Overlooked, underutilized and underpaid is how Terri Bailey said she would characterize the Black artistic community in Gainesville.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Bailey has witnessed firsthand how Black culture is “disappearing” from the neighborhoods she loves, she said. Now, as the owner of the Bailey Learning and Arts Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to community outreach, education and social justice through the arts, she’s committed to creating community spaces for Black artists.
On Feb. 15, in partnership with the Bailey Learning and Arts Collective, the City of Gainesville hosted the fifth annual “Celebration of Black Love, Art and Poetry.” The event welcomed over 50 audience members and boasted a speaking list of multiple local visual and performing artists. From musicians to painters to poets, the Santa Fe College Downtown Campus came alive with themes of Black love and community.
The event celebrated “Black love,” a term which focuses on fostering a sense of community and embracing one another among Black individuals. With themes ranging from romantic relationships to race relations, participants reflected on what being Black means to them.
Bailey’s first published book “Gainesville Proper” and documentary “When the Music was Cheap and Damn Near Free!” also made their debuts at the event, both on the topic of the rich Black history and experiences within Gainesville.
Events with an emphasis on coming together are more important than ever in the current political climate, Bailey said.
“We have to tell the stories so that we can preserve the history, so that our kids can understand they have value,” she said. “Because if you turn on the TV and you walk through neighborhoods right now, kids don't see themselves represented.”
However, making an event focused on lifting the voices of minority artists does come with its challenges, she said, particularly with financial strains from the state.
In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed all state arts and culture grants. Over $1 million was requested from Alachua County organizations alone, and though some applications were initially approved, all funds were later denied.
When the event was first hosted in 2019, Bailey said she received $5,000 to do the event. This year, the budget was only $1,000. She always pays her artists for performing, so she said she’ll most likely have to make up for the deficit out of her own pocketbook.
“[But] it's never going to discourage me or dissuade me from presenting a space and a platform for Black artists and performers [and] Black businesses and entrepreneurs to come and present themselves,” she said.
The City of Gainesville will continue to do everything in its power to help nonprofits affected by budget cuts, said Carol Velasques-Richardson, cultural affairs manager for Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.
Gainesville leadership will continue to offer as much support as possible to as many organizations and individual artists as possible within the city, she said.
Black History Month events like the “Celebration of Black Love, Art and Poetry” are meant to celebrate culture, she said.
“We want to celebrate our neighbors that live within our city,” Velasques-Richardson said.
Poetry is more than just an art form, it’s a lifestyle, said Alachua County Poet Laureate E. Stanley Richardson. His inspiration for writing comes from life, he said, because everything is poetry.
Richardson practices Black love everyday as a Black man, he said, but the event acts as a place to create connection and community.
“It's difficult to explain unless you have the experiences of a Black person to understand how important it is to have certain spaces to celebrate Black love and joy specifically,” he said.
Richardson grew up in Alachua County and said he remembers when there was no representation for people who looked like him.
When he was a kid, seeing a Black person on TV was so rare that when it happened everyone would call their friends, he said. Black people weren’t a part of the mainstream media when he was younger.
As someone who remembers segregation, it wasn’t as long ago as younger generations perceive, he said. Richardson was in second grade when integration took place in Alachua County.
Living in a tension-filled political environment, there’s a need to focus on love instead of hate, said Tiffany Chisholm Pineda, a Gainesville-based poet.
Chisholm Pineda was formerly employed by UF in one of the DEI positions cut in March 2024 by DeSantis.
“In this climate, it is more intentional to buckle down on love, to buckle down on connection, and to see how we are all connected,” she said. “We're more the same than we are different…it only takes a little bit of light to dispel darkness.”
Chisholm Pineda’s identity as African American, Creek and Seminole is central to her work, she said. Living in a culture based on oral storytelling, Chisholm Pineda takes a holistic approach to her writing where it’s impossible to separate her from her art. Poetry is for the whole person: the heart, the emotions and the spirit, she said.
Artists need to recognize that what they create and the work they do is important, she said.
“Even if it just matters to one person, that person is important enough for you to focus on them,” she said.
Her emotions and depiction of reality is what inspires Tesnie Louissaint, a 21-year-old UF nursing senior and president of UF’s Living Poet’s Society. Attending events like Black History Month art exhibitions and growing up around strong Black women helped Louissant find her own voice and reinforced the need for unity within her community, she said.
Black art is important to be expressed in all forms because it tells history and encourages connection, she said.
“My identity as a Black woman honestly helped me to understand what it means to be heard and be seen,” she said.
Events like the “Celebration of Black Love, Art and Poetry” are necessary to show that Black people don't need the government’s permission to express themselves, said Turbado Marabou, a Gainesville-based muralist. He was selling paintings he’d created at the art showcase, most of which were inspired by African and African American folklore and mythology.
Even if society doesn’t want to look, he said the Black community will continue meeting to celebrate art.
“Where would America be without the Black aesthetic?” he asked. “Where would America be without Black history?... It's not just about Black history. It's about American history, it's about humanity's history. And if we don't do it, who else will?”
Contact Morgan Vanderlaan at mvanderlaan@alligator.org. Follow her on X @morgvande.
Morgan Vanderlaan is a second year political science major and a Spring 2025 metro general assignment reporter. She has previously worked on the enterprise desk as a political reporter and on the county and city commission beat. When she's not on the clock she can be found writing, reciting and watching theatre!
