We recently connected with Kim Rice and have shared our conversation below.
Kim, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
A meaningful project I worked on was my installation [RE]Birth of a Nation/The Greatest City in America. It was Created for Top of the World Gallery, World Trade Center in Baltimore Maryland and curated by Kirk Shannon-Butts.
[RE]Birth of a Nation /The Greatest City in America is a love letter to Baltimore.
For the installation I created an 8′ x 8′ weaving. I hand cut and wove the Chapter Healing the Black Butterfly of Lawrence Brown’s book The Black Butterfly into the Baltimore redlining map. In the chapter Brown proposes a way to disperse funds into Baltimore to create true equity in the city. From there I bought books by Baltimore authors at Baltimore based bookstores and then cut, folded, built, and painted 1,300 flowers that grew out from the weaving.
Baltimore was the birthplace of redlining. The federal government looked at Baltimore’s segregation policies and then replicated it throughout the country with the Home Owners Loan Corporation. I love this city. I see the tenacity and creativity of the people here and believe If Baltimore was once a model of oppression it can become a model of equity. There are incredible change-makers and creatives in this city who are already doing the work. To the rest of us, it is a call for philanthropy and support.
Kim, 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 have been an artist and educator for over 20 years. For the past decade I have created artworks that focus on the construct of race through the lens of whiteness. I uses common materials and craft-based media as a meditation on systemic racism and the policies that affect American society today. Crocheted, sewn, and linked together the work is a labor intensive art practice that reveals the way whiteness is woven into our everyday lives.
My work is research driven, either from books I have read or personal experience and historical documents. I am most proud of my determination. My ability to get up everyday and do the hard work of thinking critically and transforming content and mundane materials into art. I am interested in collaborating with other artists and organizations to create radical change and an equitable world.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I am constantly reading books. In respect to business I am currently reading Build Like a Woman by Kathleen Griffith. I am also using the journal, Welcome Hustler by Robin Azron. I start my morning early drinking coffee, reading, and planning out my priorities for the day. I find this process keeps me focused and efficient in a career that can be very open ended.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being given the time to create problems and then solve them. It is the moments when you’re in the studio and everything is in sync. It’s landing on a paragraph in a book that gives you pause. It’s finding a new way you can transform a material into something completely different. It is the aha moment of an idea that has you racing back to the studio. It is the moment when you finally get to see what you envisioned out in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kimrice.net
- Instagram: kimriceartist
Image Credits
Vivian Marie Doering photos