We were lucky to catch up with Juju Dang recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Juju 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.

Using fluid acrylics as a medium can be quite challenging. Anyone can do it but not everyone can make it look good. As a self-taught artist, I spent a good year fiddling with my recipe and layering my paints in a certain way so that they don’t end up looking like mud after being poured. I watched videos of other artists and used IG to try to catch their secrets. I wouldn’t change a thing with my journey as the learning process takes time and practice. My obstacle was not having a large enough studio space to do my art work. I used our townhouse guest bedroom as my creative space and my large 5ft by 4ft paintings just barely fit. In fact, there were at least a few catastrophes – a lamp I was storing in the room fell onto a part of my painting while it was drying; another time our friend’s dog we were taking care of walked into the room and got paint all over his paws and then on the carpet. Studio space is essential for creating.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is juju dang and I began creating art in 2016 after I was fired from my first job after accomplishing my PhD in oral biology. So I was formally trained as a scientist and then became a self-taught visual artist. The medium I normally use for my paintings is mixed fluid acrylics. It took me a full year to get my recipe right and the technique in order to set myself apart from other fluid artists. Utilizing a media with a high flow rate is essentially uncontrollable, thus making sure your piece doesn’t end up looking like a pile of mud can be challenging. I also capture my art as it evolves while it is wet and those normally result in canvas or metal prints. My original art pieces range from 8×8 inches to 5ftx4ft.

I then began to print my captures on fabric and began designing my own fashion line, which I call house of juju. These designs led to runway and magazine editorials. I am intentional in my choice of models, thus a BIPOC presence is very strong. Most of my designs are activewear items and I have quite a few choices in other merchandise ie. tote bags, pouches, socks, phone cases, etc.

If I were to describe my art to someone I would say that it is abstract where aquatic and intergalactic impressionism may appear. I also love using vibrant colours. “Unicorn and rainbow colours all day errday” is my motto.

I am proud of any size piece that sells especially when customers want to invest in the larger pieces. It truly feels like a piece of me is contained within the paintings and I miss ones that I have sold lol because the originals are not replicable.

The most fun I have is when I do a runway show, the music and models, it all comes to life and the energy is fire!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

We need big corporations to invest in local artists. Whether that means contracting them for projects, purchasing their art, or funding organizations that act as a platform for creatives. Essentially, the whole community needs to be more intentional in supporting the local art scene. We need the career of an artist to evolve where their accomplishments should be celebrated and compensated for appropriately. Society needs a balance of both the arts and sciences.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

There are people who will love your art, people who will not love your art, and those who will not understand it. I mean abstract art is just what you make of it, the reality of it is in the eye of the beholder. I had one person tell me that they truly didn’t get my art and maybe that meant they didn’t know how to appreciate it. I don’t think there was anything I could say or do to make them “get” my work. This is something I have absolutely no control over, I have to just accept these facts.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jujudang.art
• Instagram: juliet_dang
• Facebook: juju dang art
• Linkedin: Juliet Dang
• Twitter: julietdang
• Youtube: juju dang

Image Credits
large group photo with models – Tero Patana 3 girls sitting with art as background – Tero Patana