[Narrator] Art Loft is brought to you by# the Friends of South Florida PBS.

Art Loft, it's the pulse of what's happening in# our own backyard as well as a taste of the arts across the United States.

In this# episode, the art of community, in Broward, taking for us by us to new heights.

Commissioner# brings us an artist love letter to his childhood home.

We head to Ohio where a public art# project is bringing cultures and generations together.

Then, South Florida locals hit# the sand for the Beach Towel Art Show.

A trio of young Broward men# are preserving history, art, and culture for future generations.

You can see# and learn from their work right now as they reach across the decades using a wide-ranging artistic# approach to document Broward's black history.

My name is Emmanuel George.

People# know me as an oral historian, a community archivist, but I# see myself as a storyteller.

This is a HAC Production.

You already know.

HAC is multimedia, you know, so we do videography,# documentary style storytelling.

We have our YouTube channel, The Hub 954.

And where it's# been compared to that of like a Vice News and PBS where we tell stories.

We also do physical# media 'cause we are very intergenerational.

So we have something for our elders as well too, who are# not really Instagram savvy or not really on social media like that.

So we have our HAC magazine.

We# have our Broward Black History Hub, collectible flashcards.

We are also working on a book as# well too, Broward Chronicles a retrospective, which is gonna be a collaboration between Shop by# Leather and myself using his photography of the landmarks he's covered and the research I've# done on people and places in Broward County.

We do oral histories, but we do it in a# documentary style running gun type way of highlighting people in a very candid way.

The Hub# is something that is telling intergenerational stories in black communities in Broward County.# We recently did an episode of Carver Ranches and we're working on Hallendale next.

We also# did Fort Lauderdale, Pompano and Liberia.

The Motor Club is also where we highlight the# car culture that's down here.

Tell us about your earliest experiences in car culture.

The car# culture is part of Broward stories.

The history, the rich history is part of our stories# of course.

The certain kind of cars, a 1971 to a 1976 Chevrolet Caprice or a Chevrolet# Impala.

You had the hard tops and you had the Verts.

The Verts are more so convertibles# just the top is off and everything like that.

What we seen was just another part of the car# culture.

'Cause you know, you have the tuners, which is like the Hondas, the Acura's kind of# like Fast and Furious type cars.

Like back in the day when they were having these custom# Hondas and they would like race and stuff like that.

That's another part of our story.

When# we look at the Beamer culture, the bike culture, the ATVs, the dirt bikes.

Motor Club is us to# like, we like to highlight all of the car culture.

We're showing that like we gotta break the# stereotypes.

When people see these car cultures, they think of gangs, they think of things that's# negative.

A lot of times it's folks who just like cars.

They get together over their interest of# cars.

They'll get together, have a barbecue or get together at a park and then they'll all ride out# together.

That's part of our culture.

All right.

Emmanuel, David, Samuel, we're the three# wise men.

All our names are biblical, which is really cool.

And we came together.

We've# been doing this grassroots.

Myself and Samuel, we were working together for a while,# collaborating on a lot of things, and then David came by Shop by Leather.

His Instagram page# is similar to mine where we archive and document history.

He does it through the photography.

I do# it through the research and data point.

And so it was only right that we collaborated and we did a# 29 days of black Broward history stash and grab.

So what I did was I went around# town and I hid money, merchandise, all kind of cool stuff for the# community and whoever found it, they find it and it was just something to# get the people involved as in bringing unity.

And then all these people would come out and# it was like a scavenger hunt.

It was called a stash and grab.

So that was our first actual# project that we did together.

It got so much great feedback that we said, "Hey man, we have# to do something else and work together closely."

We were like we want to actually stem away from# Instagram and let's actually create a platform, something that will hold longevity.

And we did, we started history, art and# culture and history has it.

Here .. We're all three creative minds and we# add to each other.

Where none of us have a big ego.

We're all empathetic# to each other and we listen to each other's ideas and we just go and do.# That's the thing, we're just doers.

We're born and raised here.

So we know# the culture, we know what people enjoy out here.

And honestly we are# the culture.

This is our city, this is our county.

So we present it# in such a good light and they love it.

It goes back to my dad.

My dad was very# big in history growing up and he taught me a lot of things that the schools# weren't really teaching me.

And then being in Broward County, I was like,# I always wanted to know more about my local black history.

And that's how I ended# up getting in touch with Dr.

Kitty Oliver who wrote the book "Race and Change in Hollywood,# Florida."

And she's been my mentor ever since.

Perfect brother.

HAC is this multimedia platform# where we preserve black roots, black culture.

Whether it's cars, fashion, media, lifestyle,# just about anything.

That's all what we're about.

Preserving, putting smiles on people's# faces and just making a better world day by day.

We actually love doing what we do.

It's not about# the money, it's about the people in the community.

We pride ourself in being preservationists.

We're all one big happy family and a# team that works collectively.

We're archivists.

We preserve and document the# history 'cause we know not all of us is gonna be here forever.

So we wanna make sure that we# capture this moment in time so that the next 30, 40, 50 years from now that the next# generation can be able to see and know what was once here.

'Cause we're# doing that for the past right now and we're capturing these moments now and# it's gonna be something similar for those who are gonna be able to pick up# where we left off 30, 40 years from now.

We out.

All right.

This is for y'all.

You know# this ain't for us.

This is for when we long gone that our culture lives on.

[Narrator] Commissioner, the arts nonprofit# bringing new collectors and artists together has teamed up with artist Reginald O'Neil to# create an ode to his vanishing childhood home.

The Rainbow Village Housing Project# in Overtown is being torn down for new commercial development.

But as O'Neil# shares in this film, its memories remain.

[Presenter] Central negro district# will be the first concrete step taken, towards the renewal of this# area.

The commission approved a 106acre urban renewal private area which will# be developed with 150 units of low-rent public housing.

This housing will be more prominent# for the elderly, and for large sized families.

[Storyteller] A place.

A place off of us we've thought.

With big green fields and plants where shade grew# big enough for us to rest beneath.

Bricks painted in the same hue as the sign.

A basketball# court that always met my elbows and knees.

My best friend's tears.

The bottom of my first# love's feet.

I once heard stories of DJ sets on the balcony.

Speakers pointed towards the# park, where dice games took place and homeboys made fragile remarks like set him down three# times before you take off.

You not down or you not getting paid.

Laughter will break the# tension and then a dub is peeled from the bank.

A dub.

A dub.

The dub.

Wild Willer.

2100.# The bow crossed the light.

20th Mean machine.

21 Jump Street.

That name was way before my# time, but I kindly ask you to remember these.

Remember these sunsets behind the oak trees,# conversations under the Porsche lights.

The best hiding spots when we were hiding go see.# Yeah.

Remember the hustlers who bought all the kids something from Eddie Lyman.

Mothers# we would stream the names of their seeds.

Loud from the diamond bar windows right before# dinner was ready.

We need to remember right now.

As we say goodbye and release doves.

This is the# place.

This is the place where you fell in love.

[Narrator] Next, we head to Ohio where a public art# .. WOSU public media documents this# mashup of artists and cultures.

Thanks for waiting.

Appreciate that.

Hi, how are# you?

Mono and I collaborated on a mural cube.

It features, some signature characters from his body# of work and some kind of more signature characters from mine.

Our styles are pretty different, but# I also think they compliment each other really well.

And we actually didn't have like a real game# plan until like the morning of that we actually started the actual painting of the project.# We've been correspondence online and stuff, but his kind of style was a lot more go with the# flow, be in the moment.

Which I appreciate that and I try my best.

But again, it's a little bit# outta my comfort zone 'cause a lot of my stuff I, when I do like symmetrical designs and stuff,# it's like really planned out and sketch.

So to be spontaneous and be like all right,# like gotta come up with it on the spot.

The collaboration with Mono was a little# different than how I normally work because I normally work by myself here in the studio# going solo.

So it would definitely was kind of pushed me outta my comfort zone 'cause not only# was I working with him, but we brought in a lot of community members as well, which is really# cool.

And I think it's 'cause it was actually, 'cause I think sometimes I take for granted that I# get to make art every day and most folks don't.

So seeing how excited they were, we were like, yeah,# pick up a brush, pick a color, come paint with us.

And it was kind of cool also 'cause we had, I# guess we both differently defined what community participation would be.

Kind of like even just# like how we let folks pick the colors for either side that they were working on and that sort of# thing.

But it was cool like again, I just kind of learned from him just like he kinda like was like# letting go and just like letting people do these things.

He's kind of like, we kept joking around# calling each other maestro, which is like boss, but like kinda how we say maestro in English kind# of conducting it was kind of like that to see this guy who's been doing it for a long time.

Which# just was kind of cool to be able to have that kind of confidence to like let go but be confident# in what the final vision would be.

So by the end, like when we tied it together and kind of cleaned# up all the lines, I think it came out really sweet.

Birds are I think motifs that we both use# in our work kind of differently.

I can speak to mine, it was kind of my interpretation of a great# blue heron.

Obviously we were right there by the Scioto river, which herons are frequent very# often.

When I first moved to Ohio, I'd never seen a heron in person and like seeing one, I was# like, what is this huge thing?

So it's always been impactful for me.

So kind of working on something# right by the river.

I thought it'd be a cool thing to feature.

The tree that his herons are kind of# coming out of.

He described it as like a drop of water, like the rings kind of coming out of it.# So it's kind of a reference to the water as well, which I thought was pretty neat.

And then the# other character on the other side of mine is kind of a glyph based off of my Taino heritage.# I'm Puerto Rican.

So the indigenous people Puerto Rico are the Taino.

And they're kind of Zemi or# God was called Boinayel of the sun.

So I kind of featured that glyph of like a sunrise, which# I kind of thought balance with the roundness of his tree.

So we try to play off each other but# still kind of incorporate our own voices into it.

There's a lot of cool little moments where we# just kind of shared and just always cool to meet new folks.

But things that kind of stood out,# there's like two things that are very different, but one, it was like he traveled with his son,# which I'm a dad too.

And his son's a, he's a grandfather so his son's a lot older and my kids# are only four and and one.

So it was kind of like a cool beautiful thing that was like, I hope that# my relationship with my kids continues to grow, that they'd wanna travel and make art with me.# Another thing I thought was like really cool and interesting that was a lot different is kind of# his just approach to muralism and public art in general.

Kind of how he created it.

He described# muralism in Chile as from the bottom up and kind of muralism here in the states is like from# the top down.

Where here it's commissioned by municipalities or businesses to create artwork,# but there it's like the people in the street creating that's kind of just was birthed from# the situations of the world that he grew up in.

I think especially kind of in the digital# age where even though we are more connected sometimes we're even more isolated at the# same time.

It's a funny balance.

So I think kind of being forced to be in a physical space# with another human being to create something, it's really important and special, 'cause I# think maybe we don't do it as often as would be helpful for us.

Yeah.

So I think it's kind of# just important in that.

And I think it also just can be an example to folks in the community# that people who have different backgrounds can come together and create something beautiful# together.

So I think that's why it's important.

[Narrator] And finally, an indie film embracing# the So.. Subtropic Film Festival and artist Brian# Butler explore an underground network of local artists gathering to share custom# beach towels in the shadow of Art Basel.

How do you get a billion dollar venue, max# capacity if anyone can come during Art Basel?

The cost of entry for an artist is $40 to make# their towel.

It's behind one of the biggest art fairs and breakdown and set up can be done# within an hour.

It's the Beach Towel Art Show.

My name is Brian Butler.

I'm hanging out with# Bocce the dog and.... Sort of helped spearhead the whole Beach Towel Art Show that we held# in Miami during art week in 2024.

It was a conglomerate of like a bunch of different creative# nodes throughout Miami's creative community.

We had representation from a bunch of# really cool crews that in their own right are really caring what's special# about Miami.

And by virtue of that, we were able to pull off the first# Beach Towel Art Show on Miami Beach.

I love towels.

There's so many different kinds of# them.

There's beach towels, there's shower towels, there's dish towels, there's towels that# you use in a restaurant.

They're beautiful, they're ugly.

There's kinds that make you# feel like you're never dry when you use them, which makes me insane.

There's like the# super crunchy ones that are like awesome.

Everyone uses towels every day unless you're a# absolute heathen, which is fine.

And it's like something that a lot of people don't# really think about.

Yeah, towels are, they're all around us.

They're mythical,# they're underappreciated, they're beautiful.

So this is the "Bootycall Towel."

Just to dive# even deeper into the butt is originally it came through like super light.

You can even see# some of the glue that melted off already.

When it came to spreading the word, anyone# I knew that was creative, I was like, did you make a towel?

Are you coming to this?

Just# do it right now.

Who cares?

Bring a marker, come through.

So it was just everyone I knew.

Didn't# matter what level they were.

If I knew they liked to be creative and they even cared remotely about# the arts, bring a towel.

Just come.

Hang out.

We all just like pulled up with some beer# and our towels and just were like, oh, what about that spot?

And put 'em# out.

And then everyone was having a great time.

Everyone's towel was like so# creative.

Just, I don't know, it was like.

[Director] Were there any stand outs?

I really liked the Flanagan's# receipt one.

It was so good.

Obviously the Flanagan receipt was just so solid.

I kept seeing the Flanagan's receipt in all of# the posts.

I was like, I gotta meet this person.

People were like, "Oh!"

I mean they# were all so good for their own reasons.

It was like such a heartwarming experience.# Like that's what comes to mind first is just how like friendly everybody.

It was like# everyone like brought their best selves to the beach with their towels and everyone# was like so excited.

In the midst of the art week and the pretensions that can be# there, it was like, it was just so nice.

Let's see here.

Okay.

This kinda make sense.

Are you comfortable?

This is good.

[Director] Did you think# people were gonna show up?

No.

No, I didn't.

Obviously we don't know what# the towels look like.

I don't know who's gonna show up.

I dunno how many people are gonna# come out.

I mean, when we first got there, there was like four of us and it was such an# exciting happy day for me to just walk around and see what everybody came up with, what their# concept of a towel is, how they approached it, what they think counts or doesn't count, what# they wanted to express.

Also, it's a towel, so you have to attach yourself to the concept that# it's a beach theme, so to speak.

For some people it was.

And so it's what would I like to take to# the beach to like lay on or use as a towel?

And that whole idea of seeing what everybody thinks# that means was absolutely fantastic.

I was really, really, really, really enjoying that day.

I# couldn't stop smiling.

It was hilarious to me.

The fact that it happens during Basel and right# behind the scope tent is so subversive in such a really cool way because it's kind of saying like,# we know that there's a monetization of creativity happening right behind us, but we're gonna rebel# against that and we're gonna do our own thing here on the sand, and we're gonna bring the joy back# into art and back into creating.

Because for me, when you take the potential of profit,# when you take the potential of prestige, when you take all of that out of it, you're really# reconnecting with the reason why I make art, which is out of the joy of just expressing.

So# there was so much joy and so much creativity there on the sand because there wasn't the# pressure of being acknowledged by the right person or seen or accepted into any kind of# tent or anything else like that.

And when you bring the joy back into creativity and# when you bring the joy back into making art, then you're really reconnecting with like what# it's all about.

It's all about community and it's all about expression.

It's not about how it's# gonna be received and how it's gonna be perceived.

Beach Towel Art show was a straight up# miracle.

I hired that guy to drive that point home.

Yes.

It's like Bernie and the Sparrow.

[Narrator] Art Loft is on Instagram @artloftsfl.# Tag us on your art adventures.

Find full episode segments and more at artloftsfl.org# and on YouTube at South Florida PBS.

Art Loft is brought to you by# the Friends of South Florida PBS.