STORY BY CARMEN FANNING
PHOTOS BY LAURA KRUG AND ALLIE SCHWEIZER
The atmosphere of the Hays Art Center Annex changed Wednesday evening. As soon as you entered the doors, a feeling of belonging and welcomeness greeted you. Rayvon Lewis and Tessa Kriss, otherwise known as the creative duo Paseo, hosted Red Hot, a collection of art with an open mic.
Red Hot was used as an invitation to invoke passion from people.
“We wanted something with more expression, more emotion and we created Red Hot to do exactly that,” Kriss said.
The art pieces covered controversial, yet relevant issues in society such as rape, gun control, politics and more.
Over 40 artists contributed their artwork and participated in the open mic.
Following the success from their previous ColorWave art show, the Paseo crew wanted to continue to create an atmosphere for artists to showcase their talents, with an emphasis on “creativity and unity,” according to Kriss.
The goal of the art show was to cultivate community.
“People can come together at peace and appreciate art together,” Lewis said.
Morgan Choitz 
The two students are graphic design majors which played a major role in the creative process.
“The main thing they teach in that major is concept. We brought it into this. All the conceptualizing came together and makes sense,” Kriss said.
This time around, the two students felt more prepared. “We knew what to expect this time.”
“We have so much talent in Hays, and I feel like people don’t get enough recognition for the amount of work they put in to their pieces,” Lewis said.
This isn’t the last you’ll see of the Paseo crew. These two students have plans for even more art shows including in Kansas City and Chicago.
For more information on upcoming shows, follow @paseothecrew on Instagram.