Renowned muralist Addonis Parker has unveiled a powerful new exhibit in South Florida to celebrate Juneteenth, freedom and the creativity of the Black community.
“Still We Rise: The Art of Addonis Parker” at the ARC in Opa-Locka shows off Parker’s diverse range of mediums, styles and themes, demonstrating how expression can be used for change, a means of preserving memory and a source of hope.
The theme comes from Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise”, which inspired Parker. “ That's it, rise … with the experiences that I've dealt with in my lifetime, I shouldn't have rose, you know? I'm still here,” Parker told WLRN.
Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. It refers to when the Emancipation Proclamation was last enforced on June 19, 1865, at the end of the American Civil War.
To Parker, being a Black artist means you will put yourself in your work, whether you admit it or not. It’s part of the responsibility of being a Black artist, he said.
“ Anytime I paint someone or create something I want, I want Addonis in there, but more of God than me,” he said. "But the message I want to try to convey in my work is that you see every aspect of me and my thought process, and also the story and the healing…There has to be hope somewhere.”
One of the pieces on display is called Submit Yourself to God. It consists of four different square canvases. The top one has a lady’s head just above water. The bottom panel has her feet submerged in water.
Among everything, Parker hopes visitors can see the pain he was in when creating these pieces. Through that pain, he wants them to understand the spiritual aspect behind each of his paintings.
Parker has had four strokes and a heart attack, and many of the exhibition pieces were created after those medical emergencies.
READ MORE: Juneteenth isn’t just a Black holiday. It’s for all Americans
“ When you look at my work, you don't know the dynamics behind it. No man knows that because it's a spiritual thing,” he said. "And a lot of those paintings that you're gonna see in the show was actually therapeutic for me to paint to actually get out of what I was in … Those paintings helped me release a lot of spiritual tension.”
An aspect of himself he finds important to highlight is community and service. Parker is the ambassador for One United Bank, South Florida’s only Black-owned bank, and its resident artist.
He works with the bank designing murals and credit cards, and he also works with children in the community, inspiring them, helping them with art — and giving back however he can.
For Parker, spirituality and service tie in not only to his Blackness but to the overall meaning behind Juneteenth. He had a lot to learn about the holiday and its historical significance.
“ It's an honor because I'm quite sure back then there were artists that didn't have the right or there were inventors that couldn't get a patent because of the color of their skin,” Parker said. “And I do this for freedom, I do this for my forefathers that couldn't reach a level like where I'm at now.”
“Still We Rise: The Art of Addonis Parker” demonstrates the pride he wants to celebrate as a Black artist on Juneteenth. The pride that he can rise and celebrate for those who are unable to do so.
IF YOU GO
What: “Still We Rise: The Art of Addonis Parker”
When: Open for viewing until August 30
Where: The ARC (Arts & Recreation Center) 675 Ali Baba Ave Opa-locka, FL 33054
