Showcasing Art & Culture: Souls Grown Deep Foundation & Cheeky Monkey Media

A Digital Collaboration Rooted in Art & Advocacy

Souls Grown Deep is a powerful advocate in the Black community, working to ensure that Black artists from the Southern United States are rightfully included in the canon of American art history. Since 2016, our collaboration with Scott at Souls Grown Deep has been more than a client-agency relationship—it has been a true partnership in preserving, showcasing, and celebrating the work of self-taught African American artists.

Art is never just what meets the eye—it carries stories, histories, and cultural significance that deserve to be preserved and shared. The Souls Grown Deep Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to documenting, researching, preserving, and exhibiting these creations. Through our partnership, we provide WebOps support to ensure that the Souls Grown Deep website is not only visually stunning but also seamlessly functional, offering visitors an engaging and immersive experience of these incredible works.

Crafting a Digital Experience That Reflects Artistic Excellence

In an era where digital presence is paramount, maintaining a visually appealing, highly functional website is crucial. Given Souls Grown Deep’s focus on art, the website must do more than just display images—it must evoke the same emotion and impact as experiencing the artwork in person. Over the years, we’ve worked closely with Scott to optimize the website’s design, enhance image quality, and refine navigation to create a user-friendly and immersive digital platform.

To achieve this, we built the website on Drupal, an open-source content management system known for its flexibility and ability to handle high-resolution imagery. Drupal’s capabilities allow us to create distinctive artist pages and galleries, ensuring that every piece of art is displayed at the highest standard possible. This emphasis on quality and user experience has been instrumental in driving engagement and fostering a deeper appreciation for the artwork showcased on the platform.

Key Projects & Enhancements

Our ongoing collaboration with Souls Grown Deep has led to a series of impactful updates and improvements:

• Initial Website Development & Design – Creating a new Drupal-based website with a fresh, modern design while ensuring a stable, scalable, and high-performance digital foundation.
• Drupal 9 to 10 Upgrades – Ensuring the website remains up-to-date, secure, and optimized for performance.
• Image Enhancement – Refining visual presentation to maintain the integrity and quality of each artwork.
• Ongoing Maintenance – Providing continuous monitoring and support to keep the website running smoothly.
• Ensuring Accessibility – Implementing best practices and compliance standards to make the website fully accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
• Integration with Image Lab – Incorporating artist URLs that direct visitors to the Print Shop, creating additional exposure and engagement for the artists.

The Power of Collaboration

The success of the Souls Grown Deep website is a testament to the synergy between Scott’s vision and our technical expertise. His deep understanding of the foundation’s mission, combined with our ability to execute it digitally, has resulted in a platform that is more than just a website—it is a digital gallery that tells compelling stories and amplifies voices that have long been underrepresented in the art world.

From seamless navigation to high-resolution image displays, every aspect of the site has been designed to provide visitors with a meaningful and engaging experience. This partnership showcases how a strong digital presence, built with the right tools and expertise, can elevate an organization’s mission and extend its reach.

Looking Ahead

As we continue our journey with Souls Grown Deep, we remain dedicated to enhancing and evolving their digital presence. Our work goes beyond aesthetics—it is about ensuring that the stories, histories, and legacies of these artists continue to be celebrated and shared with the world. The success of this collaboration is proof that when high-quality content meets cutting-edge technology, the result is a digital platform that not only stands out but also makes a lasting impact.

At Cheeky Monkey Media, we take immense pride in playing a role in this meaningful project, and we look forward to continuing our partnership to push the boundaries of digital art presentation. With every enhancement and every innovation, we are committed to keeping Souls Grown Deep’s mission alive in the digital space—one pixel at a time.