Neighborhood Mini Museum Brings Art to the People

At 1 Nice Cut Barbershop in Irving, clients get a fresh cut and conversation with a side of culture. Art fills the walls of the barbershop.

"I know the moment you open the door, you're able to see some of the art," 1 Nice Cut Barbershop owner Jimmy McGee Jr. said. "You could just talk forever about art!"

"This space is the Neighborhood Mini Museum," Kat Warwick said. Warwick is part of the Business Council for the Arts Leadership Arts Institute Class of '23. The Neighborhood Mini Museum was their pilot project.

"Using artists that are in the area, they get to tell their stories," Warwick explained. "I never got taken to a museum. I never got taken to a gallery or an art show, and it's like well, I know there are more people like me."

The idea behind the exhibit was to bring art to places where people gather, rather than making people go to where art is gathered.

"Artists are getting opportunities," Warwick said. "People are getting to see art that wouldn't ordinarily see this art."

"We talk about art a lot," McGee said. "Actually, barbering is an art."

McGee's 9-year-old son, Preston, saw the exhibit and was inspired to paint his own art of a jeweled crown in space.

"He called it 'Space Crown'," McGee said. "It's very encouraging that he's got his mind up in the stars."

The Business Council for the Arts Leadership Arts Institute Class of '23 worked with One Community USA to place the exhibit in 1 Nice Barbershop.

Artists in the exhibit include Trey Wilder, Lakeem Wilson, Jeremy Smith, Bharathi Dev, and Kat Warwick.

The Neighborhood Mini Museum will be up at 1 Nice Cut Barbershop through the beginning of May.