‘Our Voices. Our Lives’ tells of Atlanta’s Black and brown creatives

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Feagins took an early interest in all kinds of arts: screen printing, film development, graphic design and especially hip-hop. By the time he started college at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, his world revolved around the lyrics of his favorite artists (Run DMC, Public Enemy, Outkast), and he couldn’t help but wonder what real-life experiences had inspired them.

Using his college film classes as a launchpad, Feagins started making music videos for local rappers and DJs while trying his hand at beat-making in his free time. His first feature-length documentary, “The Art of Life” (2006), explored the rise to fame of Pittsburgh duo ChaRon Don and DJ Huggy, combining old concert footage and intimate interviews to capture the spirit of Pittsburgh’s early aughts hip-hop scene.

Since then, Feagins has devoted his career to telling the stories of other creatives from marginalized groups. His work has covered everything from Atlanta mural painters to the local b-boy/b-girl scene to the impact of fatherhood on emerging hip-hop artists. In all of these projects, Feagins says his top priority is to give a platform to people who look like him — people whose voices may otherwise be overlooked by mainstream media.

While “Our Voices. Our Lives” is now Feagan’s main focus, it started as a side project when he was commissioned to make two episodes as interstitials for a music-focused cable network. The network collaboration later fell through, but Feagins decided to release the episodes on his own and continue producing them.

Each installment of the series explores the work of an Atlanta-based maker, showing how their life experiences have shaped their perspectives on creativity and business. In one episode, printmaker and podcaster Jamaal Barber describes how stumbling upon a screen printing demo at a paint store completely altered his life path, moving him to teach himself the printing process and turn it into a career. In another, visual artist and emcee Divine Wizz explains how a major bike injury led her to take up abstract art to make sense of her experience.

Credit: Photo by Photo by W. Feagins, Jr.

Credit: Photo by Photo by W. Feagins, Jr.

Feagins even delves into food as an art form in an episode with Disha Gaitor, founder of the globally inspired catering company 2 Pieces of Toast. Gaitor speaks fondly about learning from her mother in the kitchen and transforming her love of food into a thriving business and community. In all episodes of “Our Voices, Our Lives,” Feagins shows that Atlantans’ creativity manifests not only in street murals and galleries but in all aspects of city life.

In many cases, Feagins’ videos have helped featured artists get new ventures off the ground and expand their audiences, which he says is always the most rewarding part of the work.

“Being involved in the creative community, I feel like this is my way to give back to it,” he says. “I want to contribute and not just take from it.”

Feagins also hopes to help stop the erasure of these creative endeavors from Atlanta’s history — a task that feels ever more daunting as gentrification speeds up around the city. He worries about how artists will still live and thrive when rising prices continue to disrupt long-standing communities, especially for people of color. “Our Voices, Our Lives” has thus become bigger than simply documenting Atlanta’s arts scene; it is a way to preserve and protect the city’s heart and soul.

Credit: ArtsATL

Credit: ArtsATL

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