too bizzie

Interview and Photography: Karen Montejo

Photos Courtesy Of: Kasaad Bullock and ShutterGawd with The Collective New Haven.

Madyson Frame also known as Bizzie R, is a multifaceted artist from Hartford, CT and founder of  The Photobooth. Bizzie and I met at the Russell in February to talk about her experience as an artist, event organizer, and aide – and talk about some of the many roadblocks of trying to make things happen as a creative in Hartford.

BL&D

Bizzie R.

Where did you go to college?

I went to Stevenson University down in Maryland. I dropped out of school, didn’t like the college experience. It just wasn't the place for me. Also the compulsory education is just not for me. That systematic sitting in a chair listening to a professor talk... I prefer hands on experience.

What were you going for?

I was a film major, writing and producing track. So it's actually what I know how to do, what I'm best at. I just don't do it right now because Connecticut doesn't have spaces for it, and if they do it's really pretentious.

I remember when I first met you, you were working on Black Boy Existing.

I've re-written the script like three times. Now I'm going to make it into multiple short films. 

How did you feel about the process of trying to make the film, did you feel you had support?

Yes and no. I did in terms spreading the word but it wasn't working out for various reasons.

And this was your first project right?

Yeah it was and I went to a college where we had equipment, spaces, actors. It was easy. Here trying to do that and doing that within a year of being back, I didn't know the people I needed to know.

You grew up in Hartford?

Yeah I did but when I was here I was known more as a poet. My first art form was spoken word and creative writing. That's what I grew up doing from like eight years old to fifteen/sixteen. I went to Journalism and Media Academy my junior and senior year so I started learning how to do film, and graphic design, and all the other stuff.

And so that was the shift to filmmaking?

Yeah shifted to filmmaking, but I knew I still wanted to write so I focused on screenwriting. When I was in college I actually started getting into photography because I understood that to be a good cinematographer or storyteller in general you have to be able to tell stories in different ways. I had worked at a dance company before so I already knew how to tell stories through dance. I didn't know how to dance per se but I understood, by watching contemporary dance, how to tell stories through that. I  knew how to write, I understood how to tell stories through cinematography, but it just wasn't my thing, like the actual video recording. And the editing process for video is just ridiculous.

It's very tedious!

I don't mind doing the after effects. Like title graphics, making them look cool as they come in. When it is my film I don't mind doing it too much, of course.

So you started photobooth as an event series – only for photographers at first?

It is for creatives to come work with photographers in real time. In September, I had Shaun Llewelyn. Amazing photographer in Connecticut. He's someone a lot of people want to work with but don’t have access to or don’t know how to reach out. The whole point is to allow people to talk to each other in real time. I have vendors sell products or art. A lot of people that come are models, dancers, and other creative people. Freewifi DJs every time. It's really just to get everyone in a space together because something I noticed when I was in college was that everyone followed each other on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter but no one talked to each other in person. It's a really weird thing to me. And here it's like they live in the same state together – why are you not collaborating with one another?

Why do you think that is?

I don't know... but one there's a lack of opportunities here. It's really hard for photographers to make money. Especially if they're not like regular portrait photographers. If you are a family portrait photographer you can make money easily, every family wants pictures. But if you’re a fashion photographer, or like a beauty photographer, who wants to photograph fashion campaigns, getting those opportunities is hard. Especially in Hartford. What I want to do with The Photobooth is bring that here. Essentially create a space for artists to collaborate with each other. If they need to have a meeting, they can go into that space and have that meeting. If they need to produce a track, you can get access to a studio. If you need access to camera equipment, there you have it.

…I really want to use the building across the street.

The corner one?

Yeah. Up On The Rocks. They got shut down because a lot of things happened in that club.

I am willing to put in the work, I just need the money, like the investors. Like I work for the city and all but I don’t get paid that much. So I'm working on some things so I can afford or get a loan or a grant for a building.

You want Photobooth to be a physical space but also a network and a place where you can access resources?

Yeah and I still want the event to happen monthly. I actually like the idea of bouncing around different locations. I think people really like that they never know where it's going to be. I want to continue doing it around Connecticut, and then other nearby states like New York, Mass. This month it has been really hard to find a location. A lot of spaces in the 203 are overpriced or unavailable or they have restrictions, but i'm finding some other people now and it seems like it might happen in Hartford. Which is fine, most of the people want me to keep it in Hartford for some reason.

Yeah you have a lot of support in Hartford. And you have a full-time job as well working as an aide for Josh Mitchom?

Yes. He's awesome, and I like just how radical he is.

How long have you been his aide for?

Since January of last year. It's been a great experience. I got lucky, I have a great boss. He’s understanding, he pushes me when I need to be pushed, and he steps back when he needs to step back. Wiz and him are both very respectful, they're a great team, and I learn so much from them. Someone who started like.. me, my political experience in high school was just working grassroots stuff. I was working with a collaborative working on education reform. That was my political experience, going every second tuesday of the month to the Board of Education meetings, but with that I met a lot of people, who also worked at the city level. So when I got back home, a friend of mine sent me a text about Wildaliz looking for aides. So I applied, interviewed, and got the job.

And you worked for COMPASS after you graduated high school?

I worked for COMPASS during high school, and then I went to school for a year and a half out-of-state, when I dropped out of school I came back. So I dropped out of school in like 2018, and came back in January and started working with COMPASS again for like a year.

What are your plans now?

So my plan as of right now is to establish the photobooth with a concrete location, get it up and running for like a year. Hand the managerial piece to like the sister or one of my friends, to give them a chance to run a business.  I’m still going to have ownership of it, and have them manage it, and I was going to move to Philly, Detroit or Chicago.

Why those cities?

Philly, Detroit or Chicago just to actually focus on myself as a creative. And not try to like… I love giving space to other artists, but I also need to hone my craft as a writer, photographer, as a storyteller, and Chicago, Detroit and Philly are three cities that are just amazing. I have family in Philly, I have always loved Chicago, and Detroit just has so many vacant properties that I could flip, and it gets me excited. Like Detroit, everyone sees this run-down all destroyed, and I'm like no. Do you see the opportunity here? That’s how it is with Hartford, the North End has so many vacant properties. The South End is already being flipped into apartments, and most of them are empty and overpriced, and I'm like, stop trying to gentrify Hartford it's just not going to work. Especially on Park Street, like what are you doing?

The apartment complex by Pope Park…

I mean it's gorgeous, but also no one can afford it. These white kids from the suburbs going to UCONN, they're not going to buy spaces in that area. You can’t keep kicking those businesses out because that's what makes this area. These kids need food, they love fucking mofongo, all these ethnic foods. You can’t kick these businesses out, what are you gonna put, Starbucks over there? No.

Seeing it happen in real time is like, are you stupid or are you dumb? This is re-gentrifying Hartford. Like my mom just moved over to the South End and she was saying how the properties are raising rent to like $1,300 for a two bedroom. And it's frustrating to see this happen because this city is so beautiful, the culture, diversity here is gorgeous… stop trying to fuck it up.

People don't realize how unique Hartford is.

Exactly. When I left, I went to school in Baltimore and Baltimore is such a saturated place for art. Everyone has done the same shit. I'm not saying there is nothing new, but everyone has done something. And small cities like Hartford..its cities like these that you take all these abandoned ass houses and hand them to the people that actually need space, which is the artists. The only people I hear complain about lack of spaces is artists, you don’t hear athletes complaining about lack of places and resources. We have like one art supply store in Hartford, and I’m pretty sure it's overpriced. The only camera store that we have here is Camera Bar..and they’re trash.

They're overpriced … I was just there today actually.

I bought a nikon charger for $85

I bought an SD card for 36 today…

No..

Right.

There is no close access to Best Buy, the nearest is a good drive. The closest thing we have for spaces is Artspace and they're closed off, because if you do not live there you can't use the gallery. I get it, it's dangerous to let other people into the apartment building but then why do we have the gallery for. Hartford used to be a huge mecca for the arts and the thing is people will always say they want to move to the 203, it's closer to New York. Hartford is two hours away from New York, two hours away from Boston, and I’m like don’t move to New York, don't move to Boston, or New Haven, make Hartford an art mecca because it can be. We have the space, we have the artists, and they don’t have access to opportunities.

And this is why you started Photobooth?

Right. I know how to get opportunities myself but not everybody knows how to do that. Not everybody went to art school. You know what I'm saying. Not everyone has access to those people. I know there are these opportunities here, so why don’t I just make space for it?  We shouldn’t have to pay 200/300 to use a studio for an hour. Then you wonder why photographers charge so much, because they don't have a studio. Like I had to up my prices myself because I was using my friend’s studio for 100, and I was only charging like 75, so now I charge like 200 or more, and that’s a lot for some people. If I had my own space, I wouldn’t charge that much because I wouldn't have to pay a fee to use a studio.

I'm willing to put in the work to get this together.

Long term, would you come back to Hartford if you leave? And what about politics?

Yeah I mean that's the point of putting the Photobooth here, it’s a constant reason to always come back. If it's not the people, it's my company. I just don't know if I want to stay in politics, because of how irritating it is. It's extremely exhausting.

There is this greed that comes with politics that is really unnecessary, I don't know how to tell politicians that you are not any higher than us just because you get paid more, you're supposed to serve people and the people will kick you out if you don't act right. There's politicians that have been physically removed from office. Don't let yourself get there. Get off your high horse when you work in politics. Realize that you work for the people and with the people to get you where you need to go.

That's what I love about Wiz and Josh is they actually work with the people.

Right. They’re a part of the community.

They live in the community. They live in the city. Like Wiz used to live two blocks over from me, and Josh lives right in Parkville, right in the midst of it. The people know who they are. They see them in the street everyday. Some people might not even know they're council people because of how normal they carry themselves. They don't act like they're better or any wiser. They're just as much a part of this community as people who don't work in the city. That's what I want the rest of these politicians to realize, you are not any higher or better than us. We are literally simply asking you to listen to what we actually need. Like more resources for arts and education, and recreational activities. Like the majority of Hartford is youth, people under 25, and we don't have anything to do. There's a reason a lot of us are dealing drugs, with guns and shit, partying when we're not supposed to in the middle of a pandemic. We don't have anything to do.

It's very obvious what you need to do to fix it, so just do that. You don't need to keep on adding more money to the police department. Like they really don't need more money. I'm tired of seeing these black cruisers out here. Not looking like cop cars, and then the lights come on. Where do you get the money to do that? That’s not necessary, we should know what the police look like, why are you undercover, why do you need to sneak around?

Right.

Like it's just odd. I don't know. It's like a sneaky relationship, like someone is cheating on you. That's what the cops feel like now. Just animosity, between the community and these officers. These officers are getting more money than the people they're supposed to be protecting. And the people they are protecting are doing illegal things because they don't have enough resources, and these cops are killing them. Or arresting them or putting them in prison, and judges are sentencing them to ridiculous sentences for like robbing a grocery store because they need to feed their families or themselves.

But you know if we create resources for young people and homeless people. Guess what would go down, crime.

I feel like maybe that's not even what they want.

Right that’s why it's hard to believe politicians and believe them when they say they care. That's what it was like over the last summer with the mayor. It was really hard to look at the mayor in his face, and see him say that he cares but his actions are not that. So you’re saying you understand you understand you understand, but then you do the exact thing that is not understanding. They're like it's not that easy, but it is. It really is.

And then it all ties back down to education.

And that's one of the things I think I noticed coming into working for the city. I'm not scared of these politicians, not that I should be anyways. But the thing about me is i'm going to always treat everybody the same. You'll get the same tone, respect, energy from me, everything. This is Hartford, Connecticut. Used to be a bustling city. Like downtown used to be a shopping center, back before I was born. The XL center used to be a shopping center, and there used to be department stores all down Main Street, it used to be white and then white flight took place. The thing was though, Barbour street used to be all black owned and the city started buying these places and flipping them and shit. And now that area is one of the worst here, economically. It's disappointing. It's frustrating because, how can I actually sit with the mayor, someone who I don't fully trust in order to have them do what they should do for the community. Or why don't you agree that this is the right approach? You look at Northampton mass, there are resources for artists, for LGBTQ community – nonstop. So much shit. Research I had to do for work. Even Kansas is doing better than us. Oregon is doing better than us. New York has so much, these are bigger cities, yes, but Northampton is not.

Even these golf courses get talked about non-stop. You have all these ATV drivers in Hartford, who are not going to take their shit out to Danbury. Like one it's hella white people. So why don't we take these golf courses that most people in Hartford don’t use, and make them into soccer fields, ATV courses, tennis courts, you know what I'm saying. And mind you Keney Park is massive. Keney Park has like three different sections. Like one of them extends into Windsor, like the fact that this park has five entrances means that it's big enough for you to split up and create spaces. Spaces are not being utilized properly. There's space for opportunities. So do it.

One of the buildings on North Main Street. They put the thank you’s to essential workers.

The photos right?

Yeah. It's cute. But also like its an abandoned building, why is it not being used for housing. Like you could've done that on the side of the building.

It's really just baffling. They do little shit. Little things that are cool, nice, smart. But the big shit that needs to get done that would really impact the city, it's not being done.

It’s a bandaid.

Putting the putty over the hole in the wall, but how long is that gonna last. Or like taping pictures on the wall, instead of nailing them. How long is that tape going to last?

Well-intended but also serves against the point in a way, a facade.

Like all these murals that the city is commissioning artists to do. They look great, like I know the artists doing them. But how many times are you going to commission artists to do work on buildings that are not being used properly. And then also these people don’t have the resources or funding to live sufficient lives as artists. Like I shouldn’t have to work 2-3 jobs to survive as an artist. Like I use my city job to fund my art career, because there are no resources here that give me access to the things I need as an artist. I have to save up to buy access to a studio, rental equipment, now I have to go to this person and that person and this person to find a space to do this art gallery. But I don’t know, I talk about this with people all the time.

Wait, how old are you?

I’m 21. Turned 21 in November. I talk to people about this all the time but it's frustrating because what can we do though? And like when we're all low-income, and kind of struggling to keep up with our finances, and with our art. Some of us still live with our parents. I'm tired of seeing all my art friends, tired as shit because they work at Amazon or they have to a warehouse job that gives them stupid hours, has them working until three in the morning. Just because they need to be able to afford this camera. 

Do you feel like it's a lot harder because you're young? Or more of a benefit?

I think it's more of a benefit. If I were older, I would just be done with this shit I would just move. I mean the amount of times I've contemplated just moving already. I have family in Philly, I could move there right now if I wanted. But why? Why do I have to go to a different city? I like Hartford, I love the community here, I shouldn't have to leave home just to find some peace. I should be able to find it here. You know like they want Hartford to be something. Everytime I go somewhere in the New England area they're like where are you from? I'm from Connecticut. And they'll be like oh so you have money? And I'm like no. Inviting a photographer from New York to come to my event is hard because it's like what would I come to Hartford for? There's nothing there. I always get a lot of push back or tension from NY artists, they look at Hartford like its puny little shit.

Do you feel like there's also tension between the artists here? Like people have mentioned there's a lot of negativity between communities

And I think that's honestly because of a lack of opportunity. It's like being in college. On college campuses there's a lot of competition. I was not worried about competition, I already knew what kind of artist I was. Everyone wants to be the next Steven Spielberg, or the next Kubrick. Cool be that, I'm going to let y'all rock. I'm going to be the first Madyson Frame.