Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jaime Pattison. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jaime thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I have learned most through my participation in my community as well as developing strong relationships with the mentors that I found through my education in the arts. I have found that the people around you that care are by far the most helpful resources available. After moving from Toronto, I got my BFA at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. By far the most valuable part of my education was the mentor relationships I developed, and the communities I found.

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?

I am a painter, based in Detroit, and recently I have been working on a series of large dichromatic paintings investigating notions of the screen and embodiment. Painting for me is an analog process, a process based in the hand, a sifting through digital material to make connections to this time.

Born and raised in the Toronto area, I moved to Detroit in 2018, originally to pursue my BFA majoring in Art Practice with a minor in Critical Studies. In 2023 I co-founded a shared studio space in Detroit and have been living and working here ever since.
My interest in critical studies has led me to explore curation as an extension of my practice as a painter. As a result, I occasionally take on curatorial projects as a form of research. These projects help me think through ideas I am considering in my own work and enable me to grow through participating in a broader conversation with other artists. My most recent curatorial project was Afterimages a group exhibition including artists: Katie Mongoven, Heather Macali, Evan Mazellan, Izzy Krompegel-Anliker, ELYSIA, at ArtClvb’s space in Detroit’s NewLab @ Michigan Central.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

On a micro level, the best way to support an artist is to buy work from them and spread the word to your community about who they are, what they do, and why you like them. Another way to support a creative ecosystem is to share resources, especially in terms of connecting people around you to each other in ways that are mutually beneficial. Finally, a good community needs to be multilevel and one way to do that is to consciously create opportunities for yourself and others. Essentially, some form of gathering / events / opportunities need to take place in order for there to be thriving creative ecosystem and there are many ways to do this.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes! First it must be said that the most valuable resources are the people around you in your field that are willing to take the time to understand where you are coming from and where you are trying to go. That being said:
– ART/WORK by Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber was very helpful when thinking about professional practices.
– If you are based in the Detroit area the Art Detroit Now email list is useful
– Sarah Thornton’s Seven Days in the Art World and 33 Artists in 3 Acts is a good place to start when thinking about the art world as a specific context.

Contact Info:

• Website: jaimepattison.com
• Instagram: jaime.pattison