Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rodrecas Davis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Rodrecas, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Like most people, I’ve been making things since childhood. But the most formative experience occurred in the 6th grade. While we all had an art class, with Mrs. Adams, as part of our curriculum, I was invited to be part of an extracurricular class that focused a little more in-depth on various materials and processes. This led to my working as an illustrator for the junior high school newspaper. From there, the usual opportunities presented themselves to me, and the celebration that came with it. Since then, I’ve never stopped exploring creative expression, and the path continued to unfold in front of me.

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 currently the department head for Visual & Performing Arts, at Grambling State University in Grambling Louisiana. A native of Monroe, Georgia, and a 2006 graduate of the University of Georgia Fine Arts program – with an emphasis in drawing and painting. I am primarily a mixed-media artist, but I have indulged my passion for writing as a former columnist for the Athens Banner-Herald and Code Z Online: Black Visual Culture. I have presented papers at several academic conferences, including the HUIC Conference (Hawaii University International Conferences) Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, for which he discussed manifestations of Hip-Hop culture in the visual arts. His work has been featured in the Politics Issue of Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters, ColorLines, and numerous exhibitions. But the most rewarding thing is standing in front of a classroom, and facilitating a dialogue about the human experience, using art production and history as the catalyst. My personal artwork hinges, in a lot of ways, on the possibility to initiate a conversation between strangers and the change that can facilitate.

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

The most rewarding part of being a creative, is being a creative. Seeing an idea manifest, even if it’s slightly different from what we visualized, is a wonderful thing. Aside from that, as I mentioned before, being able to bring people together in front of an artwork is a magical thing.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Grants. I wish that I knew about grants. Of course, when I finally found out about them, I avoided them like the plague, because discussions about grant writing were not a part of the undergraduate/graduate programs of study. It’s vital today, I think, and it helps young artists/entrepreneurs consider substantive pathways to support and prolong their practices and careers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.akaprofessordavis.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dee.are.period/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodrecas-davis-5b8a3834/

Image Credits
Studio shot of Rodrecas Davis courtesy of Phillip Michael Leblanc Blanc Studio /// Graphic Design + Photography https://www.instagram.com/ledailysnap/