Mountain Dew's Green Label Gallery recently came to Brooklyn's House of Vans to feature an array of original art from emerging artists who submitted their work in a very 21st century way.

The vibrant exhibit, curated by Kevin Lyons, a distinguished artist and former creative global director for Urban Outfitters, gave newer talent a chance to have their work seen. Artists simply uploaded their submissions on Instagram using the hashtag "#GreenLabelGallery," and Lyons subsequently chose specific ones to fill the wall.

The Brooklyn-based illustrator, designer and typographer, who has worked with mega corporations like Nike, Converse and Coca-Cola, spoke with Enstars.com about the exhibit's importance. He also offered words of wisdom to fresh talent.

How did the collaboration with Mountain Dew come about?

I got involved because I was working on a collection with Girl Skateboards, Mountain Dew and Green Label Exclusives for skateboarder, Sean Malto. Since I used to work for Girl Skateboards ages ago, it was great to go back to working with them again, and Mountain Dew brought us together. And at the same time, the Dew Tour was literally happening in my backyard here in Brooklyn. With the collection about to drop, and after the success of Green Label Gallery Amsterdam, Green Label approached me to curate. It was actually perfect timing for me. And what a blast to work on the installation at House of Vans.

Why is the Green Label Gallery important to you and how do you feel it benefits the art world?

I think a lot of brands think that they support art by just paying a few select artists to do a few select things for them, but what Mountain Dew and Green Label are doing is that they are actually supporting artists and art communities by showcasing their work. A lot of brands will just stop with me. They'll pay me to do something, and that's it, but Green Label helps kids who don't get a chance to show their work by giving them a bigger stage. There were thousands of people at the Dew Tour to see their work. I think what Mountain Dew is doing is actually empowering younger artists and younger kids by showing their work. When I was a kid coming up, it was hard to get my work seen by more than my friends and really difficult to break into the industry. I think that's the difference is that some brands say, "We support the arts," by paying a few artists versus Mountain Dew saying, "Art is democratic. Let's show more work. Let's involve more kids. Let's give kids a place to show their stuff."

What did submissions need to have to stand out?

Obviously there are some restraints around copyrights and getting too offensive, but for the most part, it was just stuff I liked out of the group of art I saw. I tried to pick a variety of art as well, so it doesn't look like just one type of art. I really tried to pick the best selection that would look good on the wall together as well. For me, it was just stuff that excites me. That has an edge. That made me laugh or kind of scared me too. Of course, I am a sucker for anyone displaying awesome drawing skills no matter the subject. I personally have a certain aesthetic, but I was trying to mix it up as much as possible with really graphic stuff and really painterly stuff, and get a good mix of male and female artists. I just wanted to get a really diverse group of people's work so that the visual outcome could be quite exciting, and people wanted to go and look at it.

How many submissions were featured in the House of Vans?

We initially chose 80 in total. Not all 80 were able to be on the wall installation at House of Vans, but the good part is that you can see all the work submitted in the hashtag gallery on Instagram. For this, we were able to display just under 40 pieces.

You've been in the business for more than 20 years, how do you stay inspired?

Believe it or not, there is so much talent out here, that it is pretty easy to stay inspired. So many people making cool stuff. So many new and super fresh galleries, blogs, Instagram feeds. I look at it all and take it all in. I am also really inspired by music and movies, sound, film, photography, travel and fashion. The world is an awesome place - so much to look at, hear, taste.

How would you describe your work?

My stuff is hand drawn, funny, and hopefully at least a little unique. I have fun. I love drawing and I love words.

And, what's your advice to someone trying to make his or her career as successful as yours?

I think you have to have a style and passion, something unique about you, because there are a lot of people doing the same thing nowadays. the internet kind of makes that even more so. There are so many artists that are doing things that are derivative of another bigger artist. I think that is one way to come up in the world, BUT I think if you really want to break into the scene, you've got to come up with something fairly unique. You have to have a voice. You have to have something to say. You can't just always rely on whatever it is that you have pure talent wise. You have to be a part of things. You have to be really vocal and confident about what you do. I think the biggest problem facing all artists today is that there are so many artists now, and it's hard to disrupt the art world. It's just about coming up with something original, really standing behind that, and working hard to perfect that.

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Anna Halkidis is a multimedia journalist, who earned her master's degree from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in 2012. Her work has appeared in Newsday, Women's eNews, The Mott Haven Herald, as well as other publications. Follow her on Twitter.

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