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Film Produced by Zeke Hanson of Micro Film Series, Featuring Ryan Light of the Art Alley Guild.
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Art Alley 2005
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Art Alley 2007
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Art Alley 2013
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Humans have always used art to express themselves to future generations. The desire to speak beyond one’s self and leave a mark runs deep in the soul. Collectively, we wish to shed light on the beauty of our day, warn of the dangers and provide direction for those who come after us. The area known as Founder’s Rock, just a short distance northwest of Art Alley, bears inscriptions made by some of the first people to create “Rapid City” alongside petroglyphs left by people who had called this place home for thousands of years before that. Many of the buildings downtown have initials, dates and other inscriptions scratched into the soft brick, dating back to the years they were built.
The alley that runs from Sixth to Seventh Streets was no exception to this phenomenon. The early 2000’s found this alley populated with an eclectic mix - business people and bohemians, artists and musicians, professionals and wayward travelers from all directions. As the group grew, the alley became a canvas where these people began to tell the story of their time. At some point, and quite organically, it became known simply as “Art Alley.” In 2016, Art Alley Moved to a permit system and is now managed by the Rapid City Arts Council. In this system, Art Alley became more solidified as an official collaborative public art project. In 2023, Black Hills Energy completed a transformational construction project that buried infrastructure and expanded access to exposed brick walls and an open sky view. Today the walls change constantly, sometimes many times a day– making Art Alley a vibrant public art space and popular destination for artists, locals, and visitors. |
2023 - conversation ignitor grant recipients
Logan Beert
Logan Beert, a Black Hills creative, uses Art Alley to explore what is outside the norm. Beert is currently taking art education classes at Black Hills State University. As an emerging Black Hills artist, he painted a mural at Rapid City Central High School.
Beert’s submission features an alien, an apatosaurus humanoid, a skeleton fairy, a fashionable astronaut, and some fuzzy characters. He says, “This mural gives people who are outside ‘the norm,’” a chance to reflect on their differences. The large-scale piece in Art Alley leaves space for onlookers to become part of the mural, standing among the humanoid characters. As people place themselves in the mural they create their own story. Beert says, “People can now relate to people they may not have known before."
Logan Beert, a Black Hills creative, uses Art Alley to explore what is outside the norm. Beert is currently taking art education classes at Black Hills State University. As an emerging Black Hills artist, he painted a mural at Rapid City Central High School.
Beert’s submission features an alien, an apatosaurus humanoid, a skeleton fairy, a fashionable astronaut, and some fuzzy characters. He says, “This mural gives people who are outside ‘the norm,’” a chance to reflect on their differences. The large-scale piece in Art Alley leaves space for onlookers to become part of the mural, standing among the humanoid characters. As people place themselves in the mural they create their own story. Beert says, “People can now relate to people they may not have known before."
conversation ignitor grant recipients
Lumi
Born in Bozeman, MT. 1997. Currently living in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
From scribbling markers over her mother’s walls in her childhood to throwing paint at a canvas years later, Lumi has always found a way to express herself through a variety of artistic mediums. She was raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota and remained in the area to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Black Hills State University, which she is currently pursuing. In addition, she attended Academy of Art University in San Francisco for a few summer classes in 2017, then returned to the hills to finish off the rest of her degree.
Although Lumi may not be a traditional landscape artist, she pulls inspiration directly from the hills and incorporates the spiritual knowledge into each composition she creates. From a young age, her parents emphasized the connection to nature from outdoor play to learning more holistic ways of healing, both of which have exponentially grown in her present years. Lumi became very intrigued with the metaphysical at a young age, exploring the laws of the universe and starting on her spiritual journey through means of sacred geometry and even music to inspire some of her pieces. Most recently, she transforms dreams and visions she has into surreal depictions, narrating significant events throughout her life.
https://www.instagram.com/lumi.222/
Born in Bozeman, MT. 1997. Currently living in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
From scribbling markers over her mother’s walls in her childhood to throwing paint at a canvas years later, Lumi has always found a way to express herself through a variety of artistic mediums. She was raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota and remained in the area to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Black Hills State University, which she is currently pursuing. In addition, she attended Academy of Art University in San Francisco for a few summer classes in 2017, then returned to the hills to finish off the rest of her degree.
Although Lumi may not be a traditional landscape artist, she pulls inspiration directly from the hills and incorporates the spiritual knowledge into each composition she creates. From a young age, her parents emphasized the connection to nature from outdoor play to learning more holistic ways of healing, both of which have exponentially grown in her present years. Lumi became very intrigued with the metaphysical at a young age, exploring the laws of the universe and starting on her spiritual journey through means of sacred geometry and even music to inspire some of her pieces. Most recently, she transforms dreams and visions she has into surreal depictions, narrating significant events throughout her life.
https://www.instagram.com/lumi.222/
Michael Lee Willcuts
Michael Lee Willcuts - Sioux Indian Museum Exhibition Biography.
Sans Arc Teton Sioux Miniconjou Lakota (1966- )
Michael Lee Willcuts was born in Los Angeles, California on September 5, 1966. His Lakota name is Tatanka Woslal Mani, which translates to Buffalo Who Walks Standing Upright / Standing Upright Buffalo / Standing Walking Buffalo.
Willcuts is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe; he belongs to the Minniconjou band of the Lakota Nation.
Willcuts' ancestral lineage includes his great great great-grandfather Red Hair Elk Head, who is/was a Keeper of the Sacred Calf Pipe and whose sister is/was Crazy Horse's mother. His great great great-grandfather is/was a member of the Elk Head Clan. Willcuts' grandmother, Annie Yellowhawk / Elk Head, is the last living member of this clan.
Willcuts is in the vanguard of a new and innovative breed using a now accepted fine art medium, airbrush. He is one of the few Native American visual artists to experiment and develop what was once a tool used primarily in commercial art. Already, Willcuts has polished and mastered a style of razor-sharp clarity with much enthusiasm.
As an artist, Willcuts has participated in notable exhibitions such as the 1990 Ventura Cup Regatta. There, he won a certificate of professional merit for a poster he designed. His work was also included in a one year exhibition at Ventura College. In 1992, Willcuts entered a student design and photography show at Black Hills State University where he also placed second in illustrations.
Willcuts is confident when he says how much he loves his career and sincerely considers his talent a gift from God. He wants to provide everyone with a glimpse into the history of his culture and the spiritual relationship he has with the earth.
Presently, Willcuts live in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Http://www.artmajeur.com/michael-lee-willcuts
Michael Lee Willcuts - Sioux Indian Museum Exhibition Biography.
Sans Arc Teton Sioux Miniconjou Lakota (1966- )
Michael Lee Willcuts was born in Los Angeles, California on September 5, 1966. His Lakota name is Tatanka Woslal Mani, which translates to Buffalo Who Walks Standing Upright / Standing Upright Buffalo / Standing Walking Buffalo.
Willcuts is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe; he belongs to the Minniconjou band of the Lakota Nation.
Willcuts' ancestral lineage includes his great great great-grandfather Red Hair Elk Head, who is/was a Keeper of the Sacred Calf Pipe and whose sister is/was Crazy Horse's mother. His great great great-grandfather is/was a member of the Elk Head Clan. Willcuts' grandmother, Annie Yellowhawk / Elk Head, is the last living member of this clan.
Willcuts is in the vanguard of a new and innovative breed using a now accepted fine art medium, airbrush. He is one of the few Native American visual artists to experiment and develop what was once a tool used primarily in commercial art. Already, Willcuts has polished and mastered a style of razor-sharp clarity with much enthusiasm.
As an artist, Willcuts has participated in notable exhibitions such as the 1990 Ventura Cup Regatta. There, he won a certificate of professional merit for a poster he designed. His work was also included in a one year exhibition at Ventura College. In 1992, Willcuts entered a student design and photography show at Black Hills State University where he also placed second in illustrations.
Willcuts is confident when he says how much he loves his career and sincerely considers his talent a gift from God. He wants to provide everyone with a glimpse into the history of his culture and the spiritual relationship he has with the earth.
Presently, Willcuts live in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Http://www.artmajeur.com/michael-lee-willcuts
