OffBeat opened next door to my studio one year ago. It has quickly become a key gathering place for a diverse local crowd. Owner Phillip Rollins focuses on vinyl records, collectible art toys, and graphic novels. Over half of his wall space is used as a gallery promoting emerging minority artists. Two or three times a week, OffBeat opens in off hours as a community space, hosting college classes, spoken word performances, concerts in a variety of genres, a book club, an art opening, the local bike group stopping along their evening ride, and more.
As a participant in One Large, it was interesting how it shifted the experience of what is normally an economic exchange of money for a novelty product I have a compulsion to buy. The spending of this $10 felt performative. It elevated the notion of spending money with a black-owned business to an activist action. The $10 felt like a token - both in value and in form - acting as a prop which focused on the gesture of offering. The offering felt symbolic because it was a token amount. It really emphasized the idea of spending with a black-owned business.
I am still pondering the role that Phillip played in the piece. He received the $10 in exchange for a Kid Robot Dunny figurine and a package of four locally-produced stickers mimicking the state of Mississippi with Bart Simpsons head.
My role as a patron felt a little odd. As if I was a vehicle for the purpose of carrying out an action - the recipient of a modest sweepstakes ancillary to the purpose of the action.
As a participant in One Large, it was interesting how it shifted the experience of what is normally an economic exchange of money for a novelty product I have a compulsion to buy. The spending of this $10 felt performative. It elevated the notion of spending money with a black-owned business to an activist action. The $10 felt like a token - both in value and in form - acting as a prop which focused on the gesture of offering. The offering felt symbolic because it was a token amount. It really emphasized the idea of spending with a black-owned business.
I am still pondering the role that Phillip played in the piece. He received the $10 in exchange for a Kid Robot Dunny figurine and a package of four locally-produced stickers mimicking the state of Mississippi with Bart Simpsons head.
My role as a patron felt a little odd. As if I was a vehicle for the purpose of carrying out an action - the recipient of a modest sweepstakes ancillary to the purpose of the action.
One Large participant: DJ
Name of black-owned business: OffBeat
Location: Jackson, MS
Race/ethnicity of participant: Caucasian
