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With social distancing and stay-at-home measures in place for the last year due to a pandemic, families are continually looking for creative ways to stay entertained. Detroit, known for its Motown sound and natural hustle, has a heavy arsenal of talent but television and mainstream music can become repetitive. Black talent continues to evolve with the times and entertainment and is in every paint stroke, screen swipe and violin chord.
Move over Painting with A Twist. For residents looking to get familiar with an easel and acrylic paints, Paint Party Detroit offers everything needed to go from finger painting to Picasso. Offering mobile paint and sip parties, Paint Party Detroit has pre-drawn prints for the entire family.
“Paint Party allows me to help people find the fun in art. Painting is relaxing and it can even be a confidence booster,” Candace Dove, owner and founder of Paint Party Detroit says.
Art has been a fixture for Dove since childhood, however, it was not until college that the native Detroiter began taking painting to a new level. And she is now gaining recognition for her work from the City of Detroit.
“I didn’t actually start painting until the end of my sophomore year at Michigan State in 2011. I switched my major from pre-dental to studio art and never looked back,” Dove says. “Michigan State definitely gave me my start and revealed my love for painting to me.”
Pulling inspiration from Blackness, the acrylics painter uses a rich history of culture as the driving force behind her work.
“I am inspired by African American culture, Hip Hop and women. Most of my pieces include one of the three. I believe my culture is absolutely beautiful and whenever I can capture a glimpse of that in my work, I am overjoyed. I often use Hip Hop artists and African American influencers in my work to pay homage to phenomenal people that look like me.”
Aside from bringing paint kits to homes across the city, Dove also offers commissioned pieces and personal works. The artist uses the opportunity to create depictions of loved ones, painting on blank canvas walls in homes, creating custom pieces for baby’s room and more.
“I believe what sets my artistry apart from other painters in the city is my creativity,” Dove says. “I don’t just recreate images, I give the image a new life, creative background and new details that make it a one-of-one.”
Screen time has shifted from the television to cellular phone and tablet screens. The continued success of social media helps artists find niche ways to get in the market and make an immediate and widespread impact. TikTok, originally launched in the States in 2016, is a video-sharing app that allows users to record short clips with creative edits and share them with followers. It has also proven to be a lucrative side business, with engagement payments going out to users with big followings and major views.
Alexis Morrow has over forty thousand followers on the app and is navigating her way to the top of the social media ladder. Together with her boyfriend, the self-proclaimed TikToker uploads a series of hilarious relationship moments for followers, giving them an inside look into her personal life.
“One day I just said what if I just post something from my camera roll? I did and it changed my life. I uploaded a video of my boyfriend playing with a mini cart that was in our Airbnb while vacationing in Houston and at the end he laughed, and one person commented and said wow he laughs like the Windex spray bottle and I needed to repost that with that caption, so I did, and it blew up within an hour. I had a million views. Today that video sits at 7.8 million views and a substantial amount of videos recreated by my new followers,” Morrow explains.
The videos kept coming, helping to build Morrow’s following on the app. Now, in addition to keeping followers laughing at the couple’s antics, trials and vacations, she also earns a fee from the app for curated content.
“When I was finally in a happy relationship and fell in love with how he treated me and the advice he would give me I was dying to share it with the world. This love got me 10 thousand followers in about two months and that is when you are able to join the creator fund on TikTok. Later on down the line I was able to gain millions of views that paid me a decent amount of money.”
The highly addictive nature of social media keeps users coming back for more. With apps like TikTok and YouTube being used for entertainment amongst millennials and generation Zers, followings and platforms are continuing to grow giving influencers new insights.
“My goal is to be a social and cultural contributor across my multiple social media platforms. I want to help people understand relationships and therapy, traveling on a budget, life goals and how they can use this same platform to do what I did,” Morrow says.
For music lovers, classical music has proven to be a relaxing way to enjoy the day. Alex Way, creator of Alex Way Music, is a classically trained violinist, Detroit native and Wayne State University graduate.
Alex played violin at the age of 12 and began singing at 19. Introducing her first studio project in 2015 and another in 2016, the inspiration for her music comes from a space filled with love.
“I got my start in church. I started singing when I was young in the children’s choir and it’s also what influenced me to want to play the violin,” Way says.
Performing with world-renowned artists such as Marcus Belgrave, Al McKenzie, and Chinelo Amen-Ra, the violinist has been a featured artist on WDIV Local 4 News, a Kresge Artist Fellow and has performed in various public spaces across the city.
“My artistry has a big focus on love,” Way says. “Love plays a part in every aspect of life and plays a huge part in the music I put out.”
With musical roots grounded in the city, Alex Way plans on shining a bright light on Detroit’s classical music scene.
“My ultimate goal is to be internationally renowned for my music,” she says.
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