Community Ties

Welcome to Community Ties, a
Nancy on Norwalk podcast.

I'm your host, Romney Donald, a
parent, community advocate, and

licensed therapist serving
marginalized communities.

Through this podcast, I want to
elevate diverse perspectives and

voices within Norwalk, voices
that too often go unheard, and

createspace for authentic
conversations about our shared

experiences, challenges, and
hopes for the future.

My goal is to build stronger
connections across our city by

highlighting the people and
stories that make Norwalk

unique.
And before we begin, I want to

thank the team at Nancy on
Norwalk for supporting this

initiative and helping bring
these conversations to life.

With that being said, let's
begin.

One of the things I love most
about Norwalk is how creativity

shows up in everyday life.
From the Visual Arts Pathway at

Norwalk High School to the art
classes offered at the Triangle

Community Center, and even to
the Norwalk Art Space, these

programs make art accessible to
young people and neighbors all

across town.
In October 2024, Norwalk

received official recognition
from the State of Connecticut as

an Arts and Cultural District, a
designation granted by the

Connecticut Office of the Arts
and the Department of Economic

and Community Development.
This recognition highlights the

city's vibrant creative
ecosystem, encompassing public

art installations, galleries,
theaters, and performance

spaces.
The district aims to promote

local artists, foster community
engagement, and drive economic

growth through cultural
initiatives.

A notable feature of this
designation was the

establishment of an Arts and
Culture Commission to manage and

oversee the district's
activities, ensuring its

continued development and
success.

In this episode, I'm joined by
Norwalk native and artist

Jemaine.
His work spans painting,

photography, fashion, and large
scale murals, weaving together

themes of spirituality,
mythology, and social awareness.

You might remember his name from
the recent Eli Ave.

Mural project, where he was
among the artists being

considered.
While the process raised

questions about fairness and
community voice, today's

conversation explores that
moment.

We'll also get into Jermaine's
artistic journey, what inspires

him, and how art can strengthen
communities.

With all of that in mind, I'm
excited to share my very first

podcast recording with you.
I'm grateful to Jermaine for

being my first guest, and I hope
you enjoy this conversation as

much as I did.
So, Jermaine, yes, thank you for

joining me today.
Thank you for having me.

This is again, my very first
podcast recording, and I can't

think of a better way of
starting than by speaking with

someone who has been creating
art in Norwalk for years.

Jemaine, can you share a little
bit about your journey, your

background, where you're from
and what first drew you into

making art?
Well, my journey as an artist

started at a very young age.
I guess some of my background

and where I'm from, I was born
in Norwalk.

I grew up in rooting a court,
which is 261 Ely Ave.

coincidentally, that this is
where, you know, the mural that

you spoke about is happening on
that street.

And I got, I got into art, you
know, early as, as a, a young

sort of up and coming hip hop
appreciator of the time.

Do you know, as hip hop was
developing early in the late

70s, early 80s, being so close
to like the Bronx in New York,

we got a lot of the developments
as it was happening coming out

of the Bronx.
You know, a lot of the, the

music, the dance, the style of
dress, all of that as it was

developing, us being so close,
we were getting a lot of the

trends as it was happening.
So that inspired me at A, at an

early age to, to want to explore
more street art culture and, and

St. culture.
So I got bit by the graffiti

bug, you know, at a, at a young
age, at a time when when, you

know, graffiti was still
graffiti, it was still like an

outlaw culture and you shouldn't
be doing it.

And, you know, you're out late
at night, you know, but it was

all, you know, under the, you
know, or for the sake of

expressing yourself and being a
part of this, like I said, this

developing culture that, you
know, all, all of your your

peers and everybody was involved
in.

So from, you know, being
inspired by graffiti, that got

me into doing art and sort of
exploring different styles of

art.
You know, as a graffiti artist,

one of the things you want to do
is be unique.

You know, you don't want to, you
know, unlike now, a lot of

people trying to be the same,
look the same and dress the

same.
But during those times, it was

about being unique and having
different styles that nobody

else was doing.
So that sets you apart from the

other artists that was putting
stuff up on the walls.

Because once again, this is
almost like the Wild West of

street art, you know, like when
you put your stuff up on a wall,

you wanted to get respect.
You wanted people to like your

art so much that they didn't go
over it, you know, So the better

your style was, the more, you
know, respect you got and the

longer your art would stay up.
So it caused me to start

studying other farm forms of art
at an early age, you know, so

being inspired by graffiti, but
then still going to the library

and picking out books on like
modern art and like, you know,

Picasso and, and Andy Warhol
and, you know, a lot of pop art

and studying art, you know,
almost as a student that that

wasn't in the art class, but we
almost created our own art

classes to try to educate
ourselves about different styles

of art.
So that that really sparked, you

know, just my interest in in
developing even beyond graffiti,

you know, to getting into, you
know, what people might call

more fine art and, you know,
doing work on canvases and, you

know, different stuff that
wasn't necessarily street art.

And then there was a cross sort
of pollination of taking the

graffiti and stuff that we were
doing and then put it on clothes

and creating like Jean jackets
and pants and stuff like that

that were popular in the early
80s.

So that sort of, you know,
sparked just my interest in

wanting to do fashion and being
a part of fashion.

So it was just, you know, just a
whole, the hodgepodge of

different, you know, just art,
music, fashion that was

happening and developing in
those times.

And I just been running with it
ever since.

OK, wow, that is pretty
inspirational.

And Speaking of like themes of
inspiration, what, what would

you say inspires because I saw,
you know, the theme of

spirituality, mythology, social
awareness in your work.

Are there any specific like
stories or experiences or

artists that shape that style
for you?

It will will once again like
being being in that that time

of, of the the early development
of of of hip hop culture.

There was also like, you know,
the infusion of information that

happened.
You know, it was, you know, you

came from, you know, just, you
know, studying our history, you,

you know, come from like, you
know, the civil rights era and

then, you know, people marching
and people, you know, standing

up and, you know, demanding
their rights and then using art

and music.
You know, from James Brown to

Aretha Franklin to, you know,
Marvin Gaye, you know,

everything that we do as a
people, we sort of find a way to

to use every aspect.
So from, you know, from music to

writing to, you know, everything
to feed into what we want to

achieve as a people.
So in getting involved in in art

and music at the time, it was
sort of like a renaissance.

You know, you had the public
enemies, the KRS ones, you had

consciousness was coming through
music, coming back to music at

that time.
And that really sparked, you

know, just the interest in
wanting to know what these

people were talking about.
You know, when Chuck D talked

about, you know, Joanne Chester
martyr, you know, you know,

which is a side of Shakur,
which, you know, rest in peace

and side of she just passed
away, you know, So when people

said certain things and certain
songs, it made you want to go

and study and figure out what
they're talking about.

You know, even he would get
stuff in history books.

So, you know, there was common
knowledge.

But at that time, it was more
like about finding out more

about what these people were
talking about and then putting

it in, in your daily lives, you
know, So when people talking

about, you know, Elijah Muhammad
and how to eat to live and, and

you took these things and it's
like, OK, well, I want to make

this a part of my life, you
know, so it made you want to

study, made you want to eat
different.

We started studying, you know,
like Rastafarian culture, you

know, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.
It made us, you know, stop

wanting to eat certain foods,
you know, So all of this is

happening in conjunction with
becoming an artist.

So a lot of that stuff filtered
into the art that I was

creating, you know, so it wasn't
just about doing graffiti is

about OK creating a peace that
might spark some consciousness

that another artist might see
and, and getting inspired from.

So, you know, inspiration really
came from, from, you know, from

the music, from the music, you
know, spurring us to go and

study and find out more about
who we were as people.

Well, that that's pretty
revealing.

That's I appreciate you
providing that context because

as we sit here and in the times
that we're in, art has a special

way of coming and, you know,
providing an expression that

maybe people might not have the
proper words, but the vision to

share.
And so that's really important

and considering vision and how
people process art.

When people are encountering
your work specifically, whether

it's like in a gallery or on a
wall somewhere on or on the

clothing you mentioned, what do
you hope they walk away feeling

or or thinking?
I mean, to be honest, it depends

on the mood I'm in when I'm
creating.

I mean, I off the top, I, I like
people to be stimulated.

You know, I don't necessarily do
stuff just to get a knee jerk

reaction or just to, you know,
go over the top just so people

can have something to talk
about.

I mean, most of the stuff,
everything I create is really a

part of me.
So I, I use that as a baseline.

Is that like the work that
creates represents me as a

person.
So even if I'm not in the room,

that work is going to speak from
for me.

Now, now that I have this
platform, like, what do I want

to say?
You know, I mean, sometimes, you

know, I have a lot of different
collections.

So sometimes, you know, I may,
you know, create a piece of art

that's that's abstracts more
shapes and colors.

But even within that, you know,
there's a thought of like, you

know, what colors do I want to
use or what shapes do I want to

use to sort of, you know, draw
people into the piece.

Or there's something that's just
more pronounced where there's a

face or something and somebody's
doing something that, you know,

it's more representational that,
you know, you get the obvious

piece when you see it, But then
there might be deeper layers in

the piece, you know, once you've
studied the piece.

But I mean, overall, I like
people to be stimulated.

You know, like, like I always
say, like art is really for

people's eyes and minds.
Like after you see a nice piece

of art, you have that that
ability to then have a

conversation with a person like,
you know, visually and with

their mind.
So why waste it, you know, to

just make a piece of art but
then not really say anything.

It's like, OK, you have that
potential to take it deeper.

OK.
That makes a lot of sense.

And kind of segueing from that,
as far as like art in public

spaces, recently there was the
Eli Ave. mural process in your

artwork was in the top two of
the running.

Can you talk a little bit about
what drew you to submit your art

or your work for the Eli Ave.
Mural project here in Norwalk?

Well, like I said, once again,
for me, it was a no brainer.

I mean, it was, it's a, a mural
that's going up on the street

that I, I grew up on that
particular part of the street.

I, you know, where I grew up was
sort of further up the street,

but we used to make Pilgrim
pilgrimages down to that part of

the street because you had
Burton Brothers, which was like

a corner store.
And it's a, you know, well known

family, black-owned business,
you know, from way back in the

days, I used to sell penny
candies and all types of stuff.

And then, you know, you had the
floor Rios, which was like the

fruit spot.
So, you know, we had a little

corner store by by where we grew
up.

But when once you got down
there, it was just like a

plethora of different, you know,
little stores and things going

on in that part of the street.
So for me, when, when I saw the

call, you know, it was a no
brainer.

I had to submit because I
already had things in mind that

I want to capture and reflect,
you know, on the mural that

would go in that area.
Because to me, it's more than

just once again, putting up a, a
pretty piece of art or just

putting up art.
It's more about capturing, you

know, the, the cultural currency
that exists within these

neighborhoods.
You know, and especially in, in

this day and time with so much
being erased, excuse me, so much

being erased and so much, you
know, for lack of a better term,

whitewashing going on.
It's like we need to really, you

know, protect what happens in
our neighborhoods and and for

the future, protect our stories,
protect our legacies.

You know, so with public art, I
mean, especially stuff that goes

in particular neighborhoods.
I mean, if it's just sort of a

random, you know, open space,
then you know, have at it.

You can pull whatever.
But I think once you start to

interact within certain
neighborhoods where there's a

history of culture that happens
in the in those neighborhoods,

you need to be more sensitive
with the artwork that that goes

up.
So, so yeah, so like I said,

when when I saw it was a call,
you know, for a mural for that

space or like definitely because
I already have something that I

would want to put up anyway, so.
Yeah, and, you know, obviously,

you know, the recently the mural
process itself sparked some

frustration with residents in
the city calling the city's

voting system flawed.
As an artist who was part of the

process, what's your perspective
on how that played out?

I'm, I'm sort of, I'm, I'm not
torn because I mean, 11 I'm an

artist 2, you know, I'm also a
curator.

I'm also somebody that has, you
know, curated and, you know,

I've owned the gallery and I
understand the process of, of

picking art and, and trying to
find the best fit for certain

things.
However, that this process just

just seemed a little bit
different.

I mean, even from the, the AI
controversy that happened and

then now the voting thing, it
still just seems like, you know,

there there should be a, a, a
system in place that could be,

like I said, a lot more
sensitive to particular art that

goes in particular areas,
especially when, you know, you

do a lot of the, the pre
curation as far as like picking

art that you think will go in
this space.

But then you sort of open it up
to just sort of unguided, you

know, voting and then the
decision becomes that.

So it's like, you know, how are
you trusted to make sure the

right thing happens?
But then you just leave it open

for whoever.
And then that becomes the final

word, you know.
So I mean, just as an artist, I

feel like that that is something
that that should really be

reviewed and and considered, you
know?

Absolutely.
And you know, speaking to that,

if Norwalk or any city truly
wants public art to reflect

community voices, what would a
more equitable process look

like?
And I mean, you just kind of

talked about it a little bit,
but if you could elaborate what

you feel like in your view, what
would that process look like if

it was more equitable?
I think it's just the the the

pre due diligence, you know, I
mean, especially, you know, once

again, going back to particular
neighborhoods, whether you have,

you know, neighborhood
ambassadors or people that you

could more so discuss with
directly, maybe even before

picking like the final three.
In this case, it was like a

final three, but you know, we
don't know how many people, you

know, piece were were submitted.
But then, you know, those final

three might even or or before
you pick those final three, like

all the artwork may be vetted
through certain community

ambassadors.
So have that discussion

beforehand before you sort of
get the artist involved that

submit some stuff that might not
even work, but then it still

gets picked to possibly go into
the final.

And then, you know, then just
the the general community or, or

just the general public can vote
on it.

But a lot of this public don't
even, you know, they don't

understand the importance of
having that match up with the

communities.
They're just liking it because,

hey, I like it.
But you could like something

that doesn't necessarily fit in
a certain community, you know,

you know, if you want to
consider that now, if you just

want to go around putting a
public or anywhere, then then

have at it.
But you can't do this.

And then when the public comes
back and says, you know, we

don't like it, then it's like,
you know, what are you going to

do about that?
Yeah, definitely.

Would you.
So first, thank you for sharing

that.
And you know, we'll, we'll keep

monitoring how the city responds
and certain art commissions and

common council members, how
people get involved in, in

making sure that this process is
more equitable going forward.

From a bigger picture
perspective, how has being from

Norwalk shaped your perspective
as an artist and community

member?
It's interesting because I

travel a lot.
I mean, I'm, I definitely claim

Norwalk and I, I've done a lot
of work and all, but you know,

like I travel, you know, around
the world, around the country,

you know, I do a lot of
Commission work in other places,

you know, so it's sort of
interesting to see how, you

know, sometimes other places,
you know, sometimes you get more

love from where you're not from
type of thing, you know, or it

just seems like things might
work a little bit smoother, you

know, in other places.
And then in your hometown,

sometimes a lot of red tape, you
know, more involvement when it's

time to do with what you want to
do for your hometown.

You know, So, I mean, so you, so
you get a lot of that.

But I think also a, a great town
is a great place to, to, to rest

in, you know, nice proximity to
New York and Boston if you want

to go anywhere.
So it's a great place for that.

But, you know, you know, I think
it's still, we're still

developing even as far as, you
know, the, the public art thing,

which I'll always have sort of a
conversation with artists about

how public art develops in
certain places.

It seems like a lot of places
where you have public art that

runs wild, you have a lot of
graffiti and a lot of just, you

know, unfiltered street art.
Like sometimes you sort of need

that in order for the public to
understand how quote, UN quote,

public art should be something
that is just it's presented to

the public, but it's not
controlled by the public

sometimes.
And then sometimes the public

sort of has a digesting grow
with work and then it starts to

create, you know, the fabric of
the arts culture in those areas

because it had to grow on you.
It wasn't something that was was

totally, you know, sanctioned by
arts Commission or, you know,

because sometimes when you get
that, then it's like, well,

who's controlling what
creativity is, You know, as

opposed to artists just being
like, hey, this is what I feel.

I'm gonna go put it on the wall.
And y'all deal with it, how you

deal with it, you know, and, you
know, a lot of cities,

especially like sort of suburban
cities, they, they clean it or

buff it a little bit too quick.
Whereas in, you know, when you

go to certain places, you see a
lot of art and some you may

like, some may you may not, but
it still contributes to the

fabric of, of that, you know,
creative society or whatever.

But so I don't think NOG has
really had a chance to really go

through that.
I mean, even like back in my

early days when we were, you
know, tagging and doing a lot of

graffiti, it was still in
certain parts, Like we would tag

the train area, tag certain
stuff, but it wasn't like all

over the city to where as it was
like, OK, well, this is just

it's just a mass amount of
public art.

So we have to deal with it.
It was just like it grew in

little, little parts.
But now it's sort of like

everything is sanctioned.
So it's hard to understand like,

you know, who's deciding what
goes up and the public itself,

you know, if, if it's all sort
of, you know, sort of

streamlined and the public
itself doesn't have like a

breath of different types of
art.

It's just what comes through
different opinions, you know

what I'm saying?
But I think it's still it's

still great potential.
I mean, especially now, you

know, with with a lot of
different people moving to the

area and and the face of the ark
is changing now.

So you know you have that
potential for it to grow.

Yeah.
Do you mind sharing like a

project or a piece you've
created that feels especially

meaningful to you and why?
Well, I, I have like this, this

collection of work that I've
been doing.

It's called, you know, it's sort
of overarching title.

It's called fabric of the city
and it's the whole, the

direction of of the park.
The public art installations is

inspired by G's band, you know,
quilts and quilt making and just

the history of of G's band, you
know, quilters that, you know,

started as you know, you know,
sharecroppers or ex slaves turn

to sharecroppers that that lived
in in G's band Alabama.

And a lot of what they did was
more so, you know, it was quilt

making, but it was about taking,
you know, used fabrics and stuff

like that, creating stuff that
was really designed for

survival.
But just in whether it was

conscious or subconscious, they
created these abstract,

modernist, big bold graphic, you
know, quilts that then became

recognized by, you know, MoMA
and, and all these other places,

especially now it's getting a
lot of attention.

But, but I've always been
inspired by the concept of, you

know, taking something that was
sort of scraps and really used

for survival, But then just
everything in your spirit and

just from, you know, what you
were creating a masterful piece

of art, you know, And a lot of
times I sort of sort of parallel

it with graffiti with like, you
know, kids just taking a spray

can or taking markers and stuff
like that and stuff that was

sort of like utilitarian and
then creating art with it, you

know, and those two worlds sort
of inspired me to create this,

this particular art installation
concept.

That is so profound.
Thank you.

That's very, very profound.
I love the connection with the

history.
I mean, there's always

connections with history.
Yeah.

Who cannot let that stuff go.
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.
Got to preserve it, yeah.

And, and, and I think, you know,
just being able to do that or

just doing a couple different
installations, you know, in

Bridgeport particularly, it just
gave me the platform to sort of

explore, you know, like how that
would look in, in public art

spaces, You know, 'cause you
know, at a time where, you know,

a lot of people are sort of
doing, you know, faces and

things that, you know, big stuff
that people can just

automatically identify with.
You know, I, I want to do

something that was like
installations that may not, you

know, that's more abstract that
you may not just get it off the

top, but once you learn the
history about it, like you would

appreciate it more.
Absolutely, absolutely.

So Jermaine, what's next for
you?

Any projects shows collaboration
that you're excited about?

It's always something next.
I don't, I don't know what's

what's not not next.
I mean, I'm constantly working

on on, you know, collections for
my own studio practice a couple

different, you know, Commission.
I'm always working on like, you

know, commissions and working
with interior designers.

So there's always stuff, stuff
coming up.

I would just say, you know, just
check out my my Instagram and my

my website to see, you know,
what I have coming up next.

One collaboration was just cool.
I'm going to do a pop up with a

spot called main squeeze and
Bridgeport, the juice bar.

Those are those are my guys
always open up a juice bar.

And once again, just based on,
you know, my way of life and my

sort of natural as much as I can
be lifestyle, you know, I'm

into, you know, vegetarian.
Well, I'm up.

I eat a little bit of fish, but
I'm mostly a vegetarian.

But, you know, just just being
into that that lifestyle, you

know, of health and trying to
keep yourself fit.

So we're going to do a
collaboration with Maine Squeeze

that's coming up later this
month, and just just constantly

working on stuff.
That's amazing.

I'm looking forward to that.
I haven't made it to me and

Squeeze yet, but I see it all
over the feed and I will be

there.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.

I can't wait.
And then for our our listeners,

especially young or emerging
artists in Norwalk, what advice

would you give them about
staying true to their voice and

finding their path in the art
world?

Which is an interesting question
because I work with a lot of

artists.
So I just know, I know a lot of

like young, young artists and,
and it's strange, I know like

children of artists that I've
come up with.

So we're like, you know, a
couple generations deep.

And I feel like now with
technology, I'm getting at a lot

of like young artists are, are,
are finding it hard to find

their foothold, you know,
because you're almost you're

competing with AI and all this
computer generated stuff.

And then it's like there's so
much out there, you know, so

you're seeing, you know, art
from everywhere, from Spain,

from Portugal, you know, from
all, all around the world so

that, you know, there's so much
art, you know, filtering into

your influence and how you go
about creating.

So some, you know, a lot of kids
are finding hard to find out,

you know, or, or find their
direction to find their

identity.
And my advice would be to just

do that first to try to, you
know, just block everything out

and find something that you're
really passionate in some

direction, you know, regardless
of what medium you create, you

know, don't don't get stuck on
just one medium either.

You know, you can work in a lot
of different mediums, but I

still find something that you're
passionate about and stick with

that and block everything else
out and really focus on your

craft, you know, not necessarily
be influenced by everybody

else's so-called success.
Because that's another thing.

It's like, you know, people are
not taking the time to to fail

and then come back and fail
again and come back.

It's like you fail one time and
then I said I just quit.

It's hopeless, you know, like
there's always another side.

You know what I'm saying?
So just, but just definitely

stick with what you do and stick
with your craft and then

everything else will fall in
line.

OK, I, I, you did say like your
website where you know, people

can see what's next for you, but
can you please officially plug

how people can follow your work?
What is your website and how

they you know so that they can
support what you're doing

Website, Instagram for that.
OK, well, my website is Art of

Jemaine, ARTOFJA hmane.com.
And then my Instagram is just at

Jermaine Arts.
No, no, at Art of Jermaine.

OK, my Jermaine arts is my
e-mail for one thing.

But yeah, so at Art of Jermaine
on Instagram and then everything

else sort of falls in line.
I think I have TikTok and

everything, but all that's like
streamline.

Those are the main the the main
to artofjermaine.com and Art of

Jermaine on Instagram.
OK.

Well, Jermaine, it was such a
pleasure to thank you talk with

you today.
I just want to thank you so much

for sharing your story just
being here.

So thank you.
Thank you.

I appreciate the support.
I mean, I think this is your

first of many great shows and
I'm going to be listening to

myself.
Thank you so much.

This episode of Community Ties
wouldn't have been possible

without the work of the board of
Nancy on Norwalk, especially

Justin Matley, Shawn Fox, and
Ashley RK Smith.

A special shout out to Jack
Pavia for his support and

helping me feel confident in
recording my very first podcast.

Nancy on Norwalk is powered by
its donors who support keeps the

organization's lights on.
Thank you so much to Jermaine

for coming on the show and
sharing your story.

Access to the recording
equipment was provided by the

Westport Library's Verso
Studios.

With a special thanks to Travis
Bell for showing me how it all

works.
If you're interested in audio,

music, or podcasting, I highly
recommend checking out the

resources that the Westport
Library offers.

Always support your public
libraries.

And to everyone listening, thank
you for tuning in.