Film photos by Koko Inkwell aka Yonny

Live In Everett reached out to me to write about Schack Art Center’s American Graffiti: From the Streets to Canvas exhibit and I couldn’t think of something more appropriate for me to experience at this point of the infamous year of 2020. I asked my brother Jon Avelino (AKA Yonny) to join me. Two kids born from immigrant parents who grew up in South Everett, historically disenfranchised by American society, visited a sanctuary space for America’s taboo artistic expression: Graffiti. 

Before I begin to even attempt to capture the entirety of the exhibit, it’s only appropriate I mention the irony of this exhibit’s significant location. Everett, Washington is around 30-40 minutes north of Seattle. As someone who grew up heavily honoring and emulating the beautiful culture that only few experience being HipHop, I couldn’t help to recall and feel a sense of validation cruising through the exhibit. 

For as long as I can remember, Seattle, Washington is home to the most authentic and celebrated art form that we know as HipHop. Although the city tends to celebrate “HipHop” in the most empty and surface level of ways, our culture lives on out of the struggle and chants of suffering people. Graffiti, being one of the four core elements of HipHop, was always used as a political and social tool by the marginalized. CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) is a recent example. Although the spirit of HipHop is live in Seattle, it hasn’t been without difficulties; in a city and county that is constantly displacing many Black and other POC folks, I have to admit that I was very skeptical in visiting Schack Art Center. 

To my joy, I found myself reconnecting to my youth and to the reasons I fell in love with not only HipHop but Graffiti which are one in the same. The exhibit features 85 spectacular Graffiti Art originals held in a private collection. These works come from artists from all over the country, including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, Boston, Seattle, and Phoenix. Yonny and I barely talked while in this space, taking in the beautiful momentos that unapologetically made itself seen in the urban hoods all over the nation. This space embodies graffiti from the earliest 20th-century era pieces paving the way for many of the art you won’t miss while going through I-5 South and North. 

While I was extremely honored to visit the exhibit before it was open to the public, I must acknowledge that the Northwest has long been fighting for self-sovereignty when it comes to HipHop. This stems from a long history of the Puget Sound, both Everett and Seattle included, consistently taking advantage of the perks and aesthetic of HipHop but not providing equity to the people behind the culture. 

The city of Seattle and Everett need to not only provide more artistic spaces represented by the most marginalized but also financially support the many local creatives that are the backbone of society. In a time where the nation is facing its biggest civil unrest and reality check in a while, this exhibit is a start for our city and other local officials to make up for long decades of societal exploitation. Giving back to the Black and Brown bodies that are what made Graffiti and HipHop what it is. 

If you plan on visiting American Graffiti: From the Streets to Canvas, here’s a quick guide: 

• Pay homage to the Tulalip tribe that has long existed in the Everett/Northern Puget Sound area.

• Educate yourself in HipHop how it isn’t exotic; HipHop is a voice of the voiceless.

• Don’t forget your mask!! The virus is still strong.

• Put some headphones on and go bump that Tribal Music/Blue Scholars.

• Apply pressure to your city officials because many folks are being jailed for the very art you just enjoyed the luxury of viewing….how ironic. 

Although this exhibit is temporary, HipHop is forever.

You can find out more of our lifestyles through our social media and music, Aurelio Valdez and Yonny. Yonny has a new EP, perfect for listening to while viewing the exhibit at Schack. 

American Graffiti: From the Streets to Canvas runs through September 5.

Schack Art Center
2921 Hoyt Ave.
Everett, WA 98201
(425) 259-5050

Aurelio Valdez is a Mexican-American HipHop artist from South Everett. While working on his undergrad degree at SPU, he serves as an educator in Burien, Washington for SWYFS and works as a community organizer under his new founded organization known as The Hydrant.