Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.

Collaborating in Richmond

AMOS PAUL KENNEDY JR: I am Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. I am a printer. I am based in Detroit Michigan. Posters are designed to be distributed among the masses. It is supposed to be a wall of confusion that excites the visual. But I wanted to include the community of Richmond. The bulk of the work is what’s collected from barbershops and beauty salons in the Richmond area. So it is I think a fairly representative sample of Richmond. There are some posters that reflect other parts of my work and you can tell those because they do not have an identifying barbershop or beauty salon with it.

All the processes that are involved in making a print are involved in this project. In order to print you have to have a printing press, which is made out of metal. I could not print if it were not for some poor guy digging coal in Pennsylvania so it can be used to turn iron into steel. We are all connected.

Peace will come when you see yourself in strangers.

Collaborator – Taylor’s Barbershop

DAWAYNE TAYLOR: I’m Dawayne Taylor. I am the owner of Taylor’s Barbershop here in Richmond Virginia. The unique thing about Taylor’s Barbershop on Broad Street is that generally most barbershops’ culture is one demographic or ethnicity. And we’re pretty diverse not just for black/white. But also females and men barbers. The goal for us was being able to be inviting to all cultures.

When this opportunity was brought to me, my light bulb just went on. We initially worked with Amos; we talked about some things that were close and near and dear to who I was. But he also wanted to get some things from not only the barbers but some of the clients that were serviced here; some small quotes. We just had a pad and had clients come in write some things down. And we gave that to the ICA.

What it’s going to tend to do is, it’s going to make conversation happen while somebody’s getting serviced in the barbershop.