Rock is Black (2024)
Pop is Black (2025)
Role: Concert Sponsorship Development, Audience Engagement, PR (Public Relations
POP IS BLACK was conceived as a live music experience celebrating the breadth and evolution of contemporary Black musical expression. Presented as a special edition of Zhou B Art Center Kansas City's ongoing ROCK IS BLACK concert series, the project spotlighted original works by emerging and established artists working across hip-pop, rap, R&B, alternative pop, and genre-defying sounds.
The event was designed to position the art center as a multidisciplinary cultural space where visual art, music, and community intersect. Through artist curation, production planning, venue activation, marketing strategy, and audience engagement, POP IS BLACK transformed the gallery environment into an immersive concert experience that centered innovation, creativity, and cultural dialogue.
The program emphasized the importance of providing platforms for Black artists creating contemporary work outside traditional genre expectations while fostering meaningful connections between artists, audiences, and the broader creative community. The result was a high-energy evening that expanded the reach of the institution, attracted new audiences, and reinforced the role of arts organizations as catalysts for cultural exchange and artistic visibility.
Event Creative Direction: Malek Azrael
Artists Included: Jamogi and the Jammerz, Frankie Shores, Malek Azrael and the Vibes, Stephonne, Hales, DJ Skeme, Broderick Jones, Shay Lyriq
Sponsors: ICON Event Group, City of Kansas City, NTDF (Neighborhood Tourism Development Fund)
Photography: Elle Siegle, Lexi Hollifield
Press Highlights
Startland News
“We want people to recognize that rock music is dynamic — not only musically — but also for those who create it and those who can listen to it,” Vivas added. “This is a safe space for people to explore something new and meet new people. It’s a celebration. We just want people to be themselves and be inspired from this event.”
The Pitch
“Izzy Vivas, art director of Zhou B Art Center, can speak to the event’s significance. “It is a way to give back to parts of ourselves, give back to our inner child a representation we wanted to see,” Vivas says. Stressing the wider influence of the show, she says, “Representation elicits possibility.”
