We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mia Risberg a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mia, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I went to university dreaming of being a traditional art student, however I was only able to be that for one year. Afterwards I began working to support myself and pay for my studies. I was grateful to get a job in publishing, where I learned book design, under the mentorship of Cathy Aison, who was the art director for Vintage Books at the time. Working full time and going to school in the evenings was not easy however and it took me many years before I was able to graduate and return to my art practice. I don’t regret that period of juggling work and studies as it gave me valuable life experience but I wish I had been able to become a full time artist sooner!

Mia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a visual artist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I live with my family and our oversized dog, Phil. I was born in Sweden but spent much of my childhood living in various countries before immigrating to the U.S as a young adult. I attended Pratt Institute and Hunter College in NYC, and graduated from the latter with a BA in Fine Arts, while working for many years as a book designer in the publishing industry.

My work depicts places and people that appear to hold secrets. Enigmatic figures, fleeting moments, and contemplative landscapes are rendered in acrylic paintings and colored pencil drawings. Informed by personal memories, photographs, and imagination, I explore these internal and external landscapes. Some are sparsely populated, while others portray people who are cropped or in the form of shadows. Others yet are devoid of figures and depict solitary settings and places. Moments of apparent stillness invite the viewer to enter a sometimes quiet or dreamy place, one that invites pause and offers a respite from our more chaotic external world.

Many of my drawings were shown in the exhibit Quiet Contemplation at the Studio Break Gallery (West Chicago, Illinois). Other solo exhibits were Glimpses, an Interactive Exhibit at the Aquarium Gallery (Ann Arbor, MI) and Breathing Spaces at Soft Projects (Ypsilanti, MI). I’ve participated in US group exhibits at PeepSpace (Tarrytown, NY), The Scarab Club (Detroit, MI), and Scene Metrospace (Lansing, MI). My work was included in the 2021 Art on a Postcard Summer Auction, as well as the Ukraine Art Sale, in London, UK, a worthwhile benefit to help the Red Cross in the war torn country. I’ve had the pleasure of being featured in several publications such as Art Maze Magazine, Create Magazine, and Friend of the Artist.

A current project I’m very excited about is 813 Microgallery. The gallery is a minute space (the size of a large box) that is permanently installed in the front yard of our home. A couple of years ago I was thinking about alternative ways for artists to show their work. After considering various more complex ideas, I discovered a microgallery (Creal Microgallery) here in our town. Its founder, artist Joe Levickas, talked to me about it and so I decided to start one of my own. 813 Microgallery is a way for me to share art with the community and showcase the work of diverse artists on a small scale. We feature someone new every month or so. The space is informal, accessible, and also not intimidating for people who may otherwise not frequent galleries. The artists we’ve featured have enjoyed the challenge of making work on a small scale or creating an installation for the space, and we have received very positive feedback from the community.

If you’d like to learn more about my process you can hear me speak about my work on the Studio Break, Interesting Humans, and Off-Leash Arts podcasts.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

For work I mostly use Instagram. Even though it can be very time consuming, the platform has been a great way to connect with people in the arts, and sometimes with opportunities. I am not an influencer or celebrity so the growth is slow but feels authentic. The app can be a fantastic way to get to know other artists and their work, and I have met several people that have become real life friends. My advice for anyone starting to use it is to try and have fun with it, to be yourself, and to be polite because veryone is looking for connection of some sort. Also, sharing the work or successes of others can be a nice way to grow one’s community in a positive manner.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

For work I mostly use Instagram. Even though it can be very time consuming, the platform has been a great way to connect with people in the arts, and sometimes with opportunities. I am not an influencer or celebrity so the growth is slow but feels authentic. The app can be a fantastic way to get to know other artists and their work, and I have met several people that have become real life friends. My advice for anyone starting to use it is to try and have fun with it, to be yourself, and to be polite because everyone is looking for connection of some sort. Also, sharing the work or successes of others can be a nice way to grow one’s community in a positive manner.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.miarisberg.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miarisbergart/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miarisbergart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mia-risberg-26a225206/
• Other: @813microgallery (instagram)