Kiara Santos was in the bunker for a while there. That’s what she called her safe zone, away from the dangers of judgment and anxiety. “I was afraid that I would be made fun of,” she says. “I was afraid that maybe I wasn’t as good as anybody else.”
In 2020, Santos began painting — out of boredom, out of curiosity, and a need for a hobby in Covid-riddled times. “I had nothing else to do,” she says, “and at the time, somebody was like, ‘Wait, you’re actually pretty good. You should do this more often.’ And so that turned into me painting more often. I had this very small collection that is really kind of embarrassing to look at nowadays because my art has progressed so much.”
Eventually, she began to sell her work until self-doubt and imposter syndrome caught up with her, sending her back into her bunker. “I stopped painting, I started getting a little discouraged, and, quite frankly, I got lazy,” but, she says, “Somebody called me out, and it was a hurtful truth that I wasn’t really open to accepting, but it was tough love, and that ignited me.”
The next night, she took her anger out on the canvas — the first time she painted from emotion, rather than from boredom. “Since that day, painting became a passion. It became a way for me to express my emotions because sometimes I have a hard time doing that verbally.”
That piece also sparked the idea for her to host an art show. “I was like, ‘I think it’s time to step out of that safe zone. It’s time to step out of the bunker.’”
And she followed through, hosting her first show, “The Bunker,” last year at the Medicine Factory with a theme of personal growth and perseverance. Now, Santos is gearing up to host the second edition of “The Bunker,” this time featuring art by herself, Kennedy Holley, Sarai Payne, and Kaitlyn Miller, along with songs by Nick Black, Yella P, Aybil, and Soleil. “The theme this year is ‘A Septic Love Story,’” Santos says. “And so that’s really just a metaphor to tell a story about our heartbreaks. We’ve all experienced our relationships that might have been a little toxic. There might have been abandonment, neglect, betrayal, lies. And I wanted to give a platform to other artists to tell their toxic love story, or their septic love story.”
The night will be fully curated beginning with a showcase of the musicians’ songs tied to the theme before moving to the visual arts portion of the gallery show. “The Bunker” will also include giveaways and an interactive piece, and guests are encouraged to wear “antique white, emerald green, and midnight black.”
“I promised myself that I would do it again and again, and the end goal is to make it grow so I can take this to other cities,” Santos says. “So here I am at the second show, keeping my word to myself, which is really the most important thing.”
Purchase tickets at tinyurl.com/32fx9a3s.
“The Bunker Art Show: (Ep. II) A Septic Love Story,” Comeback Coffee, 358 North Main Street, Friday, October 17, 6:30 p.m., $17.85.