We were lucky to catch up with Gina Cunningham recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had started sooner?
I have been a creative/artist ever since I was a teenager. Yet, there were times in my life when I had to earn serious money. I have two daughters and when they were young, I found myself in jobs that weren’t as inspired because my artistic projects could not earn the money needed. Now that my daughters are grown, I focus much more on my career as an artist/ activist they I could before. I am more educated and have more emotional intelligence I am also wiser and less impulsive about certain things that need time to work out. I am also wiser and less impulsive about certain things that need time to work out Therefore, the question of starting a career sooner or later doesn’t really apply to my life or my career. That said, I’d be very interested in the opinion of others on this question.
Gina, 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?
I’m a multidisciplinary artist/activist who has worked in different media since I left my provincial New England town for New York City in the 1970s. During that time, I was inspired by like-minded artists living their dreams. Later, I found fulfillment in service to the marginalized. Social issues such as feminism, justice, equality, and respect for Mother Nature, became part of my work. I taught in challenging places, I was awarded art residencies in the USA, Iceland, Korea, India, and Canada. I have stood as an ally with the native people of North America defending the land and water protectors. Some of my work is political, but I try to use elements of meditation and reflection in my videos and installations about displacement, immigration, and identity. My work transcends being merely political, I try to be poetic while addressing moral and social issues. Hopefully, it’s about making art that will shift people’s focus. Examples of my work are on my website
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Yes, there is. My mission is to take a chance in life and my goals are working for social justice and my artistic freedom. Taking a chance is not always the easiest way. Yet, I invariably seek out what seems to be an uncertain path. When still a teenager, I left home and arrived in New York City with almost no money. Life wasn’t comfortable scrounging around in tenement buildings in a bankrupt city in the 1970s, but it was inspiring. What I found was the company of artists and creatives taking a chance by living eclectic lives defined by their freedom to create. Those early experiences came to define my life. To earn money, I waited on tables, modeled a bit, and sold wine at street fairs. When my daughters were born, I wasn’t living a stable life with financial security. But I took a gamble believing that love and a bit of hard work would be enough, and at that particular time, it was. When I opened Tap Tap restaurant in South Beach in the 1990’s. my partners and I were given an award by the city of Miami Beach for daring to go where no one else would venture. It seemed too risky to open a business in a run-down area of old South Beach, but our restaurant was an astounding success for many years. My interest in social justice issues blossomed at this time as we were in a good position within the local community to serve others.
I took a chance when I left the restaurant business to return to school as an older student. After I received my master’s degree. I risked financial security because, at times I chose to teach for free, in Haiti after their terrible earthquake and later on in a slum in India.
I changed careers again and became a visual artist/activist. I exhibited in shows all over the world with a solo show in Miami. Then in my 60’s, despite medical issues, I became a documentary filmmaker and an actor. With no monetary support for my film, I took a chance by filming most of my movie “Pasqualina of Springfield” by myself on my iPhone. Last year, my documentary premiered at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA, and screened at over a dozen international film festivals, winning four awards. At the same time, I made my acting debut in “Driftwood” an indie movie on the festival circuit with an exciting distribution deal. I don’t know what I’ll do next, because taking a chance is important to my journey as an artist, and that is my freedom.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I have experienced some serious physical challenges. Almost 40 years ago, while biking on a narrow street in downtown Manhattan I suffered a terrible accident with a cement truck that was traveling too fast on a narrow street. My right leg was crushed, but I fought hard to rehabilitate, and eventually, I was able to do almost anything I wanted. I lived an active life, and continued biking, hiking, swimming, kayaking, scuba diving, dancing, and traveling the world. I even attempted to surf and ski (mostly falling) despite pain and permanent damage. I underwent many surgeries, including knee replacements that were never quite right. Then in April 2020, just a few weeks after the Covid pandemic had shut down most of the world, I awoke one morning in terrible condition and unable to walk. I was not treated at the ER because I did not have Covid. I could not get a doctor’s appointment and almost a year passed before I was diagnosed with a life-threatening infection in my knee replacement. All my orthopedic surgeon could do was fuse my right leg, which means I cannot bend that leg. At the time it was hard to envision what life would be like with only one knee. But two years later I am coping. With regular strength training workouts and yoga, I have resumed a full and active life. I try not to think of being neglected during that strange pandemic time. Instead, I prefer to be positive. I have learned that our brains can tell our bodies to adapt to change and do things we never imagined we could do. Stephen Hawkins said, “Concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically”.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://ginacunningham.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginacunningham/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gina.o.cunningham
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-cunningham-469a2511/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/stregagina
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBTLCmOdicdgLf5m12kA2AQ
- Other: VIMEO: https://vimeo.com/user3383740
Image Credits
Image credits: Peter Eves, Kelly Stuart, Fred Lambert, Neal Tyler, Donna Freeman