We recently connected with Ajuan Mance and have shared our conversation below.

Ajuan , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember, and by artist I mean someone who creates with intention. My intention, from a laughably early age, was to create work for sale and exhibition. I created my first illustrated book in second grade, in 1973, and I fully believed that it would be published and read by other kids. Who would publish a book by a seven-year-old child? I didn’t have time to ruminate over such details. I had more books to create (and more posters and bookmark and greetings cards, t00). My parents took my art as seriously as I did. They nurtured my interests, while also following my lead. They took me to all kinds of museums in nearby New York City, they bought me art books and magazines, and they took me to shop for supplies at the legendary Pearl Paint store, on Canal Street. There I bought my paper and paints alongside students from NYU and SVA, as well as artists from the burgeoning scene in Soho. When, as a college-bound high school senior, I chose advanced studio art over an additional AP course I received not pushback, but encouragement. What my parents did right, among other things, was to encourage me to find and pursue my passions; and they modeled what it meant to be creative, to geek out about the things you love, and to learn and seek new interests and ideas.

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?

I am an artist, illustrator, and comic creator, based in Oakland, California. Although my formal training is in literary studies (I have an MA and PhD in English from the University of Michigan), I have pursued my creative work in the visual arts with equal passion and focus. My fine art, comics, and illustrated books use humor, bright colors, and bold lines to explore the complexities of race, gender, and power in the 21st century.

I began my art practice as a painter, mostly working in acrylic on canvas. I shifted my focus to illustration in 2010, when I started an online-based sketch diary called 1001 Black Men. For that project, I drew portraits in ink on paper, and then I scanned them and added color, hand-drawn patterns, and other collage elements, digitally. Between June 2010 and January 2017, I created 1001 portraits of the Black men I encountered in my daily life in the San Francisco Bay Area and in my travels around the U.S. The project was published as a hardcover art book in 2022, from Stacked Deck Press. That may well be the work of which I am most proud. The title of the book is 1001 Black Men: Portraits of Masculinity at the Intersections.

In 2022, I also published a second book, called Living While Black: Portraits of Everyday Resistance. Published by Chronicle Books, it is an illustrated exploration of the everyday, legal activities for which Black people have been harassed, arrested, or killed. Though you may not be able to tell from this description, the book, like all of my work, is a celebration of beauty, power, and resilience. As is the case with most of my art, this book uses vibrant colors and patterns to underscore the refusal of people of African descent to be limited by the perceptions of others.

My upcoming book also explores Black lives and communities. What Do Brothas Do All Day, also published by Chronicle, is a children’s picture book that looks at the different ways that Black men work, play, and create community. It will be out in November of 2023.

My illustrations and comics have also appeared in several collections including: We’re Still Here, winner of the 2019 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Anthology; Drawing Power, winner of the 2020 Eisner Award for Best Anthology; COVID Chronicles: A Comics Anthology; and Menopause: A Comic Treatment, winner of the 2021 Eisner Award for Best Anthology.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the capacity to question, celebrate, comment on, or investigate the world around me, but in a way that is accessible to others. Also, if the current moment is any way similar to previous periods in history, then it’s fair to assume that in 200, 500, or even 1000 years, the only thing that will truly be left to speak for us is our artwork. If love the idea of being a part of some future voice from the past.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

One of the best ways for society to support artists is to put pressure on cities and states to provide greater funding for artists’ residencies, housing, and studio space. There is so much talent and creativity in the world, but the lack of substantial financial support as well as affordable housing and studio space (especially in cities) forces many to choose between their art and the ability to sustain themselves and their families.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ajuanmance.com/
• Instagram: @8_rock
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/8RockArt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajuanmance/
• Twitter: @8_Rock

Image Credits
Ajuan Mance