LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center put up their current art gallery, Diversity's Perspective, at the beginning of May to display different types of artwork by diverse artists.
Desiree Jackson is among one of the artists whose work is on display. She has been painting for a little over two years.
“It was supposed to be a hobby,” said Jackson. “It was something that was supposed to de-escalate my stress. As a single mother, you know, I’m raising these teenagers and things right now, and I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m so stressed.’ So I just needed something to try to alleviate that a little bit, so I got into painting.”
As Jackson improved, she decided to take a leap of faith. She left her corporate job and put trust into her newfound talent. After doing commission artwork, she created her first piece that she got to have creative freedom over toward the end of 2021.
It is called “Mother Africa” and holds a special place in Jackson’s heart. There are many symbolic messages in the painting. The subject of the piece has purple on her back, which means queenship and royalty. The tree is connected to her, and she is wearing an earring that is the shape of Africa.
As a Black woman, Jackson wants to use her painting to send a message to other women and girls of color.
“In that moment I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to paint something that just represents how I see myself and how every woman of color should see herself and how our daughters should see themselves,’ and it just took off from there,” said Jackson.
As she painted Mother Africa, her ideas transformed it throughout the process. This also happened with her second painting, “The Weeping.” Her feelings toward gun violence in the community and police brutality were the inspiration behind this painting.
“I have three sons and my youngest is 18 now and so, you know, it was kind of a depiction of how I was feeling every time he left the house and just praying with, you know, the prayer ribbon around my hands and just praying for his life,” said Jackson.
Her artwork is based on her own lived experiences.
The Diversity’s Perspective art gallery has artwork displayed from diverse artists to showcase those different perspectives.
“When we thought about this type of art gallery, this art show, we wanted people to feel like they don’t have to just be part of one group and we don’t want to put artists in a box,” said Christian Adair, the interim executive director of the Lyric.
Celebrating diversity through art is something that Jackson believes is important for any community.
“There’s something in this world for everyone,” said Jackson. “You know, we should be able to have harmony and I think the arts brings harmony to many.”
Getting the chance to not only see her artwork hung up in a gallery for the first time, but to help others do the same has been meaningful for Jackson.
The LexArts Hop is this Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and is free for anyone interested in attending. Several art museums and galleries in the downtown area will be participating. Jackson is one among several artists who will have art displayed for the event, and several pieces are for sale.