We recently connected with Isis Kenney and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Isis thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
My work is educational, inspirational and captures the social and political environment we live in. Because of this, most if not all my work is meaningful, not just to me as the creator but to the audience, because it symbolizes a moment in our history that we need to reflect on and digest what it means for us in the present day.
One of the most rewarding experiences was working with the Hudson Valley MOCA.
I was asked to create a voting machine and artwork that represented the impact of the Suffragette movement and documented the strength and perseverance of Women collectively.
It was a storytelling piece created on vinyl and wood panels. These life size panels. Were designed in a comic book fashion, telling the story of a young woman harassed and in need of help. The story concludes with a group of women coming together to help aid the woman in fighting for justice. This superhero feminist themed artwork featured pioneering historic figures documenting the impact of Women throughout history up until the present day.
It may not seem all that exciting to tell the story but the reality is, this job came during a time of deep depression in my life.
I had just lost my father, who was my mentor and best friend. I had experienced job loss and other struggles and challenges. It was the timing of the project and the amount of work and love that I poured into this project that helped me get through my situation and believe in myself and my abilities, during a very dark time. To tell the story of triumph and victory despite all odds, truly resonated with me then and it still does.
As an artist and a woman, I have had many David and Goliath stories. The story of the little guy or girl going up against the big guy or machine. This story was equally the same but with the main character a woman fighting for justice and seeking the help from other women, while being in a crisis. I thought it was extremely powerful. As a fan and lover of Hip Hop culture, we rarely see women working together, or fighting for each other to have a voice. We always see women pinned against each other. But the reality is women in the industry do work together. We may not see it but it’s happening everyday. We need to see women uplift other women more and we need to respect the fact that we are diverse and represent many perspectives and those voices should be heard and respected.
We deserve to have voices that reflect a wide range of experiences and opinions. We deserve to be seen as strong and working together and not tearing each other down. We deserve leaders and artists and pioneers, fighting for real change and not just seeking validation and attention.
We deserve better images of women and I wanted to shine a light on the issues that women face globally. So many times as Americans, especially women when it comes to women’s issues, we think of U.S. history, or the issues facing women here in the states. Instead of recognizing that women have the same issues to be heard, seen and respected everywhere.
I don’t think the struggle we face as women is a coincidence, just like I don’t feel the struggle any artist faces is a coincidence.
When you have the ability and the power to transform minds, to nurture thought, motive and uplift, love and have compassion, you can be seen as a threat, misunderstood or categorized as oppressed. I used this project, to speak to other women, on the beauty of us and how supporting each other should not be a fad, trend or a cliché. It’s something real that we need and it’s an issue that seems to never go away.
Isis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a design and fine artist and I come from a long line of artists. My Grandmother was a fashion designer, My father was a Fine Artist, Musician and Art Administrator and My Uncle was a fashion designer and textile designer. I grew up immersed in art. Because my family consisted of artists and educators, my upbringing was very structured. Education was the key that helped my parents get into the middle class as they were the first generation to go to college. So education was definitely emphasized in my household. Unfortunately, even with my parents being educators, I was never a stellar student academically, I always struggled. I gravitated towards the arts and used that as my tool to express myself. Growing up in the 90’s, the culture of Hip Hop was dismissed and restricted by my parents. It was because of this and hip hop being a youth led culture, I rebelled. I bought every hip hop magazine that I could, I collected Basketball cards and covered my room with the posters and album covers of some of the Best MC’s.
From early on, I fought for Hip Hop and it continued throughout my life. I continued to collect my hip hop magazines and started making art from them. Telling stories of triumph and victory from the perspective of the artist, in a visual format. It was my way of persevering the culture of hip hop and continuing the tradition education, with Hip Hop and it’s artist as the subject matter.
During the time I started making this collection, I never once thought about it being sold or thought about it being a business. I didn’t even have the name, Hip Hop Fine Art. I just felt deep in my spirit that it was something that I must do. Something that I felt needed to be done. I had never seen our stories, Hip Hop in a fine art presentation. In a narrative format. I felt it was important for our stories to be told, because we listen to these artists daily, and the reality is sometimes we forget that they are people too. They have challenges too. They had to fight too. Just like a vision board, I felt it was important for me to see the people I admired captured in a way that invoked hope. I continued to build my collection and one day had a dream, of the name, Hip Hop Fine Art.
I was encouraged by my parents to trademark the name and I did. At the time I didn’t know what I was doing when I trademarked my company but I was moving forward. Once, I trademarked Hip Hop Fine Art, I started to get contacted by other business owners and executives from the Hip Hop Community. My work started to be seen more and admired. It inspired me to keep creating and expanding and I did. I started our Hip Hop Decor line and solidified various opportunities on award shows and media and podcast outlets.
My love for the culture and my determination to preserve our stories and our impact has been recognized and felt all over the world. It was not anything I expected to happen when creating it or even going back further to collecting my source magazines and holding on to them like my basketball cards. My journey has truly been a spiritual journey. Each chapter I continue to grow as an artist, expanding my skills and contributing my vision. My work has been used as an educational tool, helping nonprofits and various educational institutions, transforming minds and perceptions. My decor has been used to expand the public’s perception on hip hop interior design and home goods. I am excited about the work we’ve done so far and we have so much more to do. I can truly say that I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams. And It means the world to me to carry on the tradition and legacy of art and education.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Being an artist, you need space. Not only do I make art but I collect a ton of hip hop and sports memorabilia. Living in NYC, space is hard to come by. After receiving a big celebrity commission and losing my full time job, I decided to move to Atlanta to start over. I had enough money from the commission to buy a house, so all I had to do was get a job and get something going. I packed up all my stuff and moved out of my Harlem apartment. For full disclosure, I had been living on my own for over ten years, all of my twenties. I was proud of myself and I knew that this new move was going to be a challenge, but I don’t know how challenging it would be. When I moved to Atlanta, I moved in with my aunt and uncle, who for the most part are great people but at the time, I really didn’t know them. I had to get back to respecting someone else’s rules and their house. It was frustrating but I kept telling myself that I had a goal and I was going to win. I started looking for jobs in Atlanta and I realized it was a lot harder than I thought. I had been working since I was 14. I had never, not had a job. But this time, I had realized I was starting to notice a pattern and the pattern was the same line,” we regret to inform you, you have not been selected for this job.”
I kept trying to get a job and it was at that time, Michael Brown had been shot. Living in my uncle’s house I had no space to make the art, like I had previously done, on canvas. So I started to make digital art. More satire. Political, Educational work. With this new style and theme, it started to gain a little traction and I kept going. Eventually, I got a job and moved back to NY.
But all during that time, I kept expanding my digital art and started making designs for products. Products such as decor, dinnerware, fashion apparel and more. I kept noticing that everytime, there was a hurdle or challenge in the way, I would and could just pivot my creativity. Having this as a skill has allowed me to expand not only my perception of how far my creativity can go. But expand my brand, my clients and my audience’s perspective on how far hip hop art and design can go.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The mission of Hip Hop Fine Art, is to preserve hip hop culture, through visual art, interior design and decor. Our goal is to provide an option for Hip Hop lovers globally, to own and surround their homes with the culture they love. As Hip Hop is celebrating its 50th birthday.
We still have very limited products and we are placed in very selected industries. The home and goods industry is not just a category but an important and essential element in everyone’s life. Everyone deserves a home that has images that evoke hope and decor that provides style and comfort. At Hip Hop Fine Art that is our main goal and mission, to spread love and inspiration.
Hip Hop has yet to take over the home and goods industry. Which is why we have been a major force in recognizing how far hip hop art and culture can go and we’re proud of that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hiphopfineart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiphopfineart/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/hiphopfineart1
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isiskenney/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HIPHOPFINEART
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClvq2mQjd5S1EbmPL5dxYQQ
- Other: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/isis-kenney https://www.etsy.com/shop/hiphopfineart
Image Credits
Photo Credit: Fabian Johnson ( ATL Fabo Photos) Photo Credit: Hip Hop Fine Art “Women Warriors” ( Event Photos)