The King’s Canvas is harnessing the power of paint to help bring a historic neighborhood back to living color.

Art of all shapes, sizes and forms can be powerful. It can capture a fleeting moment, share a lone feeling or tell a bold story. But in the right hands, the picture gets even bigger.

Kevin King believes art can not only change lives, but reinvigorate neighborhoods. And The King’s Canvas, the Montgomery nonprofit he founded, is providing the studio space, supplies, classes, collaborative events and inspiration to do both.

It started with a Father’s Day gift in 2013. King grew up painting and drawing, but with no one pointing him to formal art education or the notion that art could be a career, he stopped in high school and went on to get a degree in engineering. Sixteen years later, his wife and daughter gave him an easel, a canvas, and some paint and brushes. “They said, ‘Now, you have no excuse. Paint.’” So he did.

In a year, his house was full of his art. He began selling and then showing his work. As he scanned the walls at his own exhibits and others, he was troubled. “There was not much of a Black presence,” he said, “and I had an issue with that. I realized it was often about access. They didn’t have a place to create. They didn’t have anyone to show them how to get their work noticed.”

He saw that issue and took action. He began dismantling barriers by starting The King’s Canvas in 2017, reaching out to Montgomery’s underrepresented and marginalized artists of all colors and backgrounds. “I wanted to get that person who was like me, coming out of high school, artistically inclined but with no direction or understanding of where to go next with their talent,” he said. “I also wanted to connect with adults like me, who’d just given art up. I wanted to encourage them back into creating and show them the potential to make a living doing it.”

The King’s Canvas keeps inspiration at full supply for neighborhood artists from Alabama Power Foundation on Vimeo.

All invited for inspiration

Today, The King’s Canvas has a small space where anyone can let their expressions loose, at no charge. There are easels set up and waiting, blank canvases begging for someone to transform them into art, and all the supplies – paint, brushes, markers, pencils and more – to fuel the creative process.

“I love seeing the people in here doing their thing. It’s fun and uplifting,” King said.

The diverse results adorn the walls above the workstations. A piece with magazine cutouts of strong Black women and questions about “ideal” beauty collaged atop an American flag is next to a still life: a simple vase filled with brightly colored stylized flowers. A portrait of Kamala Harris on a hot-pink background hangs across from a muted landscape of shadowy trees.

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The impact of The King’s Canvas isn’t confined to this physical space. The organization contracts with an art professor from Alabama State University to co-teach, with King, weekly art classes for Valiant Cross Academy, an all-boys private school in Montgomery. The nonprofit collaborates with other arts groups and organizations on events that provide exposure for participating artists.

While King enjoys the events, the open studio time and instructing others in technique, he’s also committed to teaching aspiring artists how their work has value beyond aesthetics. “We really want to get our artists to a place where they support themselves as full-time artists,” he said. To that end, The King’s Canvas holds entrepreneurship classes. “With these principles, put into practice, I’ve had artists tell me they made more money in four hours at an event selling their art than they’re making in a week on their job. That’s rewarding to hear.”

The King’s Canvas has everything artists need to create, including a nurturing environment. (Alabama Power Foundation)

Welcome to the neighborhood

But King isn’t stopping at sparking and nurturing people’s creativity and marketing abilities. His sights are set on a much larger mission: revitalizing the neighborhood of Washington Park and its business district, where The King’s Canvas is based. Here, again, art is his tool. “A piece of artwork can instill a great deal of pride in a community,” he said. He nods toward a massive mural adorning an exterior wall of The King’s Canvas building. Painted atop a vibrant purple and blue background, a message is emblazoned, graffiti-style, in bold yellow, block font: “Welcome to West Side Montgomery.”

The mural is a catalyst for King’s economic development strategy. “Many other metropolitan areas have similar murals, and the tourists find it. They go take a picture in front of it; they post it on social media. Then others see it, and they come do the same thing when they visit,” he said. “Now, while they’re in the area, they’re wondering, ‘What else is here?’ They’re looking for a boutique, a coffee shop or a restaurant to patronize.”

King’s philosophy follows the broad strokes of creative placemaking, which he notes has worked in other areas across the country – engaging residents, reducing crime and raising quality of life.

To keep the momentum going and growing, The King’s Canvas recently launched its “Get Off the Bus” fundraising campaign. The goal: to draw more people to Washington Park by promoting the existing mural, adding other public art projects and events, and expanding The King’s Canvas’ current space to accommodate a larger studio and dedicated gallery.

His hope is to tap into the tens of thousands of visitors who retrace the route of the historic 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march, which comes right through Washington Park. King wants them to “get off the bus” and look around.

“This place has such a story; so much important history happened near here and right here,” King said. “But we need to give the tourists already moving through here a reason to stop. We need more art. We need stores. We need more restaurants.”

Along with its art programs, The King’s Canvas has an economic development mission for Washington Park. (Alabama Power Foundation)

Staying native

King’s plan is already starting to work. A combination coffee shop and bookstore is going in, adjacent to The King’s Canvas. And there’s interest in a third space next to the coffee shop. Others are beginning to see what he sees.

With his back to the mural, King points to an expanse of grass. “Take this spot. It’s vacant lots, right? But we put up this mural and all of a sudden, it’s something else. It’s a park, a public gathering space, a place for functions and fun.”

For several years, the Alabama Power Foundation has supported The King’s Canvas, and last year it provided resources for King’s economic development initiative. “I’m so appreciative of the foundation’s generosity,” he said, “because we have a lot of work to do. This is low-hanging fruit. People are constantly saying, ‘How can we invest in the west side?’ I’m saying: using these creative placemaking strategies.

“We need to get our artists involved on the front end. It allows Montgomerians and people from this neighborhood to build their vision for this place.”

And with local artists and supporters – not outside developers – pouring their creative energy into the effort, King said the result is authentic and more likely to endure.

“There’s a lot of data out there on these ideas, and the data say that they work. I know we can implement them here in Washington Park, but also in our other economically distressed communities. Imagine what our city could become,” King said.

“People, families, neighborhoods and entire cities thrive when you teach people how to harness talent and provide the opportunities and resources that let creative individuals flourish.”

This story is part of a series about nonprofits aided by the Alabama Power Foundation, based on the foundation’s 2020 Annual Report.