Derrick Hollowell loves Grand Rapids. He really does.
From police harassment to poor communication on the Avenue of the Arts to an unfortunate oversight by ArtPrize, Hollowell has had ups and downs. But, he has not given up.
The multi-talented painter, DJ, and arts educator lives in a massive studio/ apartment in the heart of the Avenue of the Arts. His artwork covers every available surface. Look carefully and you will see a masterful use of line and vibrant color with an appreciation for the female form. Derrick's beautiful paintings have been on display at HopCat, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Metro Health Hospital.
Ruggedly handsome with grey flecks in his hair and a direct gaze, Hollowell seemed rather guarded about being interviewed. His gravely voice grew more animated when asked about his work bringing communities together, including White and Black, young and old, and able and disabled.
In 2002, Derrick got access to a space at Franklin and Eastern that had been used by the Coalition for Community Reinvestment. He and a group of friends experimented with putting on art and music shows that embraced the mostly African-American community. When the scene outgrew the storefront, Hollowell jumped to a warehouse space on Logan St. next to the railroad tracks. Called the Wherehouse, they put on art exhibitions during the day and then pushed out the walls for all-night hip-hop parties. Soon, they were attracting huge crowds as well as the unwanted attention from the police.
Derrick decided to move downtown. He and his friends rented a neglected retail space on Weston St. They sanded the floors, painted the walls, and put up artwork. Their hip-hop arts scene found them, but it wasn't easy. They had homeless people wandering around outside while local celebrity Joseph (The Cabdriver) McIntosh slept on a mattress in the basement. Grand Rapids being named a Cool City was but a glimmer in Mayor George Heartwell's eye.
Just as Hollowell was ready to settle down, the Dwelling Place began developing a live/work community for artists on Division. Derrick walked around the corner and signed up. Here was a chance to work with a group of artists on a project that was backed by the city. When it was time to divvy up the apartments, Hollowell was second on the list. His friend was first, but after meeting everyone, he felt that the mostly White residents were too young, too inexperienced and too middle class for the experiment to succeed. He dropped out, leaving Hollowell to take the second-floor corner apartment in the Martineau Building.
In addition to learning drawing technique and color theory at Grand Valley State University, he was heavily influenced by the art department's idealism. He threw himself into helping to organize the artists on the Avenue for the Arts. Hollowell tried to organize exhibitions and promote shows, but it was a struggle. Unlike Derrick, most of the residents had little experience running an art business and were not prepared to work so hard. He watched as the first group moved out after the first six months.
The next group of residents did not seem to be as committed to building an arts collective. When Derrick invited the Heartside community to shows, his neighbors saw poor people. His hip-hop parties were too loud, the people too different. They seemed to keep to their cliques from art school. Based on his experience working with arts groups in other cities, Hollowell pushed and prodded. But everyone seemed to tune him out.
"Sometimes I wonder if I've become a grumpy old Black guy," he says.
In 2009, ArtPrize was Derrick's chance to leverage his artistic talent, connections, and promotional expertise. His entry, Project US, would use street teams to raise awareness, loud music to draw in voters and parties in his studio to create a buzz. Unfortunately, ArtPrize neglected to include him in their printed materials. His neighbors didn't like the music or the people attracted to his entry. Anonymous complaints were made to the police. The Avenue for the Arts never got the foot traffic he expected.
"Why was the B.O.B. the center of ArtPrize and not the Avenue for the Arts?" asks Derrick. He did not participate in the 2010 competition.
Hollowell is at a crossroads. He realizes he has been working too hard to build an art community and not improving his craft. Too much time and energy has been invested in him for him to coast through life. He is back to using his apartment as a painting studio. He studies the light and reflections and textures of the space. "It's a cube of light," he says approvingly.
Mary Free Bed recently asked Hollowell to curate a show of disabled artists. When asked if he considered himself disabled, Hollowell looked confused. While he obviously struggles to walk, he gets where he wants to go. "I'm an artist," he says. "People want to label you and after a while, you just let them say what they want."
He was more interested in talking about how he arranged for a diverse group of students from the Discovery Center charter school to see his exhibition with the women of the Mary Free Bed Guild. "It was fun watching them interact as they looked at the art."
Now, Hollowell is teaching art at the Discovery Center so he can support the next generation of artists in Grand Rapids. "I want to find the girl or boy driven to be the next cat in town," says Derrick.
Steven Geoffrey de Polo, a resident of Grand Rapids, works in nonprofit fundraising. He also serves on the board of the Kids Food Basket and writes a monthly column for Revue Magazine.
Photographs by Brian Kelly Photography & Film - All Rights Reserved
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