NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville's diverse music scene is no secret, but the city is also a hub for artists of various talents. Among them is a group of artists breaking boundaries to offer underrepresented communities a platform to shine through a virtual art museum within reach.
Shabazz Larkin, a co-founder, shares his motivation for the Museum of Presence paper.
"I want to create images of my people, my culture, people who share my life experiences. I want to tell their stories so they can see they're human too," Larkin explained.
The Museum of Presence is a collaborative passion project launched by Shabazz Larkin and friends. Their goal is to make art accessible via a newspaper that interweaves artwork with QR codes for deeper exploration.
Shabazz emphasizes the focus on underrepresented artists.
"We sit down with Nashville's underrepresented artists, those you don't typically find in museums," Shabazz said.
This community-driven initiative aims to give a voice to those often unheard.
"If no one speaks for underrepresented Nashville, no one will invest and come here," Shabazz said.
On Friday, Michael Schneider, a popular artist from Portland, put together one of his popular art installations inspired by Larkin. Schneider uses balloons to share messages and posts them to social media.
For Shabazz's shoot, front and center was his newspaper Museum of Presence. Behind him was a quote from his poem. It read "Perhaps the little piece of God inside of you is much bigger than you think.”
The message was spelled out with balloon letters.
“I hope everyone that reads the publication is in touch with a little more of their own God presence, higher presence, or artistic soul whether they’re an artistic person or not," Schneider said.
Though it's the first edition of the paper, Larkin envisions growth, knowing that this project serves a greater purpose.
"The Museum of Presence is not just a creative beacon; it's a reminder that we are all works of art," Larkin said.
You can find copies of the Museum of Presence at local coffee shops, bringing art and stories to a wider audience.
Learn more information here.
