On Thursday night (March 30), people gathered in New York’s SoHo’s neighborhood at the Bleecker Event Hall for an inspired art exhibit in which visual artists from the city and surrounding areas were asked to create paintings, choreography, muses, and more to celebrate and honor two queens of music.
Organized by event producer and art curator Brianni Taylor, along with her team Brianni T Presents and event host Taqee Bond, the aptly-titled ‘AntiLemonade’ experience honored the personal and musical accomplishments of none other than Rihanna and Beyoncé. The women have been at the forefront of music since the beginning of both of their respective careers and though they’ve taken two totally different paths to end up where they are now, they are indeed both leading ladies within pop culture and the entertainment industry.
What better way to celebrate them than to have multiple pieces of honorary art hanging in a gallery while musically-inspired drink choices are offered, too?
REVOLT TV talked to Taylor and Bond about the event, its purpose, and what’s to come in the future, as well as to a few of the visual artists who participated in the exhibit.
“I really like these artists and I like to bring people together,” Taylor said. “We’re also donating a portion of our proceeds to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Each exhibit that we had, we donated to a charity. I want to place charitable aspects on each exhibit. It’s Women’s History Month and it’s Rihanna and Beyoncé. They’re like the women of the earth. Why not?”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” Bond added. “I was more than a host this time around. I got to see the hard work that [Taylor] puts in when throwing these events. It’s one thing when you come, show up, and just host; it’s another story when your job is to come up and help run the entire event and make sure everything is clicking.”
Taylor added that she will continue to throw these music-inspired art exhibits and is looking to expand it to other cities. See a few standout pieces below.
Artist: @americanmouthhh
Person of choice: Beyoncé
“For this piece, my inspiration was [Beyoncé’s] Grammy performance in February and the aura I felt Beyoncé gives off. Her energy. It’s golden and pure and it’s a beautiful light. When people look at this piece I wanted them to feel that same energy. That is also why I named this piece ‘Beyoncé: Déesse du Soleil; which means ;sun goddess; in French.”
Artist: @Soundslikecorey
Person of choice: Beyoncé
“I specifically like to create work around iconic moments. When Beyoncé dropped “Formation,” that was huge for not only women, but for Black women. That’s a work of her art that will symbolize a time period for us and will be apart of us culturally. Most of my work is inspired by images that stick out to me when experiencing the work of other artists.”
Artist: @iLikeArtTypeGirl
Person of choice: Rihanna
“As an artist, I believe that innovation is the only way to stay alive in this game. So when I create, I mix real life media into it. I had a muse painted silver as an ode to Rihanna in the ‘Umbrella’ video.”
Artist: @bonita_applebum_
Person of choice: Beyoncé
“This painting is a modern day representation of a madonna and child with a pop culture twist . ‘Madonna and child’ is often the name of art which shows Virgin Mary and Jesus. These paintings were very popular in early art history. I thought it would be cool to do a contemporary version of the painting with a very iconic figure and who’s more iconic than Beyoncé? The way she’s idolized in today’s culture, it just seemed fitting to use her and Blue Ivy as subjects of the painting. She’s like our twenty first century Mary.”