We recently connected with OWL VIBEZ and have shared our conversation below.
OWL, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My parents were and still are amazing examples of entrepreneurial pursuits. They always had their own business which allowed me to see a new path of expression and became aware I could earn a living doing what I loved. My parents allowed me to try different hobbies and paths before I became obsessed with art. I played the violin for most of my childhood and it wasn’t until I gratuated high school that I realise art was a path I wanted to explore. All this led to me going to community college and persue my associates in fine arts. My parents cheered me on the whole way and when I gratudated I told them I wanted to be my own boss and give it a shot at being a full time artist and they immidiatly gave me their blessing. What they did right was allowing me to be myself and to find my own path. It wasnt easy to adjust cultural perspectives but they saw how much I cared that the support became my main fuel.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a multidisciplinary artist who enjoys connecting with the public as a form of expression and appreciation. I am a first-generation immigrant from Colombia. Brought to the States at the age of 11 I became a blend of two cultures. I use art as a vehicle to ignite conversations that allow the viewer to have no expertise other than just experiencing what is in front of them. I got into street art in 2013 and became interested in public art expression. The different avenues like graffiti, street art, and art drops became my main interest. I started as an anonymous street artist and have remained anonymous for the time being. This has allowed me to connect with people on a deeper level where all biased ideas are not controlling the conversation. I found murals to be a great way to practice what I love most. I focus on bringing my abstract style to new places where people commune either for work or just simply passing by. I have been able to provide exposure to upcoming artists especially women and people of color to projects and this has allowed all of us to express ourselves as a community. Working with other artists allows me to share the load and drive bigger intentions than just one perspective. I believe this to be an asset in our communities. The proudest moments of my work and my career have been when I realized that I am exactly where I need to be. it feels like my clients are aware of the asset public art can have on human life and when we partner to provide that we all grow exponentially. I appreciate everyone and anyone who shares art with others and hope I can continue to do and share much more.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
From my perspective, society could do so much more to support artists, and nurture a creative ecosystem. One form of support is by having programs where artists can apply to things without having to waste so much time in application processes. A lot of self-taught artists struggle to get grants simply because they don’t know the resources or how to fill out an application. The red tape that is sometimes used for resources for artists is discouraging to me personally. I feel like there isn’t a good center point within our communities to best utilize our support and resources. We have organizations that control the resources and only distribute them to the same people they award each year without considering the new generation of artists. there is a lot of gatekeeping in our communities when it comes to art and I would love for an easier process. Most mural festivals around the country are run by artists or nonprofit organizations and they do a good job of making the process of applying less intense. I think by adopting a model that’s simpler for the newer generation we could get more diversity in our public art expression.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My mission in this creative journey is to connect people through experiencing public art. I find representation a vital part of growth in our society. Being able to show people that someone like me can do creative things and have the opportunity to share it publicly brings me greater joy. Sharing my immigrant story with others is a way of sharing perspectives that really igite intrestng conversations. I also belive in big projects where it qllows me to bring other peers along the path. Being able to share spaces with other creators allow me to build momentum for expression in all forms and i hope it inspires others to follow their inner fire.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @owl.clt
Image Credits
Dantek Images