By Ryan Michaels
The Birmingham Times
Artists have responsibility, according to Carey Fountain, who said his responsibility is to improve the world.
“I want to be in the world and touch people’s lives in a way that–I want to do my work [and] leave the world more positive than it was. I just want to play my part in the ecosystem,” said Fountain, who is manager of public programs for the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) and a multidisciplinary artist in the city.
Beyond his work with the BMA, Fountain, 30, also records and performs music, paints and takes photos. Perhaps his biggest project to date is the Black Cherry Tree Project, which invites artists to create works that pay tribute to the 33 documented victims of lynching throughout Jefferson County and seeks to plant black cherry trees in those victims’ memory.
Planning large events and art projects is one of Fountain’s strong suits. Fountain created and has hosted Vibes & Virtues, an interactive art event, which has filled numerous venues throughout the Birmingham area, showcasing a variety of different artists and types of creative work, since 2016. At the events, attendees also participate in a puzzle which can only be solved through discussion question-sparked conversations with other people at the event.
Fountain is the son of an ex-United States Air Force father, so he moved often but grew up significantly in Woodbridge, Virginia. Fountain went to college at the University of Alabama and moved to Birmingham after graduating, per the recommendations of his arts and music friends.
For more about Fountain and his work, check out his Instagram, @careyfountain. The Black Cherry Tree Project hosted its inaugural exhibition at Gallery VOX in Tarrant on April 16.
https://www.instagram.com/careyfountain
https://www.instagram.com/blackcherrytreeproject/
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