We were lucky to catch up with Zeinab Diomande recently and have shared our conversation below.

Zeinab, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The most life changing risk I have taken thus far is going after my dreams. For context, I was born in the U.S but grew up in my parents home in the Ivory Coast. Coming back here in 2017 has had its set of issues and setbacks but I will never look back on standing firm on pursuing my dreams. I always say this is just the beginning because it is; both of my life and my career and whatever happens next I know it will be exciting.

Zeinab, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Zeinab Diomande, I am a Philadelphia based painter.

I got introduced to the art world at the age of 16 when my high school teacher showed me a book about contemporary art. My world, up until this point has nothing to do with this. I wasn’t aware that people with my complexion could make a viable living with Art. The artist whose work I was introduced to was Basquiat and it changed my idea surrounding what my reality could look like and what else there is out there.

I am the most proud of being able to study and make art, I am currently an MFA candidate at Tyler School of Art and do not take that for granted.

A bit about my work: I work with the idea of having a dual identity as a starting point, home with an infusion of magical realism. I use figures that share my features and characteristics to lure the viewer into unknown territories. I see these paintings as portals and vessels into an idea of home, rather than a place it is starting to come to me as a feeling.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is not only being able to see my ideas come to life in surprising ways but other people recognize themselves in the work. It’s always surprising to me in the best of ways because I always paint these figures that share my personal features and characteristics and have people come up to me at shows and say “hey that’s me!” “I see myself in this”. I really appreciate people seeing bits of their stories in the work because this is the whole point in the end. Yes I make work for myself but when it finds the right person, I know my goal has been reached.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew about the power of having peers who are also friends and having conversations it has been major in my life. People sharing the same experience as you, people that you admire, navigating the same spaces and making space for each other to commune has been a huge blessing. They know who they are!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ztheratt

Image Credits

Ryan Jensen