Spotlight: Serendipitous Collaboration with Huey Lightbody

Creative spaces where art and community coincide can bloom in serendipitous ways. For Huey Lightbody of Lightbody Studio, a space like this came to fruition in the heart of Petersburg, VA. An unexpected discovery, Huey established his studio and founded The Vessel Gallery with Zorina Amen, and ever since, it has taken on a kind of shared artistic hub for craft and healing.

Read ahead for Huey’s words:

CultureWorks: Who are you and what is your relationship to your studio Vessel?
Huey: Bless, my name is Huey Lightbody of Lightbody Studio and Founder of The Vessel Gallery in Partnership with Zorina Amen

CW: Tell me a bit about the foundation of your studio! What is it & how did it get started?
H: The way the studio came into fruition was divine in its presentation. I had been looking for a space to designate as my place of play and study, but further to utilize for my past showing “Bleu”. In my search, I looked in places up and down the east coast. In epicenters of course, like New York or Miami. However, I was blessed with the discovery of the space I hold now, tucked away in the Brilliance of Petersburg.

CW: What kinds of projects are you working with now? Share whatever you’d like to about the present state of your work!
H: More recently I’ve been tending more toward the gallery and finding what would fruit best in that space. I’ve taken on board an artist by the name of Jay Young and he’s currently a resident to the gallery, where he is taking on collaborative projects, as well as gearing up for his next showing. His work will be presented in a way that coincides with the efforts of the gallery and what we stand for. 

CW: How have you felt your studio connect with the community around you? What do you feel is unique about your space?
H: The intent of the Gallery is sewn in a nontraditional way, so I find building the relationship between myself as Space Holder, partnered with an artist in that unorthodox way can benefit the artist in their growth in the highest, most truthful way. Further, through the gallery we plan to utilize the concepts of NFTs and their authenticating methods to certify the authenticity of in-house artists’ work, thus increasing valuation and creating a more marketable and profitable space for the artists.  

Personally in regard to projects, I have been gearing up for my own personal and solo Exhibition later this year. This show will be held and presented outside of the gallery. I plan to make it extremely accessible to outer communities. In doing so, I want to share conceptualized methods of presentation and marketing to help those around me understand the power of assets and how beautiful true physical contemporary work really is. In due time, I will be publishing a book. Which will play a huge role in this exhibition.

The beauty of the space is that The Studio and Gallery are essentially connected. I get to share The Vessel, the Gallery, in a way where I can connect with the community in an open way where people are able to have impressionable experiences that are well rounded and inviting. I also get to share my personal studio space with my community. In my personal space, I am blessed to share my practices in a more intimate setting. Sharing breath work, space for grounding, and more recently sound healing with Nova Sunn.

CW: Have you collaborated with any artists or spaces recently that were meaningful for you?
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve worked with a number of Artists and Space holders from the creation of the space to the works and happenings on the inside. From the residency, to the intimate time shared in the Studio. The Vessel and I, myself, are here to build community in ways that help all reach levels of abundance, energetically, and so on.
 
CW: What obstacles or challenges do you face in your creative work life? Do you have any resolutions for your work or Vessel in 2022?
H: The biggest challenges come monetarily, selling my personal work, and taking on the challenge of helping push another’s can be a bit much. However, it’s fruitful in the energy and life it gives. Nonetheless, all of that energy is being put into building new structural grounds of community that will help achieve those goals in a curated space. With challenges mentioned and the beginning of this New Year, I must say I have resolutions only to continue to grow in the divinity of time and build. Nothing is truly resolute, for all I am is certain in what I am to build and share.

CW: Where do you look for inspiration in the arts and culture these days, and how do you stay inspired?
H: I am inspired in the space of observation. Within my life experiences and what has been witnessed has shaped the style of my work and the way I hold space. Decisions made each day show me new facets that I get to accept about myself everyday.  The journey presently moved in becomes a study that is then articulated through mediums in reflection.

I’ve learned myself to a degree that I am the concrete on the ground in my processes to end shame and further the tree eating the sun in my experiences of bliss and totality. Fluctuation may very well be my inspiration.  For I am still human and the journey that reside there is ongoing. All in all, I merely practice totality and the understandings met there. 

community, mindfulness, tri-cities, visual artPiper Lynchspotlights