We were lucky to catch up with Riley Eastman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Riley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I am Currently an Organizer and Lead photographer on this non-profit community event called Twin Cities Trans Fight Club. It’s the biggest event I’ve been tied too yet. we’ve had 4 shows under that name so far and plan to continue this spring. Last year I was scrolling thru my feed when I saw a friend was starting up these shows and needed a photographer to be apart of it long term. I’ve been dying to attach myself to something like this for a while so I asked if I could do it, 7 months and 4 shows later and I’ve got a community I feel tied too in a spiritual way! getting to take pictures of the queer community as we join in on wrestling matches set to the music of our local queer musicians feels like a very physical church experience like nothing I’ve known before.
Riley, 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?
Hi, my name is Riley Eastman, I am a multi media artist, while I’m mostly known for photography I also create as a videographer, painter, typographer, graphic designer, digital artist, and so much more. I’ve had a passion for art since I was a kid in middle school theatre telling everyone I’d direct movies some day! While I hold onto that sentiment still, I got myself into photgraphy more exclusivley for the documentation of the communities around me. I started taking photography seriously as I left college and moved out of my parents with my partner. when we moved I realised my photos could be of local events. It started as a way to hide my anxiety while watching bands perform at bars until 2023 when I realised through a series of shows and through some supportive friends at the time that I wasn’t just taking photos of things I enjoyed going to, but documenting the community. these events and the people going to them aren’t just props for cool photos but moments in time as these bands make there mark. What set my photography apart in my mind has been my choices in highlighting the community just as much as the artists hosting these events. my favorite shots at any show is a group candid shot. no one looking at the camera, everyone doing what they can to feel the music. those shots have nothing to do with me yet are everything to me and my creative process. I like seeing my art as art with no artist. the people in these shots are the art piece and the artists to me. the symbiotic relation of local artist and their friends, family and local internet fans are the binding pieces to any good local show I take photos at
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My long term creative mission these days has become expressing my emotions in ways my face and body couldn’t. my most common muse is the world around me and the amorphous shape others emotions have over it but the one thing I try to bring to the process when working with such an idea is my own human spirit. I see every interaction with this world as a framed picture, a scene in a film, an abstract sculpture, a painting drenched in a multitude of yet to be formed emotions and when experiencing all of this I just want to share it the best I can. no amount of talking about a subject will get the feelings out of me, not until I take it back to the creative process and make something with it.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
the most rewarding thing to my photography is the idea that it connects communities. I hope that someone is seeing my photos and deciding to join in on their community, or create their own events, or they decide to document and photograph their community events. I like when other artist emerge out of the communities they look for in photos like mine. its rewarding to connect with others with my photography like communicating in a language based in art, knowing we see ourselves in these images and are blessed with the same belief that we could all do these things together.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riley_eastman1.0/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RileyEastman04/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riley-eastman-59711519a/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RileyEastman2.0
