Art and Community Talk

On November 4th, Noraa James, the Creature Comforts Brewing Co. Artist in Residence for 2021, took part in a conversation on art and community in Athens with Creature Comforts hospitality manager Madeline Blankenship and Mark Callahan, artistic director of Ideas for Creative Exploration and associate academic director of the Wilson Center for Humanities and Arts at UGA. James is a painter, photographer, and graphic designer whose work is an imaginative exploration of black beauty through the scope of Afro-surrealism and Afro-futurism. His art is defined as a love letter to his ancestors, celebrating and acknowledging the gifts they've left behind. His art displays the beauty of black skin, comparing it closely with the uniqueness of layered skies and the depth of the universe. His art expresses emotions of alienation, overriding those feelings with how being different is beautiful. His art has painted bridges with the surrounding community, connecting them through conversation on how to engage with new and upcoming artists. James has done this by presenting his art on Creature Comforts Brewery beer cans and participating in Get Artistic, a year-round program that creates opportunities for local artists through curated exhibitions and performances at Creature Comforts.