We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Genna a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Genna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I can remember wanting to be an artist as early as the age of 8. There was something so satisfying about being able to look at an object, a cartoon or even a person and be able to recreate it, just by looking at it. The school I was attending from 8 to 13 years old was called a Sudbury school, where the child gets the freedom to decide what interests them and how they want to spend their days. And art was all I wanted to do, so that’s how I spent my days. I pursued art through out my life, and attended the University of Central Florida to earn my bachelors in studio art in 2015. But it was the year of 2020 when my professional career started to take off.
Genna, 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 Genna Sweetnam, I am an artist, and I specialize in abstract expressionist paintings. My work is about me and my emotions. My work holds the gravity of the emotions I have felt from experiences I have had. Why that is important is because it comes from the need to express what it feels like to be alive, right now. What I am most proud of with my work is the honesty and vulnerability they hold, all due to the bravery it takes for me to feel my emotions fully, and express them without shame or boundary.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I can only speak for myself, but I truly believe an artists journey is a consistent act of resilience. A life of creativity has so much to offer, you can push it in so many directions. For example, you can apply for an exhibition, a residency, a grant, work with galleries, pitch yourself for a project, aim to show in major conventions, etc. Resilience is a skill to maintain because you won’t always get the opportunities you are hoping for, and it will be challenging, defeating. But you have to keep going. The path of an artist is a path of resilience. Opportunity will always come. Let your passion out weigh the out come. What I mean by that is, let your passion carry you regardless of the opportunities you do, or do not get.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In my career, for a long time I stayed focused on creating collections (a small body of work), promoting it on my social media and releasing it on my website which would then sell out. I did this successfully many times and then began to feel the need to shift my direction. I wanted to explore more that I could do, grow and evolve in my art career, but I felt pretty lost in which route to go, or how. I attended a residency is France, Chateau Orquevaux in October of 2024, seeking clarity and hoping to find a new direction. Once I finished my residency, it was clear which way I wanted to pivot, and that was to work with galleries. The resilience I maintained in search for my new direction felt rewarded this past March, as I was part of a duo exhibition OPPOSITES ATTRACT, curated by Ambar Santiago with Mills Gallery here in Orlando, FL. It was an incredible experience that I am so grateful for and I am so excited to continue working with more galleries here in Orlando and outside of Florida.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gennasweetnam.com
- Instagram: Genna_sweetnam
- Facebook: Genna Sweetnam
