Columbia Streams Art New Poetry Unveiling at the Eau Claire Print Building

Thank you for coming this afternoon. Thank you for coming inside where it's a little bit cooler than outside. I I want to first thank Mayor Daniel Rickenmann for envisioning a public art program that builds opportunities for our local creative communities to craft new artistic expressions that are then exhibited in our public spaces for everyone to share and enjoy. And that program is Columbia Streams Art. I also want to thank our District 1 City Councilwoman and current Mayor Pro Tem Tina Herbert for taking the time to speak with me last fall and hear by the crazy idea, a new idea for artistic expression, which is merging spoken word, poetry, and printed 2D canvases and supporting today's event as it came together. And equally thank you, Ms. Herbert, for sharing your contact information for the North Columbia community leaders and residents who have been enthusiastic about this event taking place. I also want to thank Bugsy Calhoun and his Tribe Slam Ensemble for their patience while we put this canvas unveiling and reading together. It's taken longer than expected, but we are thankful to you and we are thankful to your very talented poetry group. We look forward to hearing everyone as you read. Uh and that'd be a good time to say if you haven't had a chance to silence your phones, let's go ahead and do do that now. Uh and I'm almost done, I promise. So, over the last few years, I have met and spoken with artists, arts planners, arts organization administrators, and others across the country about their creative programs and what they have been doing. And as far as I can tell from those conversations, what we are taking part of this morning is a creative first. The urban canvas tapestries that are right outside this room are the first of their kind exhibited 2D artwork with the power and eloquence of spoken word expression. They can be shown and then displayed not just in one space, but many. They can be moved and exhibited across a variety of locations and they will do that. They will travel across our city ensuring that as many of our citizens as possible can see them and be moved by them. And we're about to hear those expressions by the poets who created them. But first, please join me in welcoming our mayor Daniel Rickenmann. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Scott. Thank you everybody for being here. You know, when we talked about Columbia Streams art, part of the program was this canvas idea came up and how do we take these canvases and spread them across our community so people can have art in different places across our community, but also make it kind of a game that makes people go to other parts of the community that they didn't normally wouldn't go to to go hunt this art and read it, feel it, understand it, see what's happening in our community, but also at the same time supporting our local arts community. It's a pleasure to be here and celebrate this combination of public art, poetry, history, and community. You know, many people know this building was uh the town hall of Eau Claire before it became part of the city, but it actually was a print plant. We always refer to it as a print plant. So, it's fitting that this once building that was dedicated to the printed word is now launching a new creative expression of spoken word through poetry and art. As we look across the street and behind the building at these beautiful urban canvases that are tapestries of art and and the spoken word interlinked so it becomes something that you can absorb all into your own mind. take the opportunity to take a moment and just enjoy beautiful art in a beautiful setting in a beautiful community in the best city in South Carolina, of course, right? We can do that. These [snorts] new urban canvas tapestry show show the work of local artists, both Keith and Cedric, along with the poetry created by North Columbia's Tribal Slam Assembly, who have a whole series of things going on both here in our community over the next 4 months, but also across our state. And so, just know that the words, the expressions, the creativity these artists are spreading throughout South Carolina, so people know the talent that's right here in Columbia. These projects are more of than art, they're about creating opportunities for local voices to be heard, connecting communities through creativity. These movable canvases will be displayed throughout Columbia, allowing residents experience the powerful messages and local talent behind it and the story, exposing those artists to more and more people in this community. I want to thank Mr. Washington, the Tribal Slam, our local artists, Columbia Stream Art, Scott, Parks and Rec staff, Henry Simons, who is our ACM that has Parks and Recs under, of course, our Parks and Rec director, Kenya Bryant, who is also here, the North Columbia community for helping bring this project to life. And now it's my pleasure to turn it over to our District rep, District 1 representative, Ms. Tina Herbert. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Mayor. He always smiles like that when he's setting me up. >> [gasps] >> Good afternoon. It It a pleasure to be here. Um, I want to start off by echoing uh Mayor Rickenmann with the thanks for city staff and everyone who's been involved. Um, and then I want to thank you, Mayor, because I do remember the day that you came to city hall and said, "I'm here. I'm available. I can do some stuff." And you made sure that we did the follow through. Um, it that doesn't always happen. And so, I'm uh glad that we did do that. So, Jamil Washington, known by his poetry alias as Busbee Calhoun, is a poet MC born and raised in the Ocean Hill Brownsville section of Brooklyn. You can tell I'm from South Carolina. Uh, but he made his way to our city and made North Columbia his home. Busbee is the slam master of North Columbia's poetry slam team, Tribe Slam. Busbee and his Tribe Slam ensem- en- ensemble work in the community using poetry, the power and eloquence of a spoken word to build barriers to build bridges and not barriers. Many of us know Busbee and his bridge work. He was featured and is featured on Columbia's YouTube channel reciting his community-centered poem, "Together We Matter," in a performance at Hyatt Park right across the street in 2025. The words of that poem are on display in the Urban Canvas Tapestry that will be unveiled today outside of this building. We're looking forward to hearing from Busbee and Tribe Slam ensemble today. It is my pleasure to welcome, introduce, and turn the program over now to Mr. Busbee Calhoun. >> [applause] >> How are you everybody doing? >> Good. >> My name is Jamal Hassan Washington, also known as Bugsy Calhoun. It's all right. Country folk say Busby. It's all right. I'm used to it. I am the executive director of PEACE, which is Poetry Entertainment Arts Community and Education. I am a founding member of the Young Unsullied Suspects, a poetry troop which was born out of Columbia streets and Benedict College. So, I honor them, the founding members and members of that. I'm a member of Black on Black Rhyme. I'm also the creator of the poetry family. There's several members of the poetry family that's in here. They're photographers. They are our veteran poets. They are our artists. I wanted to bring us all together so we can collaborate and build and work. If you are out here in the streets trying to save the babies or if you out here trying to put your poetry show or your music show together or art on the wall, it's better that we're all together. If not, it it it only works when we do it together. I honor my ancestors. I honor my elders on today. I'm going to do a the poem that is on display outside. I would like to bring Asia Blue Davis up here with me real quick cuz I want to get all my poets in and I want to give honor to my poets and I'mma call them up as soon as we do this. I'm going to I'mma take a step back. I [clears throat] got you. This is another Benedict alum. This is Asia Blue. Her name will be on the wall as Asia Davis. We we described this and thank you to Dr. Trayvon Fordham of the office of safety and engagement. So, Columbia uh, in this imprint with Scott, Dr. Tyrone Ford of Tina and Mayor Rickman. So, in many different facets uh, Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia, the city of Columbia had came together. So, uh, we're going to read this piece together and then I'm going to call the other poets up and then they'll read their poems and we'll go on with our day. But, thank y'all for the opportunity. Uh, we honor our parents and our family that showed up. Thank you, Mr. Keith. Uh, Thank you, Said. Um, I met these brothers through other poets and elders, Monifa Lemons. Um, got to give her a shoutout and her flowers cuz I didn't I wouldn't have met you if it wasn't for her. Um, I'm just glad it all came together. All right, so we're going to read this piece and um, we're going to call the other poets up to do their thing. Um, have you ever heard the sounds of a caring community? >> The cascades of conversations between today's teenagers about today's happenings. >> Our stories filled with everything from today's basketball games and what they seen on the Shade Room and which homeboy that will make it won't make it back again. >> Young children playing on the playgrounds where competition and camaraderie go hand in hand. >> Elders sitting on park benches going back and forth with nostalgic conversations. >> Reminiscing on what the neighborhood used to be before the guns came in handing out death certificates. >> Police and public servants serving notice that the needs of the people is first priority. >> That unity is needed to protect the majority, but it's community that is needed to protect the minorities. >> Together, we can make this happen. No longer do we have to hear the sounds of loved ones crying from the plague of guns and gangs and domestic violence. >> We can become our own heroes, write our own stories and take our power back and form the spirit of defiance. >> Together, in alliance, no longer no longer do we have to sit angry in silence. >> See, let's go back in the days Bugsy say with each one teach one and no child was left behind. >> This is a call to community servants, pillars, from porches to the pulpits, from the corners to the blocks. >> See, we are reaching out to all our community leaders, our pastors, our educators, our military, emergency workers, and teachers. >> All hands on deck, all positive energy is needed to stand up in alliance. Together >> we are Columbia and together we are >> stop the >> violence. >> Thank you ALL SO MUCH. >> [applause] >> WE WROTE THAT POEM IN OUR LIVING ROOM. SHE CAME OVER. SHE SAID, "BUGSY, I got my part. >> [laughter] >> You got your part." And um yeah, so um I'm going to call our other poets up. Thank you Asia Davis, Asia Blue. >> [applause] >> Um so, we going to do it like we doing poetry slam. Uh they they say tribe slam, who you going to call up? And uh today we're inducting a member in the tribe slam. We're going to call up our my executive secretary uh and I can't do this without doing this before I call her up. Karen Joyner Washington, my wife, who was in the meetings with Scott Garrett and me. I got to give a shout out to her because she uh helped me with brainstorming, talking with Scott, and how we was going to put this together. I couldn't be remiss and say shout out to you Karen. Thank you for everything that you've done with putting everything together and I honor you and I thank you for it. So, >> [applause] >> this don't work if I don't have the help of the people that that stand behind me. All right, so calling up first to the to the stage, to the podium, I'm going to give it up. Y'all make some noise. Y'all can clap it up for Shai Moonlight. >> [applause] >> Peace, beautiful people. How y'all doing? Happy Tuesday. My name is Brittany Shai Moonlight Jones. Um I was going to say born and raised. I wasn't born here, but I've been in Columbia, South Carolina pretty much all my life and this is home to me. I wrote this little short poem about what Columbia means to me. It's called Cola. Ask me where I'm from and the answer will always be Columbia, SC. The Met, the Soda City. Because in 1990, Uncle Sam called my daddy from Okinawa, Japan to Fort Jackson and this place became home to me. You see, my children now attend the schools I once did. I've chosen to raise them in the place that raised me. So, yes. I'm where I was always meant to be. Columbia, SC. That's that piece. Thank y'all so much. Thank you, Bugsy. Um, on behalf of Peace, thank y'all so much for having us here and we are here to serve. Peace. >> Next coming to the microphone, we're going to give it up for TK. Y'all start clapping right now. Start clapping right now. Start clapping [applause] right now. Clap them all the way up. All the way up. >> [applause] >> Hey, how y'all doing today? Awesome. Awesome. Um, a little about me, I am 45. I've recently had a birthday. Um, I've had several strokes when I turned 40 and this is the anniversary of my mother's um, burial today. So, yeah. We buried her today, 1 year and one of the pieces that I'm going to do is actually what I wrote for her when I was in the hospital with her. Um, this first piece is um, one of the pieces that was unveiled pre prior. So, this is called Works of Art. >> [clears throat] >> She showed me the bare pieces of her soul. I whispered, "You're so beautiful." She joked, "Ha, I don't believe you." Because if beauty's in the eyes of the beholder and you see yourself as you think society sees you. Where does that leave you? Why is this world so ugly towards the different? I mean, we're all different, so what's the difference? I tried to show her self her image through my vision, letting my words paint her picture tattooing images on her intuition, but my colors, they they just aren't vivid enough. As a poet or photographer, as an artist, I don't think there are any mistakes or accidents. We're all learning to find peace with the fact that we're all beautifully broken pieces that the master beautifully pieced together. While we all try to find out where we fit in in the masterpiece, because we're all works of art. And that's that piece. All right. And this is the next piece that I wrote for my mother while she was in the hospital. You make me wish I had the superpower to hug the hurt out of you. Even if we both know nothing changes after we're through. Sometimes words leave us confused. Beyond words, a hug can break through. Even if they don't lead to any new breakthroughs and afterwards we all have to move. Yeah, we still have to move. But in this moment, I wish I could hug the hurt out of you. We lay here with no cares as time pass through. Time castle watching the world pass past us thankful that we're out of harm's view. I wish I wish you felt like in my arms problems could never touch you. When I held you, I wish I felt like your peace. Not a big enough piece to keep you living, but big enough to give you release. Just breathe. Relax and be at ease. Yeah. If I had the superpower, I want to bring the world peace with a smile and solve hunger with love. But if nothing else, I wish I wish I could take your pain away with a big enough hug. Thank you. >> [applause] >> So, the next poet that I'm calling up is probably one of the most recent members of Tribe Slam. We went down to Orlando, Florida this year and competed against uh 36 teams around the country. Another tie into Columbia, right across the street at the Hyatt Park. We had World Poetry Day and we worked well with Ms. Jamika over there. Shout out to her. She like, "Busby, I need poetry at the at the spot, Busby. And can you do something for me?" And I'll be like, "Yeah, I got you." "All right, I appreciate it, Busby." Cuz she's country like she used to call me Busby, too. And this young lady about a year ago walks in and um she amazes us at the moment and she grew to become a member of our family and I promised her uh when we went to Orlando that I would make sure that she was covered and protected and she showed out. I want y'all to welcome to this podium, Bemo. >> [applause] >> Hi, everyone. My name is Briana Monroe, otherwise known as Bemo. I'm so grateful to be here and even more grateful that this is indoors with AC, okay? >> [laughter] >> I'm very happy to share just some poetry with you all about how I feel about Columbia. I am pretty new. I've only been here about 2 years, but it has really turned into home for me and I'm so grateful for it. >> [snorts] >> So, this first piece is entitled We Are Columbia. We are Soda City Markets. Alive with curiosity and creation, where flavors unite cultures and hands trade more than goods. We are basketball victories, empowered by black women's history, Gamecocks rising, breaking records with every triumph, lifting the city. We are walls painted with imagination, music and colors bringing our streets alive, artists dreaming boldly, a city where creativity thrives. We are steeples rising, prayers carried in every corner, voices united, activists marching, neighbors reaching out, striving to make the city better, ever evolving, ever home. We are Columbia. Thank you. [applause] And then this last piece that I have for you all is titled the Catawba River. The Catawba River, a guiding light to freedom, a place of honor for our natives, a solace for us today. Always moving, always changing, reminding Columbia to rise, to grow, to renew, to shine. It has seen bike rides and morning runs, evening strolls and hand holds, pets chasing shadows, children playing at its shores, a history that never dies, flowing ever toward the light, holding meaning for all, a testament to the greatness within us. What more will the Catawba River see? Thank you. >> [applause] [clears throat] >> Before I bring up our last poet, I just thought about it. Um, shout out to Ed Madden, our first poet laureate. Shout out to Jennifer Bartel Boykin, who is our current poet laureate. Um, during the thousand-year flood, when I lost everything at Willow Creek. uh, We was homeless. And Ed Madden reached out to me and I wrote a poem called I told the storm. And that poem was on the city buses. And so that's that's another thing that poetry's done. It's traveled. It took our pain and showed that it doesn't stay in one place. And thank you to Madam Wait till Boykin for doing the poetry festival, getting the opportunity to teach young people to embrace homes with bubbles. So the last poet that I'm going to bring up is our last year's Grand Slam champion. He is [clears throat] our praise team leader and he is Captain Optimism. Y'all bring up and welcome Chrisso. >> [applause] >> How y'all doing? I've been living in Columbia for quite some time and I just love it. It's really It's really my second home cuz I'm originally from Lancaster, South Carolina, a railroad city. Um but Columbia has been a sec It has been my second home when it comes to family and friends and all the good food. >> [laughter] >> So without further ado, I'm going to I'm going to do some poems for y'all based on this beautiful city. This is called Columbia is the epitome of culture. A renaissance is happening in the city of Columbia. Cultivating and capturing millions every time they walk across that threshold into Gamecock country. My goodness. The city's richness heart beats with thriving artists, visionaries who create beautiful canvases of sound and color. Small business owners carve out a new path of ambition, inspiring the next generation to go a little higher than they ever been. From the outreach programs to stadiums, from basketball courts to colleges, from libraries to the culinary skills of Big Mama and your favorite restaurant, satisfying your stomach, you can't run from it. We are the birthplace of champions. We are a dominating force. If these streets could talk, they would go hoarse from the history that shapes this city. Sketch our names into stone. We are the pinnacle of classic. We're more than just a city. Columbia is the epitome of beauty. We set the tone for the culture. >> [applause] >> And this one is called home. They say home is where the heart is. And I found peace in the heart of Columbia. Staring out at the Saluda River, ain't no skipping on the fellowship, and living in Columbia makes me feel something. Hope. Many walks of life come together for one common purpose, and that's dope. A complete masterpiece that speaks volumes in my heart because of the people, the artistry, the communities, and the opportunities that let folks be their own boss. The laughter and love that God provides in each and every one of our hearts lives in this city. No matter where you come from, Columbia gives the average person the chance to persevere into a prosperous future. They say home is where the heart is, and Columbia is a place I am proud to call home. Thank y'all. >> [applause] >> These are the poets that was displays on on the mosaic. Shout out once again to Keith. Shout out to Cedric. I want to say thank you to Scott, Mayor Rickman, and Ms. Tina, uh Councilwoman Tina Youthers. It's No Busby. >> [laughter] >> It's okay. I just want to thank the opportunity Asia B Mo, Chrisso, Shah, TK. This won't be done without y'all. Um I almost didn't have the opportunity to do it. Y'all would have represented fine, but I'm I'm just grateful that the Most High opened up the door and allowed me to do it. I honor my brother Travis Brunson. Shout out to Amari Fox. Shout out to TL. Shout out to Sole. Uh all the poets and artists that's in the community that's doing what we doing. I got you. Whatever you need, I got you. Whatever you need, whatever you need. I mean that. Whatever y'all need, whether I have a title or not. I live and I die this. This is what I do. So Thank you, SCOTT. [applause] >> I CAN'T GO BACK TO MY DESK WITHOUT HEARING one more big round of applause for Busby and HIS ENSEMBLE CREW. >> [applause] >> THANKS EVERYONE FOR COMING OUT. UM JUST TO REMIND you what part of this is all about. It isn't just the spoken word. It is the printed artwork on the side of this building and on the side of the building right across the street. Keith Tolan, Cedric Amojah. Cedric's artwork is on one of the canvases that that is right outside the doors of this building. Keith's really phenomenal new piece that he's done within the last year, is right across the street. I want to urge everyone to please don't try to walk across Monticello Road. Um >> [laughter] >> But go see that piece and go read the words that you just heard on that piece. Members of the media, please take the time to hunt these folks down while they're here in the room and talk to them and spread their eloquence, and joy, and power to your viewers. Everyone else, thank you so much for coming. >> [applause] [music]