In this episode of the Better Together Arizona podcast, ONE Community President and Co-Founder, Angela Hughey is joined by two local artists: Ashley LaRae Sampson and Ciera Holston to celebrate Black History Month and honor local African Americans and the Arts. 

Together, the panel discusses Ashley and Ciera’s lived experiences as Black women and artists growing up in Arizona, including Ciera’s experience growing up in the small, conservative town of Safford, AZ and the struggle to find representation as a young, Black, queer woman. And how the Internet, including YouTube and MySpace, allowed her to express herself and connect with others that looked and felt like her. 

The conversation highlights Ashley and Ciera’s journeys as visual and written artists. After starting their careers outside the state, Ashley and Ciera came back to Arizona with a mission to expose the incredible artistry and sports happening in Phoenix. Now, they work together on their business: StylePhx, to do just that.

Black History Month takes place every February as “a month-long celebration to promote, research, preserve, interpret, and disseminate information about Black life, history, and culture.” African American art is infused with African, Caribbean, and the Black American lived experiences. A spirit of resilience and resistance can be seen through generations of African American artists through music like the blues and Muddy Waters and BB King, writers like Langston Hughes, dancers like Josephine Baker, modern visual artists like Kehinde Wiley, and many more legends.