Support a Living Artist: Yetunde Sapp
Recent Gucci Changemaker Scholarship winner, Yetunde Sapp is a visual artist who explores the artistic process as the art itself with mediums ranging from machine knitting to spray brush painting. In Sapp’s evaluation of the artistic process she thought deeply about those who inspired her. She realized the divide between the handful of artists (many of whom are dead) that are routinely supported and recognized versus the rest of the (living) arts community.
Out of this realization SLAC Houz was born. The name of the art house, SLAC, is a call to action to Support A Living Artist - the “C” is for collective. Sapp explains that SLAC started as a student organization in the first half of her studies at Parsons School of Design. The idea was to create a group that encouraged artistic collaboration, community, and peer based education. The success of its initial instagram page (@slacofficial) as a resource for artists and entertainers to connect with others through a simple dm request or story re-share evolved into the formation of a physical SLAC space. SLAC Houz (@slachouz) is an experimental creative studio and production space, “meant to support artists in their creative endeavours and restorative art practices' ' located in Brooklyn. SLAC Houz can be rented out for shoots and is welcome to residencies. In addition to acting as a space for artists, SLAC intends to plan more pop-up and showcasing events open to the public in the coming years. To support the efforts of Yetunde Sapp and the Support a Living Artist Collective donate to $SLACOFFICIAL through CashApp.
Now more than ever, as Instagram’s shift to a video sharing platform threatens the artists who rely on it for exposure and income, it is important to consider the artists you already know. Buy their work, reshare their posts, donate.
*Photo Credit: Madeline McQuillan
