We recently connected with Alicia Saadi and have shared our conversation below.

Alicia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

In the beginning of my art journey I was a painter, but over time, I started incorporating collage into my work. I used gel medium to stick book and magazine clippings onto the canvas, and it opened a new world for me. I could create scenes exactly as I imagined them, and the possibilities seemed endless. Eventually, I fell so in love with cutting and pasting that it took over my urge to paint. Instead, I started collecting vintage papers and learning through trial and error how different types of adhesives behaved.

Looking back at that learning phase, I realize I could have benefited from the wisdom of others who’d already traveled the same road. One great aspect of social media is that it helps people to connect with others who they might not otherwise have a chance to meet. Through different online platforms, I’ve found many collage artists, groups and resources that I’ve benefited from. My learning curve would have been shorter if I’d found them sooner.

Learning to problem-solve has also been critical to the process, because community building and collaging are both like piecing together a puzzle. With community, the challenge is bringing together the right people for a common goal. With art, it’s about bringing together the right images to tell a story. Working through chaos to create harmony and thoughtful interdependence in both situations ensures every contribution adds value toward achieving the goal.

The biggest obstacle that can get in the way of progress is fear. Fear of rejection, disappointment, failure, or even fear of success can stop momentum. The adage, “the only thing to fear is fear itself” can be truer than it seems. Through art, Ive learned the importance of letting go of fear.

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?

My art is driven by a desire to confront social injustice in the United States and to center people whose narratives have been marginalized, mischaracterized or ignored. Visually, African American women play a dominant role my work, personifying strength and the resistance to all forms of oppression. Often, these depictions both reference and contradict the one-dimensional portrayals of women that existed during my youth.

As such, the domains of the housewife and the calendar girl are frequently a backdrop in my art, with pinup calendars, recipe cards, home decor manuals and African American lifestyle magazines forming the foundation. Still, while I favor domestic materials, I depict my subjects breaking decorum in surreal settings, both inside and outside of the home.

As a space for the work itself, I’m drawn toward projects that transform outdoor advertising into public art. Billboards are my favorite platform for reaching broad audiences and encouraging social change. I consider myself fortunate to have had Kolaj Magazine, Save Art Space, CoLAB Arts and other organizations support that vision. I also produce smaller, more intimate works that remain sociopolitical, while also being deeply personal. Through this visual dialogue, I ask viewers to stand against injustice and to recognize the interconnectedness of us all.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is that it seems to be the only field that encourages people to be fully themselves. Other professions reward workers who fit a particular mold but, the success of creatives often depends on how thoroughly they break the mold. There’s nothing like the feeling of baring your soul creatively and having your most authentic self embraced by others.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission in art-making is to create a positive change in the world and see systems of oppression dismantled for future generations. It’s a long process and progress toward the goal isn’t immediate or measurable. So, I’m driven by the idea that any person who sees my work can come away with a desire to eliminate systems of harm. In that sense, I want my art to be the spark that ignites a flame in others. Together we can burn the house down.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aliciasaadi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicia_undomesticated/

Image Credits

Alicia Saadi