We recently connected with Dana Satterwhite and have shared our conversation below.
Dana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
In 2020, a friend of a friend reached out to me to participate in a project for the NFL (National Football League), as the games had been paused during the pandemic, and were slated to resume. He (a producer) was looking to enlist a writer to help craft a short narrative around George Floyd, the NFL, and how things had played out specifically as they pertained to quarterback Colin Kaepernick when he led the movement of taking a knee during the singing of the National Anthem pre-game, ultimately sparking a movement.
It was nothing short of an honor and a privilege to lend my words to this project. I would have to say that experience is one of the most meaningful events in my career.
As a Black man, deeply impacted by all of what unfolds in this world and this nation affecting communities of color, it was especially important to me to use my talents and contribute my voice to reach as many people as possible with a message of power, purpose, and peace.
The pandemic years and maybe even a few leading up to them were a trying time for so many reasons. Social distancing. Virtual learning. Societal unrest fueled by an onslaught of violence, grieving, and healing. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. Three notable members of the community (and the world) gone much too soon, all within months of each other. The list of those lost during a short, concentrated period of time is too many to recount.
To get to weigh in on any level and generate work that, again, helps counter negative stereotypes and narratives by replacing them with positive ones that are, in fact, much closer to what is reality is more than an honor and a privilege. It’s my responsibility. I will always welcome the opportunity to do more work of this kind.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
This is the second time I’ve been featured by Canvas Rebel magazine, and I greatly appreciate the opportunity. The first time was in 2022. I’m just as thankful now as I was then.
My name is Dana Satterwhite. I am a creative. Professionally, I am an advertising Creative Director. To be specific, I am SVP CD at a Big Indie shop (advertising agency) called BarkleyOKRP. I love this agency and I love what I get to do.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Perhaps, when I pass away and am no longer a part of this world, should I have a tombstone, on it may be etched the following words that generally guide everything I do.
“I have two basic needs. They are: feed my soul and feed my family. Creativity allows me to do both.”
These days, that’s really at the core of everything I do.
I consider myself privileged for a number of reasons but especially so in that I get to come up with ideas and get paid for them.
Words are my tools and they are, in fact, very much my playground.
In a recent conversation with my wife, I came to the realization that I am not a favorites person, in that, in many categories, I don’t necessarily love one thing exceedingly more than all of the other things. I don’t have a favorite. I don’t play favorites. I tend to see value in all of the things. So, besides the aforementioned creative endeavor, when asked what I’m most proud of in terms or work or accomplishments, I’d likely just say all of it. I’m proud of the fact that I get to work with nice, smart, talented people to solve challenges on behalf of various brands. I honestly consider myself very fortunate. As a kid who grew up singing jingles and remembering taglines, I could never have imagined that someday I would get to participate in the creative advertising arena. Yet, here I am. I am proud of that.
What I’d love people to know about my work is that I strive to pull through or build from some kernel of a universal human truth. We’re currently seeing / living through the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence. Pretty amazing what AI can do. At the same time, everything comes back to human ingenuity. Everything. I enjoy that piece and, with or without the help of technologically-forward tools, I hope to always find a way to make a deep and/or well-informed human connection.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Right now, I find myself compelled and driven by a deep-seated urge to fight the starving artist narrative. That bit has been gnawing at me for a long time. And, especially with the advent of AI, I am inclined to work with and promote artists who generate work in an analog or even traditionally digital fashion. People who can generate beautiful imagery and beyond by way of AI are also celebrated. It’s just a different means to a familiar end.
At this moment in time, we’re seeing the arts being challenged, defunded, deprioritized, suppressed, censored, and commandeered in many ways. Not a big fan, if I’m being honest. I would like to do everything in my power to be an advocate for all manner of creativity, be it by way of the visual arts, performing arts, or the language arts. Dance. Music. Theater. Public art. Ceramics. Sculpture. Woodworking. Illustration. Animation. Poetry. Short stories. Short films. Documentaries. It’s all fair game. If it in any way, shape, or form involves creativity being used to contribute or add value to the conversation or the world in a constructive manner, I’m all about it.
I generally find that when I surround myself with creative people, I feel most understood, most relaxed, and most at home. To that end, a few of us have established a creative collective called Art School Giants. At its inception (late 2024), again, it was born of the desire to counter the limited perception of what people coming out of art school get to be or go on to do. Technically, not every member of the collective went to art school, and that’s okay. It’s more of a formality and a nod to the larger mission of cultivating and supporting current and future generations of creatives, no matter what their background or the official details of their formal education.
I might also describe myself as a connector and a community-builder. I think I’ve long known these things about me but it’s not until recently that I’ve really begun to lean in and embrace those roles. A much younger version of me shied away from—even shrunk at the idea of—networking. The very notion or mention of it made me feel uncomfortable. Now, a massive proponent of humanity, curiosity, bridge-building, and deriving joy by way of finding and discussing commonalities, I find myself very much driven by and at the epicenter of making meaningful, lasting, mutually-beneficial connections. Even that is a form of problem-solving and expending creative energy—connecting the dots and putting people in touch who may have otherwise never come together, and watching unfold the enormity and the beauty of what they can collectively do.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I love this question. I don’t love that it needs to be asked, but I appreciate the opportunity to answer it.
First and foremost, I think we need to make a massive fundamental shift in how we think about art and the people who make it. Truth be told, creativity is applied to everything. Everything in the world. Think about it. From the coffee cup you may have chosen to sip from this morning, or the laptop that you’re currently using to read this article, to the car you use every day to commute to and from work. All of it, at some point, needs to be imagined, designed, and produced. All of it requires the application of creative energy. Strategy. Design. Problem-solving.
I would love to see artists—living, breathing, working ones—celebrated, championed, and revered in the same ways we laud and praise athletes. I would genuinely appreciate a sustained, committed effort around the pursuit of excellence in any and all artistic endeavors. To see some level of compensation—nothing exorbitant, mind you. Just a fair day’s wage applied to the arts in general.
AI has now democratized or, maybe more accurately, commoditized the process of artistic expression such that we are all trying to figure out how to proceed. The conversations around morals, ethics, and environmental responsibility are through the roof and making things all the more complicated in that space. But, to me, the introduction of artificial intelligence hasn’t slowed the generation of art. In fact, much in the same way as digital photography exponentially launched the number of photos being taken into the stratosphere, I see a similar thing happening here.
The bottom line? Engage with art. Make art. Visit a museum. Become a patron. Buy from artists. Hire freelancers. Do anything and everything you can to be an ally to every bit of creative culture because it, in fact, affects every bit of everything we do. And artists, though introverted they may often be, not only appreciate the public’s outwardly expressed appreciation of their work, they so greatly deserve it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://danasatterwhite.com
- Instagram: @quiverd
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/danasatterwhite
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/danalsatterwhite
- Other: https://artschoolgiants.com
Image Credits
Photo of me: Gardiner Beau Rapelye
All other photos: Dana Satterwhite