‘I wanted the kids to … understand this could be a possibility for their future’

The “Young Artists of Columbus” exhibition now on display at Urban Arts Space features a number of firsts, from the curatorial debut of Imara Regis to the dozens of sixth through twelfth grade students whose work fills the gallery – many of whom have never before shown publicly. 

“I was a Columbus City Schools kid myself, and as somebody who has always enjoyed the arts … you want to do anything you can to fuel that interest,” Regis said, pointing to obstacles such as school budgets where arts funding is typically the first thing on the chopping block and the challenge of taking art classes alongside others who might harbor little to no interest in the subject. “When you’re going to public school, you might be in a class of 30 where maybe three of you like art. … So, I wanted to give them a space outside of school to be with other artists.”

As a means of fostering this sense of connection, Regis will host a reception at the gallery from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24 (weather permitting), in addition to a “Creative Futures” meet and greet on Friday, Jan. 30, during which the student exhibitors will have the opportunity to sit with and ask questions of a handful of working Columbus artists, including Arris’ J. Cohen, Ajanaé Dawkins, and Iyana Hill, among others.

Regis said she would have “jumped for joy” if afforded a similar opportunity as a younger artist, recalling how she initially struggled to find her place within the art world after first taking up painting in high school. “When you go to museums, the lack of people of color can be a little halting, especially as a woman of color,” she said. “And so, I started by painting the people I see and the world I want to live in.”

Once enrolled at Ohio State University, where she studied art management, Regis said this world began to open up, particularly once she started interning at Urban Arts Space, where she crossed paths with artists and educators including Terron Banner, Ky Smiley, and Ayat Ibraham, who in turn introduced her to the likes of April Sunami and Arris’ Cohen. 

“And the first time I saw [Cohen’s] work, I got to meet him, and he did a gallery tour with our class. And getting to talk to him about his process and his mindset and why he made the work he did, it was just so flooring,” said Regis, who allowed that up until that moment she had never considered that a career as an art maker could even be possible. “The adults of my childhood really pushed me to do something like art therapy, because until you’re in the art world, you’re not going to understand you can make money in the art world. And that was one of the biggest pushes behind this show. I wanted the kids to be able to see themselves in this professional space, so they could understand this could be a possibility for their future.”

Raised by a mother who worked as a nurse and an accountant father, Regis said her earliest introduction to art arrived via dance, with a series of injuries eventually limiting her from the pursuit. In its absence, she began to paint, experimenting with a variety of mediums and styles until her own voice began to surface in the work. One early turning point arrived earlier in high school, when Regis painted colorful portraits of two women on both sides of a small wooden square worn and textured by having served for years as a tap-dancing platform for her mom and sister. Looking back, the artist now draws a connection between the wooden canvas and the female figures she painted on each side, seeing in the work echoes of family, femininity and ancestral lineage – a story she would have been loath to share as a teenager even if she had recognized it in the moment.

“As a child, I hated naming my pieces and I didn’t want a storyline,” said Regis, who now sees in this hesitancy a desire to maintain some aspect of privacy. “It was part self-preservation and part irritability in being a teenager and having questions asked of you all the time. It’s just something I didn’t want to talk about or have to deal with then. … But looking back now, I can see it was really me trying to find my place as an artist. It was a way of me trying to free myself.”