By Dasia Hood

It started in 2018 as an art exhibition that paid homage to the durag, a head covering predominately worn by Black people to protect and style hair.

Now, the Durag Fest – started by Lisa Michelle and ASC Founders Grant recipient Dammit Wesley – is an innovative and elevated experience that exemplifies the significant economic and social benefits that arts and culture brings to communities.

The community-driven festival is centered around Juneteenth, which celebrates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021. The festival is an annual reflection on the significance of Juneteenth, where our community is today, and how to continue supporting and investing in Black creatives, businesses and trailblazers.

The durag “symbolizes the Black community’s strength, ingenuity, creativity, and preserving who we are because of the natural function of it…keeping the edges going,” Michelle said.

Social and Economic Impact

The international growth accompanies Durag Fest’s local economic impact. The Durag Fest has grown to 67 partners, from black-owned businesses to local artists, generating over a quarter million dollars for Charlotte’s economy.

One of their 2023 partners, Perfect Bloomz, became a floral vendor after attending the festival in 2022. Owner Sydney Bloomz fell in love with “the warmness that creatives show each other when admiring art and the close-knit family atmosphere.” Bloomz’s vendor experience was seamless and beneficial.

“I was able to grow my following and meet many of my followers in person,” Bloomz said. “It is great to be able to put a face with a name, and for me, Durag Fest was just about getting my name out there.”

Durag Fest illustrates how spending by arts and culture audiences generates valuable commerce to local merchants. ASC revealed in recently released Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), an economic and social study conducted by the American for the Arts, that arts and cultural events are critical economic drivers of vibrant communities.

Arts and culture organizations also contribute to community pride in Mecklenburg County. More than 80 percent (81.9%) of attendees agree that “I would feel a great sense of loss if this activity or venue were no longer available.”

It’s how Bloomz feels about Durag Fest.

“It provides an atmosphere for Black people to simply be, to soak in our Blackness without the onlook/perception of others,” Bloomz said. “I also think it gives creatives a space to share their art with the entire city and I love that.”

Looking Forward

The Durag Fest looks forward to a future of possibilities. Currently, the team is part-time, but the festival could create more full-time, part-time and temporary jobs. They plan on incorporating young artists and designers into the festival through scholarship-based competitions.

This year, they are looking for vendors interested in doing experiential activations (such as branded lounges or themed salons), partners committed to their DEI efforts and ways to build sustainability.

Learn more about Durag Fest at DuragFestival.com.