Winning a Beyoncé Grant
The Queen B, Beyoncé has always been known to give back to the Black community and COVID-19 has been no different. Beyoncé teamed up with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) through her nonprofit BeyGOOD to award $10,000 grants to small Black-owned businesses. During 2020 on the 15th of every month, businesses were selected and Milwaukee-owned VIBEZ Creative Arts Space was one of those grant recipients.
VIBEZ Founder Chrishella Roché said the grant came at the perfect timing and made a positive impact on the business. She and the team had already invested in updating their POS system, but didn’t have enough funds to finish out the job. Yet, with their new grant, they were able to complete the update, along with putting funds towards going completely virtual.
“It was around the holidays [when] things were slowing down and we weren’t really getting corporate business as much as we’ve done in the past,” said Roché. “I was kinda like ‘what are we going to do?’ and then I got the email.”
The VIBEZ’s team was notified in November 2020.
As an in-person space that provides an art experience, Roché and the team had to think of ways to bring that authentic feel online, which meant getting new equipment. After doing some research, the team purchased a laptop, a video camera, a tripod, editing software, and lights.
A Finding A Way Through the Pandemic
As a team of three, VIBEZ is providing online art classes. Participants can purchase paint kits that contain hand-drawn canvases, paint, and brushes to paint live during VIBEZ’s virtual classes. The kits can also be shipped to those outside of Milwaukee.
VIBEZ also offers customized art for clients.
Roché thanks her team for helping her push forward. Going into quarantine, it was just Roché and artist CannedBeatz, who would host virtual sessions. Now, VIBEZ has an art assistant named Zhané, who helps run the social media and pack the painting kits.
“We’ve been able to pivot and find new ways to engage with people,” she said. “We definitely appreciate the love and support from the community. People have been very patient with us as we navigate this new normal.”
VIBEZ’s classes were broken into different sessions while in person, including family time and ladies’ night. Now, VIBEZ has been offering virtual kid sessions to give parents a little time to themselves.
Being A Hub for Artists
As a hub for artists and culture, Roché wants to showcase Milwaukee’s artists every month. The space is already doing this quarterly, but she wants to expand it.
“I know that we have many artists in Milwaukee [and] I want them to be able to share their art with the world,” said Roché.
Nyesha Stone founded Carvd N Stone in 2017 to cover positive news while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Stone has a B.A. in Journalism. She has raised over $30,000 to award grants and scholarships. She has also been featured in ESSENCE and worked with the American Black Film Festival.
