Chire “VantaBlack” Regans: Creating a space of remembrance by Madhulika Murali
WhenWeTalk | interdisciplinary Q&As with artists
When we talk, we bridge gaps, we exchange ideas, we transform ourselves and each other. Introducing a Q&A series with artists, filmmakers, movement workers, lawyers and folks from different walks of life.
This is the second story of a three-part series. Cover artwork of Rickia Isaac by Chire “VantaBlack” Regans.
Chire “VantaBlack” Regans: Creating a space of remembrance by Madhulika Murali
Chire “VantaBlack” Regans is an artist, activist and educator based in Miami. She primarily works with white pencil on black paper. Her portraits of young gun violence victims in Miami-Dade has opened up community dialogue and also serve as a tool for healing when she gifts the images to the families of the young people she memorializes. Chire is an artist-in-residence at Community Justice Project.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Madhulika: Hi, Chire! I am in awe of the beauty and power of your portraiture. I would love for you to tell me more about yourself: how you were drawn to art, how you arrived at the specific art you create, anything else you want to share.
Chire: We moved to Miami from St. Louis when I was 9. My teacher, Ms. Pinkham, noticed that I liked to draw and pushed me in that direction. I ended up studying art at Florida A&M University. Things changed in 2016. I watched a video of a brother crying, talking about how his 6-year-old child, King Carter, was killed. Every time I saw that baby on the news, I thought of my own son. I was reminded of the loss of my friend James. I felt helpless and thought, “What do I do?” The answer was: you do what you know best. I drew King’s portrait on black paper with white pencil. I’ve now done about 200 portraits.
Madhulika: As you know, Community Justice Project is a group of movement lawyers. We conceptualize law as one of many tools which can support liberation movements led by directly impacted people. I'm curious to know how you conceptualize the role of art in movements.
Chire: My art allows me to develop close relationships with grieving families and provide practical assistance. I’ve attended meetings with representatives, politicians, and discussed laws regarding juveniles, families, guns. A portrait also has a ripple effect – it connects people who have trauma and inspires healing.
Chire “VantaBlack” Regans
“A portrait has a ripple effect – it connects people who have trauma and inspires healing.”
Madhulika: Part of being a movement lawyer is being in relationship with the community, which I'm building as someone just starting out. How does your art build community?
Chire: Two moments stand out. The first time I exhibited my portraiture in Miami, the host invited mothers to speak and honor their loved ones. Another moment was when I’d asked a gallerist to create a space for parents [of victims of gun violence] to talk. There was so much commonality: feeling unheard, re-victimized, blamed. They understood they weren’t alone.
Madhulika: Do you ever feel that your approach, as an artist, puts you in tension with your peers? As a movement lawyer, I sometimes feel alienated from other public interest lawyers who are not grounded in radical politics and don't center emotionality or community. How do you relate to artists who don’t elevate unheard stories like you do?
Chire: I understand that not all artists want to dive into social issues. But as Nina Simone said, “it’s an artist’s responsibility to reflect the times.” It’s enraging when people don’t, or superficially use Black Lives Matter in their art without doing any real work. Another frustrating comment is, “I wish your work was happier”. I’ve had moments of wanting to shift away from this body of work, because it’s taxing. But there’s always something that brings me back – a parent, a memory – this is what I’m supposed to do.
Portrait of George Floyd by Chire “VantaBlack” Regans
“As Nina Simone said, ‘it’s an artist’s responsibility to reflect the times.’””
Madhulika: One of the key aspects of our work as movement lawyers is collaboration – with community organizers, directly impacted people, activists, artists. Does your work as an artist ever involve collaboration?
Chire: I developed a close friendship with a grieving mother named Sirena, whose son I did a portrait of. A young man invited me to collaborate on an exhibition concerning gun violence. I invited Serena and she performed a spoken word piece that she put her pain into. It was just… amazing. Often, there’s no account of a person’s life or death except from their loved ones. I ask the parents to tell me what happened to their child and I write an account based on this. That’s collaboration and connection.
Madhulika: The present moment–a pandemic disproportionately impacting Black and Brown communities, and an urgent public reckoning on police violence and systemic anti-Blackness–is galvanizing movements, activists, lawyers and artists. How is your narrative as an artist being shaped at this time in history? Could you tell us about your "Say Their Names" Memorial Mural Project?
Chire: It’s a pandemic on top of an epidemic of gun violence. This memorial wall is the result of my brainstorming on how to involve the community and create a space of remembrance. I thought about George Floyd, about all the other George Floyds, about the sensationalism of Black death, and about how this goes back really, really far. All of these deaths inflict trauma on the entire community. All of it is connected. People need to know their names, say them, and remember them independent of those videos on social media. This mural is saying: people who lost their lives to violence matter. We need to honor George Floyd and others. We need to talk about it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Madhulika Murali is a Masiyiwa-Bernstein Fellow at the Community Justice Project (CJP) in Miami, Florida. Focusing on capacity-building and racial justice work, she supports movements to end the criminalization of low-income communities of color.
