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Sed ut perspiciatis unde.
SubscribeWe caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dathan Kane a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dathan , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I first realized that I wanted to pursue the creative field as my career during the second semester of my freshmen year at Virginia State University (VSU). I was going back and forth my first semester and finally made the decision to go for it.
Dathan , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Dathan Kane (b. 1991) is a contemporary abstract painter and muralist based in Hampton Roads, Virginia. He holds a BFA in Art & Design from Virginia State University. His work focuses on the constant duality of life’s choices using bold, organic, black and white shapes to explore this complexity and gain a sense of balance. Dathan‘s work is included in many collections including Germany, France, Dollar Tree HQ, Work Programs Architects at Assembly in Norfolk, Within Interior Design Firm in Norfolk, PMA Architecture in Newport News, Commune in Virginia Beach/Norfolk, Capital One and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. He has exhibited at the Assembly Norfolk, Chrysler Museum (Glass Studio) Gallery, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art , Hermitage Museum & Gardens, Southside Contemporary Art Gallery RVA and the Sichuan Contemporary Institute in China. Dathan has participated in the “More Than Art” mural project, RVA Street Mural Festival, Three Notchd “Leave Your Mark!” mural festival in Richmond and has completed a two week residency program at Studio House in Baltimore contributing two murals. He was a recent participant in the annual “Cabin Fever” auction held at 1708 Gallery in Richmond VA as well as the Oakwood Arts annual “SOLSTICE” auction held in Richmond. His recent documentary film, CURATE, produced by P.B.S “WHRO Media” in Norfolk has aired throughout Hampton Roads, Boston, and North Carolina (2022). Dathan recently completed a mural project for White Claw during Pharrell’s “Something in the Water Festival” in VA Beach (2023). Dathan was a recent participant in the Newport News Street Museum Mural Festival (2023) as well as the 6th annual Vibe District Mural Festival (2023). He currently serves on the board of the Hermitage Museum in Norfolk, and works on the Contemporary Arts Network exhibition team in Newport News.
My service includes providing original paintings, murals, prints and clothing items for clients.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Unfortunately I was late to the benefit of social media. I had friends try to convince me for years that I could use social media as a business tool to market my work. Finally during my senior year at VSU I created an instagram account to serve as an instant portfolio. I needed to have a clear overview of the service that I could provide to clients who may want to collect my work or hire my skills for a particular job.
I found that “marketing” is key for any successful business. How you market your business or service can determine how clients can incorporate you into their vision. Stay consistent with your content and have social media be a tool to aid the growth of your business .
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
I feel that art should be best served to the audience in real life. Art should be experienced in real time to see how something tangible can be made with our hands. The textures of paintings, sculptures and various installations can only be felt in real life rather than a screen.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Silly Genius Moose Rachel Harrell Kenny Hopkins Will Melton Oakwood Arts
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