Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Red. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Red, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on was the Stimulus Package Tour. https://youtu.be/sqQHYhjInnc From 2016 to about 2019, I worked in Newark Public Schools at UPLIFT Academy, which was an alternative education high school for Youth that were overaged and undercredited. I created a hybrid art therapy/ art class program called Chill Art Therapy Class which utilized therapeutic arts activities to engage Youth in discussions about themselves, their families, and our community, while also satisfying their academic requirement for art class. Working in that program was one of the most fulfilling experiences in my career because I grew up in Newark, NJ and that gave me another angle to look at the city I had known for the majority of my own Youth. Seeing it through the lens of an educator and counselor, I gained understanding of why the neighborhood looked how it looked and where the gaps were in terms of helping Youth mature and grow. I learned so much from the staff and students there and that experienced nourished my political heart – you know, doing work helping Black Youth that look like me and are growing up in the same ecosocial and political game I was raised in. I told myself, as I worked there, that if I ever left that job, I would just book an Amtrak ticket and go cross-country painting on the train. This idea came into fruition in 2019 when that school closed. In September 2019, I had recently graduated from my Master’s program at New York University Steinhardt with a degree in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness. I was charged up, from being in that program and having that experience with the students from my hometown, to do some good in the neighborhood. Fast forward to early 2020, the pandemic hit and all of the police terrorism exhibitions began to flood social media. All of the terrorism the Black community faced, and the passing of those whose names are worthy of remembering yet still difficult to remember because the scripts were so similar each event coagulated into one ongoing event. 2020 was full of racial tension and stress – with Trump trumping and COVID COVIDing and police murdering innocent Black people without repercussion from the legal system – it was a lot, to say the least.
So, long story short, that idea to ride the Amtrak train was borne as a cross-country roadtrip. I drove from Newark, NJ down the east coast to Atlanta, across the South through New Orleans and Houston, to Mexico, California, and Salt Lake City, back across the Midwest through Chicago, Flint, Detroit, Cleveland, back to Newark where I culminated the trip by setting the world record for longest time painting live outside on canvas at 24 Hours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ykKXU2twUw
This roadtrip is known as the Stimulus Package Tour. https://www.themuseumofred.com/stimulus-package It was sparked by the zeitgeist at the time. Prior to the tour, I had already begun painting at random bus stops and leaving the paintings there. I had done that in Arizona, Miami, Newark, Pennsylvania, and New York. The Tour was different because I went back-to-back. I literally got in the car, drove to a location, hopped out, painted, got back in the car, and went to the next location to wash, rinse and repeat. I did this in 40 cities across the US including Tijuana, MX. I attempted to go to Canada but at that time, Canada restricted people from coming into the country and I was turned around at the border – technically, I did touch Canadian soil though. In retrospect, I could have probably just painted at the gate.
The best part about the tour was the intention and the fruition. The intention was to inspire other Black people to self-actualize. We are all talented in our own ways. We all have gifts, abilities, strengths, and callings which we may or may not pursue or showcase. When people saw me painting on street medians, 95% of the feedback I received was encouraging and positive. People were stuck at red lights and were able to watch a Black man paint at the same time. I mean, what else is there to do at a red light? Black kids sitting in the back seats of their cars were able to see me doing that and smile, or ask their parents to stop and roll the window down so they could wave or compliment what I was doing. I really enjoyed that. I felt a similar fulfillment in doing the Stimulus Package Tour that I did working at UPLIFT Academy. I faced challenges along the way, and that’s a story for another time, but my heart was full. That was the most meaningful project I’ve worked on because I was doing my life’s work. This is my legacy.
Growing up in Newark, there were always those standout guys in the neighborhood – almost imaginary but we knew they were real.. I mean they had to be real for us to see them. They were like unicorns though. One brother, a Rasta, at least I presume he was a Rasta, was an Albino brother with his locs matted into one on his head. He used to ride his bike through the hood and I remember seeing him and him standing out. He stood apart from everyone else. Also, Brothers like Uggie and D-Dog were like hood celebrities but also they felt unreal, in the eyes of a teenager, almost like mythical creatures. I appreciated the fact that I did not know them well enough to know their reality and to see their symbolism. The symbolism I took from their existence was the space for authenticity. In that same vein, me painting in the street median was my rite of passage into the pantheon. Most of the people who saw me painting in the street, may have only seen me for about 30 seconds or however long the red light was. Some, even shorter than that because they may have seen me while driving down an adjacent street. Some people took the time to double back and meet me so I may have become more real to them. But for others, I was just a figment in their imagination. And that’s dope.

Because at the same time the world was in strife, police were going through their initiations and slaughtering innocent Black life on social media, racial tensions flared and Blue Lives Matter evolved as reactance to Black Lives Matter, and the COVID-19 pandemic opened the door for Constitutional Rights to be dissolved and people to be forced into vaccinations or else lose their jobs, a Black man painted in the street. What does that mean to you?

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

My name is Red. I am an artist and philosopher from Newark, NJ. I got into this industry by putting myself here – God gave me the talents of hand-eye coordination, passion, and inspiration. I decided to see how good I could get at what God instilled in me. This is my discipline – the constant application of this ability and refinement of it over time. In my career, I’ve done indoor and outdoor murals, art exhibitions, group shows, solo shows, gallery shows, art battles, art contests, pop ups, art therapy, art classes, paint and sips, commissioned pieces, logos, covers, illustrations, one-on-one art lessons, art consultations, etc. you name it… At this point, I primarily just paint. I create work that feels authentic to me and conveys the findings from my phenomenological research. I combine art and science and I use this craft as both a tool of self-discovery and consciousness raising. What sets me apart from others? My experiences, my intentions, my motivations, my subject matter, my methodology, my process, my community, my solitude, my calling… to many things to name in one sitting. I am from Newark, NJ. There’s a lot of other things I could be doing or could have been doing with my time and the fact that I chose painting, and what I bring from those options with me into painting, differentiates me. Living in the hood is one thing but evolving to understand and appreciate from multiples lenses is another. Newark can be a beautiful place but it can also be the Valley of the Shadow of Death. And the awareness of light and shadow, and the craftsmanship to entertain the heuristics and ambivalence in this illusion of polarity, as well as the truth of duality – of presence and absence, of yin and yang, of push and pull – may not distinguish me but my ability to articulate it and hold attention on it may. I am most proud of the fact that I exist and I have a relationship with the Most High. I want readers to know that my life has been alchemy and finding ways to turn darkness into light can be a difficult process but the fruits of that labor are sweet. If anyone is looking to hire me to produce some art for them, I want you to know I take this seriously and I am dedicated to my craft. I am most proud of the fact that I woke up this morning and I have fingers to type this response and I am in my right mind to put words together to make some sense of this thing called life. I also want readers to know that you can do great things too, if you want. But if you don’t want to, you can also not do great things. You can learn more about me at themuseumofred.com.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Yes. Motivational content, motivational content, motivational content. I began listening to Eric Thomas in about 2013 or 2014 when I was a Resident Assistant at Charles R. Drew Hall at Howard University. I actually created a program for my residents that involved playing his great Guru Story. What has been helpful for me, generally, is to keep a positive word in my ear – on purpose. There’s a lot of negativity in the world so being intentional about finding some positive voice to feed one’s mind can be extremely helpful in learning to be optimistic and positive.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes. The goal is to improve quality of life using art and philosophy. The Museum of Red is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization I founded in 2017 whose mission is just that. It’s important to do a self-check – What is my quality of life? What can make it better? What’s blocking me? After that, one can make the necessary corrections. Ultimately, this is what its about. If engaging with art and art-making, and philosophy and philosophy-making can improve the caliber of the questions in our self-reflections and the rubric of our evaluations of ourselves and our communities, then we can work towards and bring into fruition better quality of life.

Contact Info:

• Website: themuseumofred.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/fineart_red
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014082047437
• Twitter: twitter.com/fineart_red
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fineart_red
• Other: TikTok: @fineart.red