Creating a Rebellion w/ Academy of Art University, SF
Krithika Sengo in the textile lab, Academy of Art University San Francisco.
Being seasoned in this industry can take you places. But, like most everything we do at Black Crow - we take a different perspective on “green” talent. We trust new designers, we give them a platform to create, and we invest in their art. This is the making of the Rebellion Collection: our annual collaboration with the fashion students of Academy of Art University, San Francisco.
The Rebellion Collection isn’t typical - it’s experimental, it starts off messy, and is constantly evolving. Perhaps that’s what makes it as fulfilling as it is. Academy of Art University alum and our founder Tracy’s goal is to “show these students that their ideas were just the beginning - you can keep pushing and really get experimental.”
We take the students’ physical and digital artwork, reverse engineer their manipulations, and push their art further. And after that? We turn their work into wallcoverings and pay them royalties. Their work is featured across the globe, spanning commercial and residential walls alike, in spaces where you’d expect to see seasoned, established artists’ work.
Students doing their thing in the Textile Lab.
Taking it a step further, we give back to Inner-City Arts through this collection, under our Rebel With a Cause Initiative. A portion of profits is donated to the organization’s mission to engage young people in the creative process in order to shape a society of creative, confident, and collaborative individuals. Inner-City Arts’ latest workshops have focused on self-expression, identity, and social justice - all causes we stand behind and are inspired by.
Reaching Inner-City Arts students as young as elementary age - the Rebellion Collection comes full circle - enabling the next generation to prop up the generation behind them.
The intention behind Rebellion is not only to create opportunity for the budding artists, but to reinforce the idea that the power of art is limitless. And fundamentally, that’s what we’ve created through this collection. We couldn’t be prouder. Read more about what inspires the students below. And stay tuned for the next roundup of genius, coming early May 2022!
MEET THE STUDENTS
“The evolution of art from not just being decorative to being functional and enhancing is powerful. ”
Mariane Taveres uses words like “immerse”, “captivate”, and “relate” to describe her work. Drawing and silk screening are the mediums she finds herself leaning into - but she welcomes new mediums and is excited to see her work take life as wallcoverings. Mariane seeks uncharted challenges - sharing with us that it’s both scary and rewarding to venture yourself into new environments. Something we loved to hear was how community support holds a place in Mariane’s experience as an artist. She’s created since she was a kid, and her family has supported her all along the way. We love a family support system. Mariane is seen here working on the Night Blossom custom mural design in Dolores Park, SF.
Jihyun Kim finds inspiration in traditional Korean wall paintings, but embraces experimentation - especially a good happy accident. Paint is Jihyun’s favorite medium, but she doesn’t limit herself to a brush. Instead she makes tools out of otherwise ordinary things - like tissues, fingers and even leaves to bring about the varied textures in her work. Hello, experimentation! Jihyun’s looking forward to developing her style further as a designer and seeing what new, fresh forms of art the next generation of artists will bring to the table. View Jihyun’s textile portfolio here.
Allen Lee considers his art his escape. Working in a non-creative industry by day, Allen shared with us that he turns to his craft as a means of finding inner peace. We feel that. Finding himself exploring art through a digital lens mainly - he leans into photography and digital software being his mediums of choice. Allen’s work is abstract, conceptualizing textiles out of everyday things like the ridges of a plastic water bottle or the vertical lines of a set of blinds. Diversity and depth in art, as well as the artist’s ongoing discovery, are what Allen most looks forward to in the future of art.
Krithika Sengo’s doodling as a kid matured into a preference for sketching, and since has developed into a number of mediums. Something Krithika said that spoke to us was, “The evolution of art from not just being decorative to being functional and enhancing is powerful.” Yes. Just, yes. She finds cinema to be inspirational, and intentionally highlights simplicity and imperfection in her work. One of Krithika’s latest projects was with SFMTA and SF Beautiful to redecorate the Muni buses of San Francisco with art. Go, click, fast to see her work for yourself here.
LET’S LINK UP
Check out the current Rebellion Collection
Learn more about Inner-City Arts & young LA creatives
Read about our Rebel With a Cause Initiative
Visit Academy of Art University San Francisco’s Fashion Department