The RichesArt Gallery, the only Black-owned gallery in Austin, recently marked its first anniversary with a celebration that included a fashion show accompanied by live painting, music and vendors.
Richard Samuel, an artist and the owner of the gallery,curated the evening with one goal: uplifting and promoting Black and Latinx Austin-based artists and designers. The designers were Austin Alegria, Grunge Incorporated, One Way, Hommemore, Recychlo, November Love and Rase House.
“I wanted to keep them as local as possible,” Samuel said of the event June 17, which drew about 200 people. “I wanted them to have the opportunity to get their brand out there.”
Chloe Botello, who showcased her work at the fashion show, is a 22-year-old self-taught designer who up-cycles used and vintage clothes for her sustainable fashion brand, Recychlo. While she has been directing most of her focus to her business of making jewels that can be attached to teeth, Botello spends most of her free time sewing in her room.
“I started creating clothes when I was 17 because a lot of things didn’t fit me,” Botello said. “Then I went to college for fashion design but dropped out to focus on my tooth gem business. Being able to showcase my clothes at the gallery is amazing.”
Stevy Red, a 23-year-old, Anchorage, Alaska-raised designer, also debuted her clothing line, Hommemore, at the RichesArt event, and her friends and fellow artists said it has been “a long time coming.”
“She can do everything. She makes clothes; she DJs; she makes animation and music,” said Blameflawless, a musician and model for Hommemore.
“We all come together in one way or another,” Red said about her fellow creatives at the show. “They are the most progressive group of people I’ve met since I moved to Austin.”
Samuel, who played professional football in Germany and Serbia before turning his attention to being a full-time artist, has sold 40 original works and has accumulated more than 30,000 followers on TikTok.
“I grew up thinking that football was my love and art was my hobby, but it ended up being the other way around,” Samuel said. “I think if I had the monetary support growing up, I would’ve stuck with art. So much of what I’m doing now is for the kids, so they can.”
Since the anniversary, Samuel is redirecting his focus to his new NFT collection,Element Erotica; his Young Creators scholarship fund; and Hip Hop Recognition Month in August.
“My erotic art went viral on TikTok, and I’m launching these pieces as an NFT,” Samuel said.
NFTs — nonfungible tokens — are digital assets that can be collected and are unique and nontransferable, enabling artists to monetize their work.
The NFTs are on offer on his website. An original watercolor or signed print will accompany each NFT in the collection, and a portion of the proceeds will help support the Young Creators scholarship fund.
On Wednesday night, Samuel hosted an art exhibit ahead of Hip Hop Recognition Month in August. The block party-inspired exhibition involved live art, a live DJ set, photo booths and limited-edition merchandise.
“Hip Hop Celebration Day is in August, so we want to dedicate the months of July and August to that,” Samuel said. “On one side of the gallery will be 15 artists representing J Cole, and the other side will be 15 representing Kendrick Lamar.”
At Wednesday’s event, graffiti artists Erik Ross and BOPHO, who spent the evening creating live paintings, were accompanied by a three-hour DJ set of solely J Cole and Kendrick Lamar tracks.
Erik Ross created J Cole-inspired art, and BOPHO represented Kendrick Lamar. Their work is for sale in the exhibition, alongside the 30 other paintings. The gallery exhibition will be displayed at the East Austin location until Aug. 29.
In the coming months, RichesArt Gallery will continue to host various events, including interactive watercolor classes, figure drawing classes and neighborhood block parties.
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