On Tuesday, November 16, The Genesis Collective announced the winners of their art invitational for Black creatives in Beaver County, “Being Black in Beaver County”. Aliquippa artist, Marlon Gist, won first prize of $1200 for his painting Gist Ave. Latonya Owens, a photographer also from Aliquippa, won second prize of $1000 for her photography series, Unspoken Dreams. Beaver Falls content creator, Seth Whitted, won third prize of $800 for his mini-doc, White Comfort. The competition was the first of a three part plan to advance the voices and visibility of artists of color in Beaver County.
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- Marlon Gist, won first prize of $1200 for his painting Gist Ave.
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- Latonya Owens, a photographer also from Aliquippa, won second prize of $1000 for her photography series, Unspoken Dreams.
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- Seth Whitted, won third prize of $800 for his mini-doc, White Comfort.
The second phase of this initiative is a free, public art exhibit at The Upper Room (722 Ohio Ave.) in Midland on November 19 at 7 p.m
All are welcome to view and 17 submitted pieces from the competition and enjoy light refreshments. Some of the pieces will be performed in person at the event. The goal of this work is to highlight and celebrate the diverse gifts and artistic products of all who submitted work.
The third phase of this work will be the placement of paid teaching artists, pulled from those who submitted work for the competition, in three organizations serving predominantly Black youth in Beaver CountyThe Center in Midland, Neighborhood North: Museum of Play in Beaver Falls, and Aliquippa Impact, in Aliquippa. Artists selected from competition submissions will conduct a month’s worth of classes in art quilting, spoken word writing and performance, and children’s book writing.
The Genesis Collective is funding these efforts through generous support from the Heinz Endowments and Pittsburgh Foundation, who supplied grant funding through their Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh Initiative.
About The Genesis Collective
The Genesis Collective is a diverse group of artists, activists, and organizers who exist to support artists and their work, increase the public’s access to art and creativity, and come alongside community development efforts through art and media. The Genesis Collective can be found at gcollective.org and on Facebook and Instagram by searching @gcollectiveart. You can also email questions to hello@gcollective.org
