Underground Art Club aims to be one-stop shop

By KALEA HALL

khall@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Darius McLaughlin wanted a place to not only do art, but to teach art and sell his art.

The new Underground Art Club store inside Southern Park Mall, which he started with four other local artists, hits all of those marks.

Art of all kinds – paintings, pictures, silk-screened shirts and air-brushed shirts – lines the walls and parts of the floor inside the Underground Art Club’s storefront.

On a recent Monday morning, a local artist is airbrushing an “OHIYO” shirt.

“People come in, and they love it,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin co-owns the shop with Mykale White, Dujuan Artist, Sana Khan and Mike Davis. All are artists and friends driven to bring a creative, artsy hub to the Mahoning Valley.

“We call ourselves the one-stop shop for the culture,” White said.

McLaughlin has been an artist of sorts his whole life. He grew up in the Valley, graduating from Boardman High School in 2005. He went on to the Pittsburgh Art Institute with hopes of making it big in animation, but the expense of school became too much.

“I went through a rough patch,” he said.

For a year and a half, McLaughlin was homeless – unwilling to let go of his dream to become an artist.

At the time he thought, “I want to be an artist and be able to paint and make my video games and cartoons. My pride was at a point where I didn’t want to get a regular 9-to-5 [job].”

But McLaughlin did get a job and got himself back on his feet. He was able to save up money and start the Underground Art Club with his business partners.

He specializes in animation, video game design, heat press, silk screening, decals, murals and a laundry list of other artistic ventures.

He makes shirts to show off his Youngstown pride. Sprinkle doughnuts form the shape of “YO” on one design, a favorite of the customers who walk in to see what the club is all about.

“It’s trying to bring people back to the mall,” McLaughlin said. “We create anything.”

Customers can come in and create a T-shirt for $20.

“As long as they write it down for me I can create exactly what they want,” McLaughlin said.

The club offers screen printing, heat press designs, decals, website design, graphic design, public relations, animation and embroidery.

In the future, the partners in the business want to start up a music studio and a video and podcast lab.

The club also offers classes for those interested in painting, graphic design and eventually classes on animation.

Outside of teaching art, the club also wants to promote art by inviting local artists to display and sell their wares.

Thirteen local artists have their art displayed at the Underground Art Club.

“There’s no restrictions on someone’s artwork,” McLaughlin said. “If it’s art to you it should be accepted.”

The Underground Art Club is excited to have an exhibit at the A3C Music Festival and Conference, a two-day hip-hop festival in Atlanta.

“We are going to be pressing T-shirts and showcasing artists,” White said.