SaveArtSpace has partnered with Arts in Color to bringing more public art to Washington, DC!

Art is more than painting or drawing on a canvas, it is sharing a piece of your soul with those around you. Art is expressing yourself in ways that may be too hard to communicate verbally.

The SaveArtSpace x Arts in Color selected artists are Terrell Lomax Russell, Mahalia Giesselmann, and Afrocentric Keyy - Kiarra Elliott.

Curated by Satarra Leona, founder of Arts in Color.

During the week of June 28, 2021, SaveArtSpace will launch public art installations for each selected work on bus shelter ad spaces in Washington, DC. The public art will be on view for at least one month.

Founded in 2015, SaveArtSpace is a non-profit organization that works to create an urban gallery experience, launching exhibitions that address intersectional themes and foster a progressive message of social change. By placing culture over commercialism, SaveArtSpace aims to empower artists from all walks of life and inspire a new generation of young creatives and activists.

Curator

My name is Satarra Leona. My first name “Satarra” means star in Farci. It’s a common name in Southeast Asian countries and cultures. Ever since I was a child, I was incredibly obsessed with art and other cultures. When I found out what my name meant, it made me even more interested in learning about the world. My ethnicity is African American but I was raised in Japan. My Father is an engineer and he had a job in Japan, so when I was two months old, I moved. Growing up in a foreign country, and openly knowing that people around you are different, it really shapes the way you view the world. Japanese culture was so different from African/ Black culture, I was so intrigued by Japanese society, culture, and art. Growing up in Japan is where my love for cultural art began.

I graduated from Hawaii Pacific University. I am majored in International Business. I chose this major specifically because I knew that I always wanted to be a curator or director of advancement and work on the business side of art. Also, my school doesn’t have an Art Consulting major. When I was 16, my family and I moved back to the US and moved to Washington, DC. The best thing about living in Washington, DC is being able to go to all the museums and art galleries for free. My favorite exhibit in the Southeast Asian exhibit in the National Gallery of Art. The texture and the passion that is displayed in the artwork is amazing. Also, I like how you are able to read the information on how the art came to be. I love museums because I love learning about the world. That’s why I am obsessed with Washington, DC. DC is filled with many museums to view. During Summer 2018, I wanted to further my knowledge of other cultures. I decided to study abroad in Rabat, Morocco for three months. It was my first time in Northern Africa, and I was not disappointed. The architecture in Morocco is amazing. I was amazed that all the buildings were made of clay like material, and the rectangular shape of the buildings. The best part about Morocco visually is how Islam is so intertwined with the culture. I visited many museums and art galleries and got to experience the art and sculptures of many Moroccan people. While I was in Morocco, I interned at a refugee camp. At the refugee camp, called the Orient-Occident Foundation. I taught English, business consulting to adults. As well as art to children. I loved teaching art because the look on the children’s faces when we would work on a new project was heartwarming. Studying abroad in a different country was a dream come true to me because I was able to learn about new cultures and experience a whole new world of different types of art. I enjoyed Morocco also because I was able to visit the mosques. The architecture of the mosques were some of my favorite too. The marble flooring and the designs were something I have never seen before.

Through traveling I have been able to witness some of the most unique forms of art. I hope that everyone who comes across my website is able to view the work of the artists that I represent, and emerge themselves into the mind of the artists.

Connect with Satarra on Instagram at @satarraleona.

Selected Artist

Location: 14th St NW & T St NW, Washington, DC

My name is Terrell Lomax Russell. I’m a visual artist with a focus in acrylic painting on leather and canvas.

I started my career as a visual artist in 2016. Since then, I’ve done multiple group art exhibits, as well as hosted 5 sold out art shows in the D.C area. I’ve done projects for NBA athletes and politicians, as well as child stars and musical artist. I also teach children’s and adult art classes.

Since then, I’ve been featured on different media outlets such as Refinery29, Black Art Expo, also featured by companies such as Telfar Global, and many more.

Connect with Terrell on Instagram at @handpaintedbytlomax.

Location: 14th St NW & R St NW, Washington, DC

I like to focus on the duality of the human experience. I think there are a lot of in between, ambiguous moments in life. To me, analyzing its complexities and putting those thoughts towards the canvas is a form of acknowledgment. I hope my work enables the viewer to notice life's many gray zones.

Connect with Mahalia on Instagram at @mahaliathestylist.

Location: 14th St NW & N St NW, Washington, DC

Born and raised in Southern California now living in Brooklyn, New York I started my interest in the arts at an early age. I embraced my artist journey even more in high school while attending Orange County School of the Arts- Visual Arts Conservatory. Being here solidified the seed of art expression and the artist's voice. Understanding the foundation of different mediums such as; watercolor, oil paint, and acrylic to Prisma colors and chalk I was able to take small pieces of each study and personalize them. This mix and match process helped me realize the untapped potential I had deep inside yearning to be molded into its own voice. I continued my art studies into college, diving deeper into material use and what their unlimited qualities could be. Questioning the foundation and building my own style I birthed a new way of creating. I took bits and pieces away from watercolor, oil paint, pencil etching, and even some graffiti techniques and fused them into one. 

In 2013 I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts and although now armed with a degree and the end of my college career, I found myself still having an internal dialog that reached more than just the surface of medium techniques. I reflected on questions from "Where is our representation?” to “How can I use my art to shift the dialogue?” and “How can I show up authentically in these spaces.” As a Black female artist, I want to create these spaces, evoke emotion and start conversations around art and visual representation of those from the African, Black / African American, and Afro-Caribbean diaspora. My goal is to generate a two-way engagement, involving visual interaction and telling of the stories of Black women, which creates a mutual benefit between the viewer and artist. Each painted figurative piece tells those stories that stimulate the viewer enough to pause, reflect and go on a visual journey. The different aspects of my work– whether it be the scale of the painting, the choice of recycled wood as my canvas, the vivid color usage, or the fluidity of animals alongside women– provokes the viewer to explore the strength and power of the portraiture. Through the metaphorical thermal goggles, I create a space to see the unseen - I go beyond the exterior to amplify a group of Black voices and perspectives that are more nuanced, and abundant than their traditional representations.

Connect with Kiarra on Instagram at @AfrocentricKeyy.