We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brian Hebert. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brian below.

Brian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

A few years ago, myself and a few of the artists that I routinely work with in a collective format planned an exhibition in Havana, Cuba titled, Internationalist Spirit #2, Persistence and Resistance. I organized this exhibition in conjunction with an arts collective based in Havana called, .The Jose Marti Community Arts Collective, I took the title of the exhibition, Internationalist Spirit from a speech by Fidel Castro, describing his efforts to assist some countries on the continent of Africa to gain liberation, and why he felt compelled to help, he said, “it was an internationalist spirit”, that made him send five hundred thousand Cuban soldiers to the continent. As far as how that relates to our union with our Cuban counterparts, it speaks to the connection that we have established with the artists at The Jose Marti and how we were able to work together and build a strong relationship through our mutual love, passion and respect for the arts. The exhibition opened with a theatrical performance that eased into our opening reception that led into a dance party with wine and rum that lasted into the evening. Currently we are in the process of working toward Internationalist Spirit #3, Hand & Hand scheduled for Friday October 6 at Arts Clayton Gallery and B’Mari Events and Art Studio along with a film festival.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and have always been an artist, drawing dogs and other animals for my inspiration. I graduated from Morningside High School in Inglewood, California in 1992 and went to the HBCU, Southern University and studied art receiving my BFA in 1997. I was taught by an arsenal of working artists professors that taught us everything that we needed to know from our technical studies in drawing, painting, sculpting and printmaking along with a conceptual understanding of art to gallery coordination and installation. I enjoy painting and have a few different painting series that I have created over time, The Return of the Ghetto Bastard, Flags to Rags series and The Dope Piece of Fruit Series, both using acrylic paint. As a curator, I enjoy helping other artists push their work, helping them get their perspectives in line to further their work. As a cultural gallery our goal is to support the art, good quality art created by artists. I’m the Executive Director of Arts Clayton, Inc. a non-profit 501c3 arts organization located in downtown Jonesboro. My approach as a curator managing a cultural gallery with a mission statement to foster a thriving, creative community that engages all citizens of the county and the region in the arts. I’m proud of my contribution to the arts community in metropolitan Atlanta, I have organized and/or curated a great number of exhibitions throughout the metro for some important artists, like Kevin Cole and have worked with the best in the city of Atlanta like Radcliffe Bailey for different projects as well. Radcliffe juried an exhibition/competition that I organized in 2006 titled, 86-88 and he was present the night of the opening reception and even brought his children to announce the winner of the exhibition, which was the dynamic artist Alfred Conteh.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the best and rewarding aspects of being an artist is living your artistic life, which balances my daily life, without artmaking I’m not as balanced as a human being. Working in an environment of artists is an amazing experience and one in which every colleague understands and supports one another in each of our creative endeavors. One of the most balanced workplaces is one that supports the arts.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Society should support the young artist while they are young and stop telling the youth that they cannot make a living creating art. The lie that has been told should not be spread because it influences the parents of said children to not support the creative endeavors of their children, thinking that they cannot support themselves instead of supporting them. Society also needs to realize that art is everywhere and is needed in many more aspects of life and we need to respect the arts.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artsclayton.org
• Instagram: artsclayton on Instagram