We were lucky to catch up with Katayoun Amjadi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Katayoun, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to have a creative life. I was one of those kids that never quite fit the world around me, so much of my time was spent exploring the inner life of an imaginative, if somewhat pensive, child. Reading, writing and drawing were my companions…along with the many street-wise, stray cats of Tehran. Yet for all the naive yearning for the solitary artist’s life, I’m pretty risk averse too, so I tracked a more predictable career in architecture for a short time.

It wasn’t until I moved to the States in my late 20’s that I finally gathered the courage to fully embrace art and commit to the academic training, risks and sacrifice the art world demands of its practitioners. Going through the BFA and MFA programs at the U of Minnesota was a rigorous and exhilarating experience, yet one that never quite prepares you for life outside the safety of academia. The true crucible is the art world itself: fickle, unpredictable and not naturally financially supportive, but at the very same time it is where I find my community, my people, and ultimately my life, which for better or worse, from day one, has been as an artist.

Katayoun, 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?

Hi CanvasRebel readers. I’m Katayoun Amjadi, but most people know me as Kat. I’m a ceramic, installation and video artist practicing in Minneapolis. My work moves through the low-art/high-art spectrum, and much of what I do tries to bridge the gap between the two. So on one end I make collectable objects and artifacts, and on the other I do installations in galleries and museums in the Midwest.

One of my passions has always been tracing the history of objects as they move through various iterations and meanings, and listening to the stories they have to tell. I have long believed in the narrative possibility of objects and I gather and shape their voices as a kind of cultural anthropology, taking an object from the past and giving it new meaning. While my work is often a commentary on current global concerns, it also looks for historical traces of the human condition, and probes the relationship between past and present, tradition and modernity, and our many types of identity woven through our collective history.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’m not sure my work has a singular mission, but ultimately I’m a story-teller, the village potter. To that end I want to feel that I have a story worth telling, and that with a little bit of luck and hard work, I can tell one or two reasonably well. Ultimately stories are shared experiences, and my goal is to create work that inspires, engages, entertains and perhaps challenges someone to see the world in a way they might not otherwise have thought about.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Art has the power to bring various groups of peoples together. Art is a visual way of communication and sharing stories, a secular and inclusive community builder. I continue to meet the most amazing souls through this journey. I found my people.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katayoun.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katceramics

Image Credits
Sarah Sampedro Rick Sferra