Donte Woods-Spikes steps out of his comfort zone with ‘Resilience’

Donte Woods-Spikes knows a thing or two about resilience. 

The documentarian, author and youth mentor – who recently added another hyphenate to his growing resume in curating his first art exhibit at the Tremont Road branch of the Upper Arlington Public Library – has struggled with depression from childhood, recently accepting it as part of his mission to engage the public in discussions related to his own mental health challenges as a way of inspiring others to seek help.

“I’m hoping when people hear my story, they understand it’s okay to be vulnerable, and it’s okay to talk about these things. We don’t have to be our perfect selves all of the time, which is the way society makes it seem,” Woods-Spikes said in an April 2023 interview with Matter News.

This sense of inner-strength shines through in Woods-Spikes’ curatorial debut, dubbed “Stories of Resilience: Black History Journey Through the Arts” and currently on display at the UA Library (an opening celebration is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24). The exhibit features contributions from artists including Elle Rachell, Nina “9” Wells, Hosea Artista, Stacie Jackson, Jaden Taylor and Jasmine Wooten, with a number of the pieces centering Black joy.

“Resilience doesn’t always have to be a fight. So often when we talk about Black resilience, we’re talking about a protest, or a time when people had to stand up for themselves,” Woods-Spikes said in a late February interview at the library, where a steady stream of passersby paused to take in the colorful display. “And that is resilience. But resilience is also finding comfort in yourself, or love in your family and friends, or finally being able to be one with your community. … I didn’t want any of [the artists] to feel pressure to create certain things. Whatever you give to me, wherever you are, it’s valuable, and it’s part of that story of Black resilience.”

Woods-Spikes said the first artist he approached was Stacie Jackson, with his reasons being twofold. First, Woods-Spikes said, he’s long been a fan of the artist’s work. But second and perhaps most importantly, he said she had never exhibited her art, and as a first-time curator he was eager to have somebody else step into the unknown alongside him. “She had never displayed anywhere, and in that moment, I told her, ‘You’re going to be a part of my show, and you don’t really have a choice,’” Woods-Spikes said, and laughed. “But really, it was like, ‘We’re going to go through this together.’ And she shared that [her pieces] were harking back to that early artistic urge and her understanding of what it first meant to feel like an artist.”

Jackson’s work skillfully captures a sense of youthful joy and the freedom of play, her pieces depicting children playing checkers in the park and holding tight to stuffies (if you look closely, you might notice a young Woods-Spikes clutching a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, with one of his childhood photos serving as source material for the painting.)

Fittingly, Jackson’s pieces are displayed next to works by Jasmine Wooten, whose paintings almost exist as a flash-forward, depicting beaming Black men and women whose joy is no less buoyant but potentially more hard-won, their smiles arriving amid an unshakeable adult awareness of life’s myriad challenges.

Woods-Spikes said he has harbored dreams of curating an art show since 2018 or ’19, first sharing this desire with artist Kent Grosswiler, whom Woods-Spikes lovingly refers to as Uncle Kent. “And he told me, ‘Hey, I’m on board. Just tell me what you need.’ But I still had this fear,” said Woods-Spikes, who temporarily shelved the idea, returning to it a couple of years later only to have it again put on pause when the pandemic hit in March 2020. 

But in November 2023, Woods-Spikes attended an exhibit at the Shot Tower Gallery at Fort Hayes curated by Jaden Taylor and featuring the work of students who graduated from Fort Hayes during Covid and who never had the opportunity to display their work as a result. “And I saw how good it looked, and all the people who turned out, and I got inspired again, like, dang, I think now it’s time for me to curate my art show,” he said.

Not long after, Woods-Spikes was presented with an opportunity by Jennifer Faure, community engagement specialist at UA Public Library, and a person with whom Woods-Spikes has long had a connection. Once confirmed, Woods-Spikes again had to overcome his fears, sharing that he was initially hesitant to reach out to artists, afraid some might reject the concept, or be too far along in their careers to have any interest in working with a novice. “Are they going to trust me and feel comfortable enough with me to give me their art to display in this space?” he said. 

He needn’t have worried. Every artist Woods-Spikes approached said yes, and the experience already has him hatching plans for his next exhibit.

“And I hope there’s a lesson in that for people,” Woods-Spikes said. “Doing something where you’re stepping into unfamiliar territory can be scary. You don’t know how things are going to turn out. And reaching out to work with other people can feel uncomfortable. But you have to give yourself that chance, and you have to keep open to new experiences. And you’ll never know how good things can be unless you do.”