The Business of Art: From Painting Illegally In Abandoned Buildings to Owning A 35,000 Sq Ft Art Studio w/BMike

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Rich Lessons

Sevetri Wilson and Sheena Allen

48 episodes

1 week ago

The Rich Lessons Podcast, hosted by Sevetri and Sheena, cuts through the noise with rich insights and real conversations about business, life, and everything in between—offering hard truths, valuable lessons, and stories still being written.

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The Business of Art: From Painting Illegally In Abandoned Buildings to Owning A 35,000 Sq Ft Art Studio w/BMike

Rich Lessons

44 minutes 13 seconds

1 month ago

The Business of Art: From Painting Illegally In Abandoned Buildings to Owning A 35,000 Sq Ft Art Studio w/BMike

Episode 43 | Sevetri Wilson Taylor (Instagram.com/sevetriwilson) and Sheena Allen (Instagram.com/whoisSheena) sit down with Brandon "BMike" ODUMS—a New Orleans-based visual artist, filmmaker, and cultural entrepreneur whose illegal graffiti murals sparked a movement and led to Studio B, a massive 35,000 square foot creative space in the Bywater.

From spending 10 years grinding with Two Cent documentary collective getting "no" after "no" from BET and Comedy Central, to finding silence and stillness painting in abandoned housing projects, BMike shares how he accidentally created Exhibit B—a phenomenon that brought celebrities, politicians, and thousands to abandoned spaces with no marketing. He reveals why he didn't try to monetize it, how "I Am My Ancestors' Wildest Dreams" became a cultural phrase (and got bootlegged by Walmart), the voicemail from Oprah, and why being at the right place at the right time matters more than we think.

This isn't about overnight success. It's about 20 years of paying dues, being present in the community, and accepting the slowness of things meant to be slow.

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Show Notes:

(00:00) Intro

(05:09) Two Cent: 10 years grinding, BET & Comedy Central said no

(06:56) Finding silence painting illegally in abandoned spaces

(09:25) Project B: choosing presence over profit

(18:29) Studio B: from illegal spaces to owning 35,000 square feet

(27:09) "People support YOU, not just the art"

(28:56) Year 12: when it finally started making sense

(35:36) "I Am My Ancestors' Wildest Dreams"—the origin story

(38:10) The Oprah voicemail and why he didn't fight Walmart

(42:50) Rich lesson: Accept the slowness of things meant to be slow

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Rich Lessons Podcast // hosted by Sevetri Wilson Taylor and Sheena Allen

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