Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, the show where we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Duan Kellum, educator, artist, activist, and co-founder of Creative Grounds, a community art studio. Thank you so much for being here.
Duan Kellum
Well, thank you for having me.
Maya Gwynn
Of course. Take us back to the beginning. What first drew you to art, and how did your early experiences shape the artist's community builder you are today?
Duan Kellum
I think back, and as a kid, I was always hands-on, very creative, always doing things. Built my own bike, so I would, you know, make skateboards and all kinds of contraptions. I would take things apart to see how they work. So, looking back at it now, I think that's part of my creativity. I was always doodling, sketching, creating, but never really thought of it as as art. It was just the means of expression.
Maya Gwynn
Definitely, just something that you did. Yes. Yeah, I'm so interested in your art studio? Like it's my dream to have like a creative hub where a lot of artists come. Creative Grounds is more than an art studio though; it's a community space. What was the original vision behind founding it, and who were you hoping to meet when building? Like, who did you think was going to walk in?
Duan Kellum
We started out during the major part of the pandemic. We were supposed to open up April of 2020.
Maya Gwynn
Okay.
Duan Kellum
But that was postponed due the pandemic. We didn't open until August. November, we had our opening with COVID protocols, and it was just an amazing scene that opening day, and you know, subsequently afterwards, we did the art crawl, which we were acknowledged by Eloise Reyes, but now it's a hub. It's an artist community. Just a couple of days ago, my partner did a hang and chill where artists were invited to bring a piece and hang it on the wall and just discuss and hang out. And it was such a beautiful scene because artists in the Inland Empire were coming together, collaborating, finding out who each other of us are-you know, some of us have known each other only on social media-and now coming together in person was a real, really special moment.
Maya Gwynn
Definitely. Can you talk about how art functions as a tool for healing, connection, and social change within your art studio?
Duan Kellum
Most of my art does address social and political issues. I've always been a news hound. My dad was in the news, and I just have these vast memories of sitting on his lap and watching, you know, Walter Cronkite back in the '70s. So I was always and am always informed, and I use art as a vehicle to express my view of the world on issues that we are dealing with in the past, present, and perhaps future. My primary method of doing art is screen printing, and I find that that is a vehicle in which I can convey my message, my perspective of the world, to the rest of the world.
Maya Gwynn
How do you feel like you do that through screen printing?
Duan Kellum
With screen printing, it's an interesting process because it's - it's a form of stenciling. So you can have text, you can have images, you can layer it, you can put it on clothes. You can put it on virtually any kind of surface material, wood, plastic. So I use all of those in conveying ideas.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, and it takes patience too.
Duan Kellum
It does. It does. I do what's called live printing at art and music events where we'd have pre-made screens and we go out there and do things.
Maya Gwynn
That's how I met you.
Duan Kellum
Yeah, and so the interaction and that's the easy part. The hard part is, you know, creating the image, learning the image, washing it out, and getting all that prep. So when you see me screen printing or anybody, that's the fun part. All the hard work has been done before.
Maya Gwynn
And it's behind the scenes.
Duan Kellum
Yes.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah. I never thought about it like that, but that's true. From your perspective, what role does art play in strengthening community identities and storytelling, particularly in the Black community?
Duan Kellum
Art has always been a part of the Black community, you know, from prior to our enslavement to right now, and it tells our story. It tells our histories. It tells our feelings, our emotions, and oftentimes the mainstream, whether it's media or society, doesn't you know embrace those. We have a means of embracing those. So, kind of like segue into our current show at The Cheech called Black and Brown in the IE and Beyond. It looks at issues affecting both Black and Brown communities, such as you know education - inequalities in education, housing, employment, environmental justice, criminal justice, and you know even mental health. So we are using art as a vehicle to educate the public about, you know, even local histories. In the process of doing Black and Brown in the IE, we did a series of workshops, and in one of the workshops, you know, I just found out about the O'Day family in Fontana that was firebombed out in the 1940s I believe.
Maya Gwynn
Wow.
Duan Kellum
And so that plays a part in one of my pieces that I have in the show right now.
Maya Gwynn
Wow! I'm gonna look into that. Wow. Can you share a story that shows the impact of Creative Grounds has had and how art becomes a space for both creative freedom but also social engagement, and seems like through that you've also created a safe space for people to express themselves.
Duan Kellum
That's often what we hear. You know, it's -Creative Grounds is African American owned. Both Jay and I are African American, but it's an open space for everybody. So we have hosted events for the LGBTQ community, Latino migrant community. We have had music such as folk music. Mosh pits in our studio. So we embrace everybody in the Inland Empire. I think part of our philosophy, unspoken, is that we try to create a space that we would want to hang out in if we weren't the owners.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, yeah, that's a great rule to go by. We're gonna move to our rapid-fire portion. If your work had a theme song, what would it be?
Duan Kellum
It's a Free World and It's Mine by Jesse Johnson.
Maya Gwynn
Ooh, okay. And if you had to teach a masterclass or give a TED talk on a random skill you have besides what you do already, what would it be?
Duan Kellum
Gardening.
Maya Gwynn
Okay, good. Not the first time someone said that. What's your favorite Inland Empire restaurant or landmark?
Duan Kellum
I am going to have to say, going back to my childhood, having really good memories is Shakey's Pizza.
Maya Gwynn
Oh nice.
Duan Kellum
Back when they had the piano and the little straw hats.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah. And how can people keep up with you and support the work your art studio is doing?
Duan Kellum
Well, we're on all platforms as CreatveGrounds on Instagram. It's Creative with no i. I go by Duan and Only on Instagram. Also, I have a website duannonly.com And if you follow us on Instagram, you can see our monthly calendar where we host all our events.
Maya Gwynn
Thank you so much for being here. This was such a good conversation.
Duan Kellum
Thank you for having me.
Maya Gwynn
Duan Kellum is an educator, artist, and activist, and co-founder of Creative Grounds, a community art studio. Find this segment and others at kvcr.org/bpie. Support for this segment comes from the Black Equity Fund at IECF, advancing racial equity and supporting long-term investments and Black-led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn. Thank you.
