Artist Terrence Adeyanju helps create image for Goodman youth program

By Heather Rivérun, Eastside News

Artist Terrence Adeyanju has once again partnered with the Goodman Community Center, this time to give back to a group he was once a part of. Growing up on the east side of Madison, Adeyanju — who creates art under the name PEELD — utilized Goodman’s after-school programs such as Study Group and Boys Group. His mentors from that time recall that he was always drawing and that he possessed a strong sense of self.

Over time, Boys Group has transitioned into MAScK (Men Always Seeking Change and Knowledge). The group serves 10- to 14-year-olds and centers around the experience of masculinity. It aims to encourage communication, broaden the dialogue and reach new levels of understanding around this experience.

Adeyanju and group members recently collaborated to create shirts for the group. The shirts feature original art by Adeyanju with the addition of personalized symbols that represent the values of MAScK woven into the design.

This isn’t the first instance of Adeyanju giving back to the community in which he grew up or to the community center that served him as a youth. He has previously partnered with Goodman’s elementary school program for a shirt-design project featuring original art with contributions from the students.

There are also plans for a mural collaboration in the GCC LOFT — the youth recreation space in the basement of the Brassworks building. It will be featured in a place of prominence — the backdrop for the stage that will be the home of countless other creative acts by new generations of east side youth.

Middle and high school students are working with Adeyanju to finalize the design by the end of May. Mural painting will take place over the summer with completion anticipated before the start of the 2022-23 school year.

Adeyanju’s art often features big bold colors and thematically touches upon the inner landscape, elements of the human experience that cannot be perceived by sight alone and nods to mystery. These universal and powerful themes are especially relevant in the sphere of social-emotional learning that is being cultivated throughout Goodman. Identity, emotions and inner conflict are central to the human experience. Seeing these experiences depicted in art helps the viewer know they are not alone, and that art can be a way through these experiences — a way to connect with ourselves and one another.

For more information about Adeyanju’s visual art, visit iampeeld.com.