Poets From Black Canadian Artists You Should Know

Powerful words from the perspective of young ambitious storytellers 

Whether you are trying to start a business or become an artist, we can all learn a lesson or two from these Black Canadian Artists. 

Creating art is a meaningful expression that requires a passion in activities that can consist of words, drawings, sounds or other things that are unique to an individual creation. 

These Black Canadian Artists named Affrica Spence & Christopher Kaputo share their story of what it means to create art on episode 4 of the BlackcocoBrown podcast.

When Chris was asked what art means to him, his response clearly defined the impact art has had on his life.

"Art is never finished. It's not the final product itself. It's the process of creation. It's to contribute to the conversation, principles and ideas brought to us from those who came before us. Art in its purest form is the imitation of nature. Art is interaction. More specifically how we interact with our environment. And our reaction to the simplism and how it makes us feel. How something makes us feel and our reaction to it. So, everyone is an artist!" Christopher explained.

When I was growing up, I believed an artist was only someone that can draw.

But speaking with other Canadian artists, made me realize that anyone and everyone can be an artist with a meaningful expression of an individual's creation. 

In Jamaica, my culture loves Reggae and Dancehall however it never occurred to me that these tunes were meaningful expressions of an individual's creation. 

Art is so much more than just drawing, it consists of everything around us that is unique and was created by an individual. 

I would consider buying chicken as art because the preparation and cooking of the food require passions that are unique to the chef.

Whether someone is cooking, drawing, or creating music, black people have a unique way of being creative that comes in many forms. 

Many people in life are introduced to art in many ways, that's why I thought it would be great to ask how these Canadian artists were introduced to art.

"A key moment for me was when my mom gave me a diary to express myself and get ideas out to tap in on sharing my thoughts on paper. I started to have fun playing with words, images, and video to tell my stories and the expressions I was feeling through my art, which came out from elementary school," Affrica explained. 

From this topic discussion, I was able to understand that most people develop their passion for art in elementary school when the concept is introduced by a parent or teacher.

Although anyone and everyone can be an artist, I've come to realize that we all have a type of art that we most identify with.

For some of us, it can be a creative outlet to identify with the spoken word whereas others can identify their art pieces by creating music or drawing.

That doesn't necessarily mean that we can't choose to identify with other segments of art when it makes sense to express our feelings differently.

Some would say art is a season, meaning that you can express your art in a way that depicts an accurate representation of the current moment.

Canadians can support artists in many ways whether if it be through supporting creatives online or offline.

You can support Affrica Spence through her website This is Voetry while Christopher Kaputo is available on Instagram.

If you want your business featured on our platform, please email info@blackcocobrown.com to share your own story with our community.

Judith Shaw is the storyteller behind this platform and wants to help Black Artists and Businesses gain exposure.