Underground Prince
a Moving Poets arts and outreach project in collaboration with Michelle Gregory
reflect - create - connect
Underground Prince – 14 times during AUgust 2021, Michelle “Bunny” Gregory will drive her yellow UNDERGROUND Art Bus through Charlotte neighborhoods to bring opportunities for youth to create original art work in response to the famous author and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book “The Little Prince”.
The UNDERGROUND Bus was created as a Mobile Art Studio and Gallery serving especially low-income youth and young black artists in West Charlotte.
For the Underground Prince Bunny will travel with her bus to about 14 locations offering 24 half day workshops. Storyteller and multi media artist Micaila-Ayorinde Milburn-Thomas will partner with her to share selected parts of the book with the youth that will inform their artistic responses.
Works created during these workshops will be exhibited in March/April 2022 at Moving Poets Charlotte’s original production of The Little Prince at the Booth Playhouse, NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.
All participating youth will receive links to Exupery’s book and additional information to further research the work.
“The Little Prince” was originally published in the US in 1943. Today it is one of the most published books in the world with over 300 translations. Told through the eyes of a child and a crashed pilot who meet in the Sahara desert, the story deals with issues that apply to virtually every human and society: home, childhood, adults, imagination, courage, purpose, joy, machinalization and dehumanization, relationships, narrow mindedness, exploration, prejudice, sadness, loss, love, kindness and death.
It does so in a lovingly truthful, absurd and charming manner that, rather than being judgmental, invites us to take down walls we may have built and (re-) discover fundamental values and challenges we share across humanity.
Schedule:
Thurs. 8/5 - Sun. 8/8, 12p-2p: Lulia Market Beatties Ford Rd
Fri. 8/13 & Sun. 8/15, 12p-2p & 3p-5p: Westover Shopping Center 1520 West Blvd
Sat. 8/14, 2p-4p & 5p-7p: Healer's Market 1000 Anderson St.
Thurs. 8/19 - Sun 8/22, 12p-2p & 3p-5p: The Shed Drum 2202 Beatties Ford Rd
Fri. 8/27 & Sun 8/29, 12p-2p & 3p-5p: Freedom Plaza 3301 Freedom Dr
Sat. 8/28, 12p-2p & 3p-5p: Howie Acres Park
Michelle Gregory (USA – African descent) – Visual artist, Costume designer
Michelle "Bunny" Gregory was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. She graduated with a degree in
fashion illustration from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After her degree, she was the
head of design for the special events firm, Creatrix. Since 2000, she has collaborated with Moving
Poets as a costume designer. In 2010, she was invited for a three-week artist residency in Berlin,
Germany. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, Bunny realized there weren't any venues for black artists to
express themselves in Charlotte. Because of her love for hip hop and pop art, she opened her own
venue, the UNDERGROUND, in 2014, which quickly became a staple platform for Charlotte-based
urban artists, musicians, and poets. In 2017, Bunny was dubbed "Queen Mother of Charlotte's
Underground Hip Hop" by Creative Loafing Magazine. She is currently realizing a
"Harlem Renaissance" on wheels. This UNDERGROUND Mobile Art Studio and Gallery for young
black artists serves low-income youth in West Charlotte where she grew up. Her mixed-media
studio work is heavily influenced by Afrocentric culture addressing issues of racial and economic
disparity, and it often uses illustration, comic book-style drawings, pen and ink, and collage on
salvaged boards. @ug_battleofhearts
Call to action:
“Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. Safe and secure shelter makes a major difference in the way
we approach life." – Michelle
For more info on Michelle please also visit Charlotte Magazine at https://www.charlottemagazine.com/life-lessons-bun...
and Spectrum News at