Black art celebrated at Woodland Community College – Daily Democrat

Artist Aliyah Sidge often paints herself in images. Here she is combing and oiling the hair of a boyfriend. The piece is on display at Gallery 625 in Woodland at 625 Court St. (Jim Smith/Courtesy)

Self-taught Sacramento artist Aliyah Sidge explained her techniques to students at Woodland Community College in recognition of Black History Month, focusing on how she uses everyday themes and vibrant colors to capture portraits of people in marginalized communities.

Sidge came to the school at the invitation of art professor Manuel Fernando Rios, whose mural class has already created several major pieces scattered across the campus, including the “Eagle’s Essential Marketplace,” a food pantry for students and staff.

Sidge presently has some of her work on display at Gallery 625 in downtown Woodland, 625 Court St. But her creations have also been featured in galleries across the Sacramento region, including The Brickhouse, 1810 and Sol Collective.

Her most recent solo exhibition, “The Babymama Effect,” was featured at The Union Gallery at Sacramento State University in February 2022.

Her murals can also be seen on apartments and grocery store buildings, schools, and community centers.

In Woodland, Sidge’s work is part of The Art of Soul, which was unveiled during the Feb. 2 First Friday Artwalk. The exhibition at Gallery 625 spotlights Black artists and is meant to “illuminate the American experience through an African-American lens.” People visiting the exhibit can see realistic and abstract paintings, works on paper, mixed media and digital media.

The Woodland exhibit goes well with Sidge’s ideals of being an artist since she also teaches.

Speaking to around 14 students and staff at Woodland Community College, Sidge explained she will often focus on “autobiographical” images, which if not her then are of people she knows, such as 22-year-old Stephon Clark, who was shot and killed by Sacramento police on March 18, 2018, in the backyard of his grandmother’s home while he had a cell phone in his hand. Two police officers fired 20 rounds at him, believing he was pointing a gun at them.

The killing sparked protests throughout Sacramento and the region, which in turn affected Sidge, who knew Clark. She captured images of the times and put them in her paintings.

“There’s always something in my art which is personal to me and also reflects the time,” she said. “I want my art to be looked at as something which can be placed in a history book and looked back on as something that reflected the times.”

She will often take photographs of friends or others and then develop themes. Those images may also resonate with events in her life that she will then apply to canvas.

While many of her images may express the tribulations of Black and marginalized communities, she told students that she always tries to “find some element of positivity or empowerment, because I want to document the moment but don’t want to sit in the negativity too much because that’s the type of person I am.”

A person wearing a shirt emblazoned with words of protest, can also be revealed as an individual willing to speak their mind. She also puts a strong focus on “pushing out” her work via social media such as Instagram.

She admitted that as a child, she was often considered a “bad kid” who had to reflect inward because she had many times of “isolation,” where she had her phone taken away. It wasn’t until after high school that she started to take her art seriously as a means of expressing herself.

Sidge said she grew up in a predominantly white area of Sacramento and didn’t have much trouble with bullying despite being one of the only Black kids, but still feels that when “you’re in a space which is clearly different it shows. I think I carried that into my work.”

“It became a reason for me to show my Blackness in a beautiful, beautiful way,” she said. And because she has a light complexation, those works often showcase a light-skinned Black woman.

Initially, her artwork focused on the 1970s because it was a time of protest, of Black exploitation films. She was also into the music and dance, which she has always loved. She also had an “Afro-style” haircut, which often comes out in her work, such as two pieces at Gallery 625.

In one painting, two dancers each have Afro haircuts, while in a second, Sidge draws herself with an Afro, oiling and combing the hair of her boyfriend.

“As I have developed as a person my art has developed as well,” she told the students. “It’s gotten more and more personal as time has gone on.”

Speaking of her “mindset” and “process” of her work after some 10 years of creativity, Sidge also focused on how artists can promote themselves telling them to use social media and other avenues.

Sidge’s talk on Thursday came two days after the Biden administration hosted more than two dozen family members of civil rights icons and major historical figures for a gala celebrating Black history.

Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance where she praised the families and recounted the administration’s commitment to Black communities.

A few hours later, Republicans held a reception in Washington’s U Street neighborhood, a key part of Black history in the city, to celebrate former GOP officials and activists who have engaged Black voters.

The White House has taken Black History Month as an opportunity to highlight the administration’s efforts on priorities such as education, voting rights and jobs.