Be The Artist

By Coastal Lifestyle

Published July 30, 2024

Five individuals are gathered around a table in an art studio, creating mixed-media art pieces. The table is covered with various art supplies, including paint tubes, brushes, paper, and more. Surrounded by shelves filled with tools and supplies, they embrace the opportunity to be the artist they aspire to be.

“Be the artist you are meant to be” is a motto adopted by Hive Arts Academy, a youth enrichment program designed to guide local youth from grades 8-12 as they transition into high school and beyond. The program aims to motivate, inspire and nurture participants to become responsible, contributing community citizens. Engaging workshops, fun projects, educational field trips, and post-secondary resources are used to develop interest in continuing education, training, and career readiness.

The Academy offers workshops and classes in visual arts, culinary arts, engineering and more. Artwork created by Hive Arts Academy students has been displayed at Brilliant Star Gallery Hilton Pensacola Beach and placed in the Innisfree Hotels Private Art Collection at the corporate office and in the lobbies of Holiday Inn Pensacola Beach and Ft Walton Beach. A visiting artist program has utilized the talents of our local artists such as Maria Hoch, Mary Anne Staples, Beverly Elliott and Patricia O’Neal to offer advanced classes in the traditional arts and modern mediums. Chef Amanda Williams leads the culinary program where budding chefs learn the essential skills of cooking techniques, the art of flavor pairing, culinary history, and explore the fascinating realm of food science. Gallery Director and Art Curator, Shaughnessy Johnson, provides engineering workshops that teach students the fundamental basics of how electric bikes work. These students custom-built and fabricated frames by cutting steel pipes, notching tubes and welding joints. The variety and diversity of the program encourage the students to discover the kind of artist they are meant to be.

Hive Arts Academy is sponsored by The Hive Foundation. Founded by Kim and Julian MacQueen, The Hive Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Innisfree Hotels. Its focus is to strategically seek and fund avenues that help to educate vulnerable communities, empower marginalized people and enrich food options for those struggling with food insecurity. The Hive Arts Academy is a singular organization that fits all three pillars of the Hive Foundation’s mission and has become an integral part of its work in Pensacola and Amelia Island.

: A black plate on a red table contains two skewers of grilled chicken and vegetables, including zucchini, bell peppers, and onions. Also on the plate are a portion of seasoned rice, a spinach pastry, a dollop of tzatziki, some hummus, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a piece of pita bread. Be the artist behind every vibrant bite.

: Two individuals sit on small motorbikes under an orange canopy at an outdoor event. Various artworks and sculptures are displayed behind them on a fence, making it clear that anyone present could be the artist. Both are wearing helmets, and the sunny day casts clear shadows on the ground.

: Two women pose together in front of a framed painting. The woman on the left, with long, straight hair featuring dark roots and light ends, wears glasses and a patterned strapless top, embodying the spirit to "be the artist." The woman on the right has short hair and wears a cardigan over a light top. They're both smiling.

: Two women are standing side by side and smiling at the camera. The woman on the left, wearing glasses, holds a bouquet of vibrant pink and red flowers. The woman on the right has a black handbag on her shoulder. Behind them, a framed portrait of a face invites you to be the artist.

: A person wearing a blue cardigan and white pants stands next to a portrait painting. The painting depicts someone with similar features, suggesting it might be the same person in the portrait, who could also be the artist. The setting appears to be an art gallery.

: A realistic portrait painting of a person with shoulder-length hair, wearing a septum ring, hoop earrings, and a couple of necklaces. The expression appears contemplative, inviting you to be the artist who captures the warm tones highlighting one side of the face.

In collaboration with Luna Fine Art Gallery, The Hive Foundation has funded “The Promise Collection” which is a body of work created by youth for youth. In naming the collection, Hive Executive Director, Rusty Branch, explains, “The youth are our future, and we promise to support them in their journey.” The collection celebrates the extraordinary skills of highly talented young artists and their messages through their art. It was inspired by a recent exhibit at Luna Fine Art Gallery at Amelia Island featuring Joy Keith of Fernandina Beach High School. Artwork by featured graduating artists, Gracie Batten and Naserian McClurg, were chosen for the collection and will be displayed at the future site of Hive Arts Academy building in the Eastside area of Pensacola, Florida. The work exemplifies exceptional artistry and will serve as a tool to promote discussions of issues facing youth.

Gracie Batten describes her experience of being part of the private art collection as surreal, only dreaming of the possibility but not the accomplishment happening so early in her life. Many of Gracie’s pieces consist of the struggle to find one’s identity. She further explains, “When you're young I think you are just a mixture of the top ten people you hang out with most, you don't really become your own person till you start to apply your own thoughts, which I think takes time. As a result, in the beginning stages of life, I think this can be extremely confusing to teenagers, being told to be who you are except you don't know who that is.” Gracie endeavored to better communicate the idea of lack of self-identity resulting with her “doubled-up faces” drawings in color pencil.

: A person wearing a chef's uniform and a black headscarf smiles while holding a plate of food in a cooking class. Other people in chef's attire are visible in the background, chatting and preparing food. Ingredients are spread out on the counter as they all embrace their moment to be the artist.

: A person stands smiling with their arms raised in a "V" shape, embodying the spirit to "be the artist." They are in front of a large, round, white textured wall art piece and are wearing a white graphic t-shirt. The room has large windows and comfortable furniture.

: A person wearing a pink sweatshirt, glasses, and white headphones around their neck holds up a framed abstract painting. They have a black crossbody bag and are standing in a room with various artworks and a couch in the background, embodying the spirit to be the artist.

: A person with long hair and multiple necklaces, wearing a white top and dark cardigan, stands next to a painting. The artwork, which they claim to be the artist of, portrays a figure with a piercing holding scissors near their mouth, set against an image of teeth in the background.

: A surreal painting depicting the same young woman from two angles, both with wet hair and gazing into the distance. Be the artist who captures her overlapping faces, which exhibit contemplation with a distorted, dreamlike quality. A dark background enhances the ethereal atmosphere.

: People participating in a baking class, working with dough on a large table. Some are shaping the dough, while others use dough cutters. There are baking trays lined with parchment paper. The background features framed artwork on the walls, inspiring everyone to be the artist in their culinary creations.

The opportunity to be in Luna Fine Art Gallery is deeply meaningful to Naserian McClurg. Naserian believes that making art is the best way to express herself and share her own perspective on life. She says, “I want to continue to focus my art on the human experience and represent emotions and situations that I can relate to.” Her self-portrait titled “Exhaustion” is a good example of feeling drained throughout life emphasized by the warm color disappearing from the face. Her largest piece titled “Self-Sabotage” shows how one can be so obsessed with their flaws that their thoughts can consume them. Naserian has also created drawings and paintings from photos taken by her mother while living in East Africa showing the importance of human connections in her Tanzanian heritage.

Being the artists they are meant to be, both Gracie and Naserian will be exhibiting in March 2025 at The Brilliant Star section of Luna Fine Art Gallery at Hilton Pensacola Beach. The Hive Arts Academy, Luna Fine Art Gallery and the Hive Foundation will continue to work jointly to connect communities through the arts.

For more information on Hive Arts Academy, email us at hivearts@innisfreehotels.com

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Facebook: Hive Arts.