Come see the work of this years 2024 featured visual artists and more
to be announced.
Each year we are proud to highlight the works of local black artists and others from within the Tampa bay Area and regions outside of the area to showcase work that's making an impact.
Brought to you by The Factory St. Pete, DYG Art 4 the Soul, GALLERY 909 St. Pete, P.D.A.P. , and
Dreammakerz Productions
(MORE UPDATES AND INFO TO COME)…
BAFF Nick Davis 2024 ARTIST OF THE YEAR
RAHEEM FITZGERALD
When you meet Raheem Fitzgerald (b. 1997, St. Petersburg, FL), you don’t forget him. He is someone who lives an artistic life, which is to say, by all appearances, each of the decisions he makes that contribute to one’s perception of him (hair style, clothes, demeanor, etc.) are intentional, informed by an artful tradition that preceded him, and ultimately model a grander vision for himself and society at large.
Raheem Fitzgerald’s work allows us to indulge in his belief in the idea of the
masterpiece as an achievable aesthetic pursuit at a time in which most have become disillusioned with the implication that the current economic and social order represents any semblance of a meritocracy. Far from naïveté, and even farther from an endorsement of the traditional evaluation of fine art, Fitzgerald’s work yearns for a renewed widespread societal embrace and enthusiasm for visual art reminiscent of that of the Années folles in 1920s France, underscored by the hypothesis that if one should hope to catalyze the resurgence of an era defined by artistic icons creating masterworks between conversations at the café, one must present themselves as an icon, learn their language, and dare to pull up a chair.
Raheem Fitzgerald’s work allows us to indulge in his belief in the idea of the
masterpiece as an achievable aesthetic pursuit at a time in which most have become disillusioned with the implication that the current economic and social order represents any semblance of a meritocracy. Far from naïveté, and even farther from an endorsement of the traditional evaluation of fine art, Fitzgerald’s work yearns for a renewed widespread societal embrace and enthusiasm for visual art reminiscent of that of the Années folles in 1920s France, underscored by the hypothesis that if one should hope to catalyze the resurgence of an era defined by artistic icons creating masterworks between conversations at the café, one must present themselves as an icon, learn their language, and dare to pull up a chair.
BAFF 's ARTIST IN MEMORIAL... NICK DAVIS
Late December 2022 the St. Pete Arts Community lost a Digital artist that was definitely on the rise and soaring to higher heights in the arts due to complications from Epilepsy. Nick Davis, gifted at drawing and painting, took up computer generated artwork, and dedicated himself to making impressionistic portraits of African Americans – from the everyday to the well-known – as part of a collection he called Black is Beautiful. On his website, ndartlife.com, Davis wrote “My mission is to show black people living comfortably.” This he did and more.
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Photo from chimpwithcan
