge. Just, just the arts in general.
I think that's, COVID really took so much that away from us.
So we were, this, this explosion that happened and you know,
and I sat home and watched it like everybody else that
wasn't out there being in it.
And so grateful to finally feel like this,
pushed it over the edge that we are not going back.
- Yeah.
- (Melissa) Grateful to, to all of you
and the art then stays, it reminds us, moves it on.
Thank you.
(clapping)
- (Kelly) And from tragedy like what
beautiful things can happen. What change can happen?
I love just seeing all that art and I love that. Like,
it was a horrible thing that happened,
but look from that horrible thing.
Imagine all the other artists like you, that like, okay,
I'm done, I'm tired.
Like something needs to happen in that.
And what art will come from that to really progress us,
hopefully as a nation and as worldwide, you know, as,
as humans, um, and so Constance for those
who might not know, tell us about the Soho
neighborhood in New York.
- (Constance) Yeah, so Soho is in lower Manhattan
and it's traditionally, you know, right up
until the shutdown it was like a mall, very like boujwa
bougie mall. But you know, in the eighties and seventies,
artists had gone there and they are the reason you know that
businesses followed there is be factories.
The artists moved in Warhol, Basquiat, you know,
Grace Jones, you know, um, Soho right now.
It looks a lot different, you know, it's opening back up,
but we put a ton of artwork there and we're really trying to
work with artists to fill up some of those spaces and,
and drive business back into the neighborhood.
- Absolutely. You need it.
The neighborhoods need it. Absolutely.
And then, like you said,
how I think people will move to those neighborhoods and
inspire, you know, you said all those people
were attracted cause of the artistic community.
I think that's true in all facets of life.
I think people are inspired and that's what's gonna
help people move towards progression.
That is my hope. I think that's a lot of our hopes
So your work didn't end in the streets, right?
So what happened since last summer?
- We'll we've been painting on a daily basis, coming down,
traveling to the Soho neighborhood.
And it was after, yeah a few months
at the general manager for the NoMo Soho hotel
had enjoyed our work on his commute and invited us
to use what they're neglected space, which was their club,
which was, they couldn't use at the time.
And people aren't really traveling. So they have low,
really low occupancy. So they invited us to use that,
create an artist residency.
So we got to use their club as a workspace and studio
gallery and then have a space to sleep and then have a
headquarters, you know,
without having to travel, um
- (Kelly) Yeah
- For long island or just for.
- (Kelly) In a safe place for y'all to just kind
of be with each other and then while you're creating
that is a beautiful thing.
- (Constance) Yeah
- (Amir) At, at the very beginning, when we were, um
when we moved into the hotel, it was absolutely empty.
It was nobody there. It was no guests. It was, they
literally had a 2% occupancy rate at the very beginning
of the time that we were living there.
- Wow
- and as time went on and as we built stuff out
in the hotel, more and more people started to come back
and now it has a full occupancy rate
back to where it was before COVID and it's.
- (Kelly) The power of that, yeah
- Exactly.
- (Constance) And it didn't, and it's like, really um
it's really cool because we put so much artwork in there.
So we have some of the original boards that came off of the
wall. And then also we put murals in there, you know,
and it's been our, our headquarters, but it really shows
the power of art and community because all a sudden
you know, Soho was a community again, it was a mall
and then the shutdown, but when we were painting,
you kind of saw people walking their dogs and like the
elders and the people that have been there since the
- seventies and the sixties
- Literally
- that knew, you know, the Boskey yachts and they
recognize what was happening.
So it's, it's been, it's been amazing.
Like I'm so inspired by by the
- Yeah the gratitude
- by these people
- The communities that we've worked on
- Oh my gosh, but it does remind me of when you burn
certain fields, like when you burn certain fields,
you burn it to the ground, you just get,
and you start from scratch.
The soil becomes so much richer and, and you, it progresses.
And I think that it's kind of a nice metaphor.
I think that's what's happened.
- It had to change.
- I think that that's what has to happen all over.
- I think so, yeah
(clapping)
- I love the richer need richer soil, um
Well Melissa why do you think people don't always
realize how art and artistic expression can bring
a community together?
Why do you think we forget that?
- Well so often so many of our, uh communities are we
we're separated and and we watch television and
and in our schools, art, isn't uh taught to be appreciated.
Um, you know, we have to pass it on.
We have to make it available to our, our,
the younger generations. We have to you know teach them.
And instead of, kind of nowadays, we uh
you have to find it on your own. And I think,
- Yeah
- I think uh just putting it in public places is,
is one wonderful.
- The best thing about street art
- It's for everybody
- What's next for Soho Renaissance factory?
- Uh, so right now we're looking for more
great partnerships. You know, we've been with the NoMo,
that residency is ending now. It actually was supposed
to be six weeks, it's been a year
(laughing)
- and it's been really really cool.
So we're looking for other um places to take this model,
to engage with other artists and, you know, just,
I want to be able to, to take what we have learned
and teach other people how to do that, give that model
for building out a residency, fill some of these spaces
up and bring businesses back. But, you know, with the
artists, like make it really interesting.
- Absolutely.
- Yeah
- All right. We reached out to society six
and artist-driven online marketplace that sells unique
wall art, home decor and lifestyle goods
featuring designs by independent artists, which is amazing.
Um, they love the work that y'all are doing and they want to
help you continue to grow.
So they're going to give you $10,000 to help out.
(clapping)
(laughing)
- And what?
Hold it here
- No and that's what's what's amazing is that I
really want to see, like,
what next I want y'all to come back whenever you're in front
of your next spot like so we can highlight it.
- Let's do it.
- Okay, okay I'm here for the week look listen
- All right
(laughing)
- I'm here on live like, like kelly you know
(laughs)