Yeah, it’s a cultural icon.
When I first moved here, I thought, how dope would it
be to be a part of B-Side.
Yeah, B-Side used to be part of the city. We did a lot of
things, there wasn’t an event in Orlando that B-Side
wasn’t at. Music, art, movies, we were there. Obviously, everyone grew and started doing their own thing. When did
you move to Orlando?—
—2013
So you never saw what B-Side use to be. On Orange Ave,
every Wednesday night there were close to - artists
outside painting live. You couldn’t go downtown without
seeing art.
There’s a new generation of B-Siders. What are your
thoughts on them now and their direction?
It’s great, some of the new artists are phenomenal. It’s
great to have them, some of the old timers have gotten
complacent. They find their niche and stay there. Whereas the youngens, the youngbloods, are injecting the passion that some of us old timers have lost. Because as long
as we’re making money, we forget the passion. Some of
us have families and have to make sure our families eat.
But that young blood injected in there, they’re challenging us, they’re saying, “Yo, you better come strong, that
weak stuff isn’t going to work.” So I’m proud of them. You
heard of Halsi? He started coming around when he was
- if not younger than that. And over the years, he’s grown
so much. Now he’s , and he’s never stopped reppin’
B-Side. He’s more consistent than the rest of us
We Can Be Heroes, acrylic on canvas
Awatif, acrylic on canvas
B-Side commands respect. The name, does it still have
the same influence it used to?
I can’t answer that question because I pulled myself away
from that name. I’ve gotten lost in my head, and in my
own world, I fell in love with what B-Side use to be, the
community, the togetherness. We did things together, and
we don’t do that anymore. I guess we’ve all outgrown it.
We only come together probably for the yearly show. And
that’s the only time we see each other. But we’re still proud
of the name, though.
I’m proud of being a B-Sider. Without it, I wouldn’t be
where I am now. When I moved to Orlando, I wasn’t doing
art, and without those guys, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
I got so lost in the regular life. It was go to work, come
home, watch T.V., go out with some friends, grab some
drinks. And always look forward to weekends. I hated that.
B-Side changed that.
Without B-Side, the love I have for art now, I don’t think I
would’ve had that. I wouldn’t have been able to fall in love
with art all over again.
Thanks Peterson. Can we talk more about your processes, influences? And your involvement with HG Arts. Because we’re caught up now to the present. HG Arts, and
your current work.
HG Arts stands for Hospitality Gallery, as far as I know.
And it’s only to the trade, to designers. The stuff we do:
we outsource original artwork and we get license from the
artists to reproduce their original artwork. We don’t just
reproduce art, so were not a factory in that sense.
HG studio artists produce a large volume of work on a
weekly basis, and each artist in the studio produces between - pieces of art. So there’s no time to think pro-
Orlando’s Art Scene
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