We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alitha A. Alford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alitha A. , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

As long as I can remember, art has been my heartbeat and what has “fed my soul” for many years. Creating art, being immersed in it, and being able to share the joy and healing that art gifts me to the world, has always been a dream of mine to fulfill daily.

The stigma of art being an unstable and not lucrative career was spoon fed to me by society since my adolescent years to present. It instilled that fear that I wouldn’t succeed and I will not be taken seriously as a professional for many years. After being creatively and professionally stagnant in the Midwest for majority of my 20’s and early 30’s, I was desperately craving a change in direction on my path of life. After careful consideration, I knew that I truly did not give myself the opportunity to explore or even pursue an art career. It was in that moment I felt an overwhelming yet invigorating need to take the leap of faith and pursue an art career. It was time for a major life change and transition in my professional development and career. I dabbled in education, banking, and retail and had not found any joy in thankless jobs. I wanted to pursue something that heals me but brings me joy on a daily basis. Art has always been my healing, joy, happiness, and escape from this chaotic world.

January of 2021 started off riddled with heartbreak and challenges, but my heart, mind, and soul was yearning to be back in New York City. I had decided in December 2020 to move back to New York City (after moving to New York City in 2019 for the first time, then moving away during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic due to, I, being immunocompromised and to be with family during that fearful time), to seriously pursue my art and invest into making it a full time career for me.

February of 2021, there was a blizzard that swept over the East Coast and New York City and there I was braving the icy roads in a fully packed black, Yukon truck driving from Indianapolis to East Harlem, New York City. I had sold all my furniture, gave away many of my belongings, sold my car, and packed my life into boxes all in the name of my love of art. This was my chance to truly give my all into investing into an art career. I tossed the negative stigma art careers had in society’s perspective and decided to pursue what makes me happy.

I honestly didn’t know how I was going to even get into the NYC art scene let alone, find an art community but I was ambitious and determined to figure it all out.

To help pay rent and bills, I relied heavily on savings and being a seasoned partner at Starbucks. They were my saving Grace when I first moved back NYC. Two months into settling back down in Harlem, I met up with an incredible support and one of my most favorite people in my life, best friend, Ana, at The Highline. That beautiful Spring day, we walked the Highline to the Whitney Museum, and visited a Julie Mehretu exhibit that was mind blowing and rendered me speechless. I was deeply inspired by her story, activism, and work, it propelled us to discuss art studios and pursuing in finding one to start my art practice. That day, April 9th, everything came to fruition. Ana agreed to take on rent with me to find my very first professional art studio. By April 17th, after scouring the internet, meeting up with landlords and touring art studios, researching prices, etc., we had our keys to our art studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn. I was welcomed into my first art collective, The Brooklyn Art Cluster, and into the established Arts Gowanus Community. These were pivotal in helping me find an art community that embraced me, uplifted me, and was supportive. I felt seen. I felt belonging. I knew I finally was able to dive into my true calling. Not only did I move back to NYC because I missed it terribly but I moved back, hitting the ground running for my dreams of being a full time artist.

Alitha A. , 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 Alitha A. Alford, I am the artist of leeleeluvjoyart. I was born in Angeles City, Pampanga, Phillippines in 1985. I am Filipina, Black American, mixed media collage artist and acrylic painter, based in New York City, New York.

My first experience as a published artist was in 1999, when as a 13 year old, in Indianapolis, IN, I worked I with Jim Sarno (Walt Disney Imagineer, who worked on the opening team for Disney’s Epcot) on a fabric mural project for CTB McGraw-Hill. It was my first taste of being published as an artist, being on the local news, and working with a phenomenal, professional artist. My mural was published in McGraw-Hill’s School Year Calendar for 1999/2000.

I believe that being an artist is something that one is born to do and can be either a self taught and/or formal practice. In my experience, I went on to study art throughout my childhood to present day through practical experience, learning through trial and error, and self learning studying the works of Van Gogh, Picasso, Georgia O’Keefe, Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali, Seurat, and Monet as my teachers alongside my art instructors and mentors from my adolescent school years.

In June 2021, I was published for the second time. My digital artwork of mine called, “Banabas and Mangos” was picked and published in Overachiever Magazine.

2022 publications:

Coloring book for NYC Filipinos project, called “Stronger Together: Volume 2”
2023 publications:

Coloring book for NYC Filipinos project, called “Stronger Together: Volume 3”

ART EXHIBITS, SHOWS, POP UPS:

2021 ARTS GOWANUS OPEN STUDIOS (October)
2022 LONG BEACH (California) UBE FESTIVAL (February)
2022 ARTS GOWANUS OPEN STUDIOS (October)
2022 PINAY ART SHOW (October)
2022 FESTIVE FIESTA: HOLIDAY POP UP (December)
2023 ARTS GOWANUS OPEN STUDIOS (October)
2024 “PANGARAP” SPEAKING DREAMS INTO REALITY (May, debuted an all female, Filipina art collective I cofounded with 5 other phenomenal, multidisciplinary artists)

I work primarily in mixed media collage work and acrylic paint on canvas and wood panel. I am exploratory in my art practice and I am always open to any method or tool that can enhance and hone my skills and craft. Sculptural painting with heavy body acrylic and modeling paste are also heavily incorporated into my artworks. I currently work out of my art studio, based in Brooklyn, NY, in the Gowanus neighborhood. I am a proud member of the Arts Gowanus community. They are an outstanding and supportive art community!

I moved to New York in 2021, to pursue my dream; a career in art and founded leeleeluvjoyart. I am active and a part of three art collectives: The Tsismosas Art Collective (2024), The Brooklyn Art Cluster Art Collective (2021), and FOBB$ NYC Art Collective (2022).

I specialize in one of a kind, abstract, intuitive sip and paint workshops. I have been doing sip and paints since 2019, for private clients as well as businesses, some of my former clients include: Kabisera NYC, Apicha Community Health Center, Harlem Pilates.

I collaborated with other creatives to create spaces that promote, self care, healing, and wellness. My sip and paints cater to meditation, healing, and art therapy, by being lightly guided, intuitive, mindful, in a peaceful, safe space. I curate each workshop to my clientele’s needs and desires.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Honestly, there are more aspects of being an artist and creative than I can personally count. It’s a craft, career, and a lifestyle that is a gift that keeps on giving on the daily.

The most rewarding aspect is being able to share with the world how healing art is, the joy it infuses within my heart, mind, body, and soul, and how art can be used to express thought, vision, emotions…in powerful ways, art is a form of communication, storytelling, a journal of life experiences and lessons.

Through workshops I host or aide with, I experience the healing and catharsis that transpires when I see an individual create with whatever medium or media they chose or resonates with them. The joy of taking whatever they experienced that year, week, month, or day, and through colors, tools, a platform to create, a safe space to release, and watching it materialize through art. Being a guide to open up their hearts, souls, bodies, and minds to express themselves freely without restraint, in a variety of imaginative ways, is my BIGGEST reward. To be able to facilitate that kind of human expression and deep healing is not only an ultimate honor, and priceless treasure, but are MY healing, peace, and joy. Being an artist and creative continues to fill my cup daily, giving my life beauty, richness, and purpose.

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

In my perspective, throughout history up until present, art forms, whether it’s Painting, Sculpture, Literature, Architecture, Theater, Film, or Music, have proven time and time again, that these are significant aspects of human life and development. Art aided in development of motor skills, eye-hand coordination and has a large impact on their social and emotional growth. Art enhances cognitive development which in turn can have a positive effect on math skills and other related subjects. These reasons are just the tip of the iceberg on what nurturing creativity and self expression can do for an individual!

I feel society should continue to contribute towards the art communities, not only by monetary means, but educating people to respect, uphold, and preserve works of art, they artists and creatives that fund, make, educate art forms, and provide facilities in all communities where children, teenagers, and adults can participate, learn, and share the joy, happiness, healing, a growth art forms promote! More public funding should be provided for art programs to encourage healthy forms of entertainment and expression. In turn, by doing this, I feel it can help keep crime rates down and keep our youth off of trouble’s paths.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alithaaalford.com
• Instagram: @leeleeluvjoyart
• Facebook: @leeleeluvjoyart
• Linkedin: Alitha Alford
• Other: On Instagram, my art collective I cofounded: @tsismosasnyc

Image Credits

Alex Banh

Stephen Esguerra

Alitha Alford

Veronika Khasanova