Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brittany M. Reid. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brittany, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I’m a bit of an obsessive planner, but when it comes to my creative practice this can actually hinder me. Since I work across several mediums, taking risks is part of what helps me grow as an artist. I started collaging about 3.5 years ago and when I started sharing my work with others that felt vulnerable and scary. I had this fear of being perceived, but it allowed me to connect with so many other talented collagists and learn from them. Learn about their experiences, their techniques, their styles, their struggles. An important turning point for me was when I began integrating resin and spray paint into my practice. I didn’t know anyone else who was making collages the way I wanted to so I had to figure the process out through experimentation. While this was challenging, it was also so gratifying, and it allowed me to share my experiences with others. Even when a risk doesn’t turn out the way I’d hoped, I see it as an opportunity for learning and growth. Each experience, successful or not, contributes to my creative evolution and expands my knowledge as a creator.
Brittany, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Brittany M. Reid and I’m a visual artist and creative consultant. I was born and raised in Rochester, NY and reside there still. I consider myself a lifelong creative. I was always taking art or craft classes as a child and minored in Visual and Performing Arts as an undergrad. It wasn’t until 2020 that I began collaging consistently and sharing my work that I became more active in the local arts community. Rochester has a burgeoning arts scene and luckily I connected with some highly talented people early on in my career. Since then I’ve expanded my artistic practice to include interior murals and abstract paintings. My work is heavily inspired by the vivid colors that exist in nature and the complex relationship I have with my own body as a genderqueer artist. I don’t believe I’ll ever commit to a single medium because that feels too restrictive for me. I love being in a constant state of learning and teaching.
I began offering services and tools to artists this year to help them with things like launching their first website and tracking open calls they’d applied to. I have experience in process building and project management because I come from a tech background having worked for Bay Area startups for the last 5 years. I see so many artists become overwhelmed with the technical side of this world (email marketing, social media, web presence, digitizing artwork) and I work with them to show them it doesn’t have to be complicated! My goal is to meet my clients where they are and give them the tools they need to be self-sufficient.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
We need funding, fair compensation, and equitable representation. We live in a society where art and artists are grossly undervalued and under-resourced. When you break that down even further and look at how this impacts Black artists, the statistics are grim. Black folks have historically been denied access to wealth and historical inequities have had a lasting impact on Black artists’ access to opportunities and resources. Society must actively work to dismantle systemic barriers and biases that hinder the progress of underrepresented artists while also providing adequate financial support that allows artists to focus on their craft. This is why I have a collection that’s dedicated to giving back to the Black trans community. The “Support Our Siblings” collection features prints, originals, and stickers and 100% of those sales are donated to Black Trans Femmes in the Arts.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Social media has absolutely no bearing on how valuable your work is or how talented you are. It is simply one of the many tools you have in your toolbox. We as artists are not content creators. We do not produce content simply to be consumed. As least I don’t. There have been many points in my career where I felt exhausted and dejected because of low engagement across my social media profiles, but I have to be so careful not to let this inform my work. I love using social media to connect with other artists and find inspiration, but it’s a constant struggle to not get caught up in this growing culture of comparison. I remind myself daily that my art is an expression of my personal experiences and emotions, not a commodity to be consumed for validation.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brittanymreid.com
- Instagram: @brittany.m.reid
- Linkedin: in/brittanymreid
- TikTok: @brittany.m.reid