Artist Honey Pierre brings Foundation’s mission to life

To bring our mission for equity and shared prosperity to life and support Atlanta’s arts economy, we partnered with Dashboard, a women-led creative nonprofit founded in Atlanta that produces transformative arts experiences in public spaces nationwide, and Honey Pierre, an Atlanta-based artist creating narratives with fiber, paint and mixed media, to bring local art to our office space.

Titled “Community”, the multimedia installation is composed of gemstones, beads, yarn and alcohol ink to celebrate the vision of a more equitable region.

Nikonie Brown, digital content associate, sat down with Honey to discuss the piece and her inspiration.

Tell us about yourself and your background.

I’m from Cleveland, Ohio, and about four years ago, I came to Atlanta to pursue my art career. I create because it energizes me and I get to spread my message. I feel like everybody likes to say it’s their purpose when they do something they love, but I really do feel like that.

Tell us about the piece. What’s the story behind it and your process?

The piece is entitled Community. I wanted to embody the whole workspace here with everybody in mind when it comes to work, but also being outside of work – what we do in our day-to-day besides just contributing. The Foundation has a lot of programs that help a lot of folks. I wanted to showcase the different types of people here and the people you help. Like the two older women reading to each other and the father and daughter at home reading. I wanted to show what you do for the community and everyday life.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration from day-to-day life. Most of my work is based off family and community. And I feel like being in such an incubator like Atlanta and having so many creatives around, we tend to be inspired by one another, bounce ideas off and that’s always great.

Why do you think art is important to Atlanta?

I feel like the art market in Atlanta is extremely important. Culture is here, specifically Black culture, African culture, Latino culture. Everybody’s coming here too and putting into each other and communities. Atlanta has soul – and it shows in the arts, in the music and it shows in the people who represent the city too.

How do you think art can bring people together, particularly Atlanta’s communities?

Art brings people together and it’s been shown throughout time, like the Renaissance. Art really brought storytelling together and what was happening during that time. So fast forward to now, we still use art to tell those stories and connect folks even though we have all these new devices and ways of communicating. I feel like it’s a great thing that we still value artists to do that storytelling. Here, the arts scene does a good job at it – from murals to the galleries to installations like this, we bring the artist to actual community they’re creating for.

Where is your favorite place in Atlanta to view or experience art?

Little Five Points. A lot of people I know – if they already aren’t signed to the gallery and are just moving to Atlanta from a different city – start at Little Five Points. I go there to see the art, see the people who are creating the art, see the hustle, get inspired from that and keep going.

Cassandra Hickey, also known as Honey Pierre, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Her practice includes murals, fiber art, collage, and traditional painting. Honey describes her work as the embodiment of a dreamer making markers for everyone to view. Learn more about Honey on her website and Instagram.

Photo credit: Wyatt Kane