“There’s a whiteness issue in our creative spaces.”
David “Dae-Lee” Arrington
As co-owners of the Charlotte-based creative agency Hue House, David “Dae-Lee” Arrington, David Butler and Davita Galloway keep their ears to the streets about the needs and desires of the community they represent.
They’re Black. They’re talented. And they know what it’s like to be overlooked, undervalued, silenced and edited as a talented, Black creative who can add value to any project.
So when conversations of how to best fund and support local artists gained more traction earlier this year, the crew was on deck to see what city leaders had to say.
“Typically, when it comes to any type of development or betterment of any system, creatives of color are the last piece to be brought in,” Arrington explained. “If you don’t know what leaders are saying, you can’t hold them accountable.”
Yesterday, we got our first update about the ordeal. Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones sent council members a memo with preliminary plans for a new arts funding structure. Read the memo here.
Under the plan, Charlotte’s arts and cultural groups would receive $12 million a year for the next three years from the public and private sectors—a 50 percent increase from a proposal the City Council was initially considering.
How funding decisions will be made and who will benefit most is to be determined. But for Hue House, funding is only half the battle.
“There’s opportunity to center creatives of color and equip them to do something that historically has been lacking, which is retaining ownership of what we create and what we bring to culture, the arts and creativity,” Arrington said.
Being Black and creative often means living a dual life. As a creative agency, Hue House is about ensuring we have safe spaces to be totally ourselves. The goal is to get hired, hire Black people and ultimately onboard more creatives of color into the marketing and advertising industry or other areas where our voices are needed.
“We’re growing and building something that can then build others,” Butler explained. “And everyone we work with is held accountable to this. If you don’t have [or aren’t working toward] an internal culture that will handle Black lives and Black bodies appropriately, then we don’t do business with you.”
Hue House’s efforts behind the scenes on the NoteWorthy concert series is one example of how their social enterprise model can work with the proper mix of funding, partnership and equitable opportunity.
The Key for Creatives of Color
As Charlotte’s funding debate continues and organizations like the Arts and Science Council figure out how to best serve minorities, it’ll also be crucial for creatives of color in the city to stay engaged and tapped in to the conversations that affect them.
“In any sense and by every standard, ‘opportunity’ means nothing if you don’t seize it,” Galloway said. “Opportunity is omnipresent; it’s always showing itself. And it is our responsibility to nurture it, realize it and make it impactful.
“Otherwise, it’s dishonoring what could be.”
Galloway added that some creatives of color are paying attention to the city’s plans, “But most are trying to decipher, ‘What the hell is going on?!’”
“To a community who really just wants to create and make a living from pursuing their passions, the political jargon is no bueno, and distrust from city and county officials is hella real.”
Davita Galloway
“To begin seeing additional creatives of color in these types of conversations, it will take intentional and proactive seeking to have their perspectives and input included,” Galloway added.
Hue House is continuing to put in the work to build the relationships and make the connections to keep the talent of Black creatives where it should be: at the forefront.
“There’s a wealth of knowledge and experience, and we make all things cool,” Butler said of Black creatives.
It really is a value add to put Black Folks in your business because we make the dopest sh*t.
DavE Butler
The bottom line is Charlotte’s new arts funding would be best served if it’s done in a way that gives artists the tools and access they need to build successful businesses and careers based on their ideas.
“I believe there is a ‘best of both worlds’ scenario and it begins with all entities—ASC, Foundation for the Carolinas, the city, the county, as well as integral members of the creative community aligning and addressing the challenge of creatives, artists and creative entrepreneurs as a collective,” Galloway said.
“I firmly believe that no one entity can address and fix the existence of a creative ecosystem by themselves.”
Moving Forward
As the ASC Equity Report proves, more work is needed on every level to make sure the proposed $36 million in arts funding is distributed fairly and reflects a respect for Black and brown artists.
For any business leaders wanting to make a change, Hue House is serving notice: Don’t try to implement change without assessing your own life as well.
“Saying, ‘We want to be a diverse company’ but you have no Black or brown friends—what makes you think you could do that?” Arrington said. “If you are not equipped on a personal level to push that change forward … the reality is you’re not equipped to lead that work for your organization.”
“The real progress forward is, are you willing to put the resources toward becoming an antiracist organization or company?” Butler added. “That includes pulling up some of the roots that you may be founded on so you can create space to move forward and heal.”
Whether at the table with city leaders or not, Galloway says Hue House is clear—”We will continue to build our own and cultivate excellence.”
