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

Savannah , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

One of the greatest risks as a performing artist is the audition.

In 2022, still in the midst of the pandemic, I auditioned for the lead role of a play that was being workshopped in NY. I got it! Weeks after, my friend from the workshop told me to audition and meet an established artist and director. My work at the time was virtual, so I booked a ticket not knowing what I would arrive to. I had a place to stay and arrived to the audition, prepared for whatever would be asked of me. We did simple staging (a process that creates the stage directions prior to working with a hired cast of performers). The next day, the director asked if I could dance. “Uh, yes. I can.” My friend affirmed that I was a dancer. Despite my lack of practice and the reality of being a social or “club” dancer, I professed that this was true. The director proceeded to prompt me with directions that I gave with 110%, selling face and body. I was shaking, but I did what was asked of me. She threw other requests my way and then said, “Ok. What are you doing in May?” “Nothing at the moment,” I said despite having a full time job. She hired me on the spot to work on a Pulitzer prize winning Opera named, Omar that featured in the Spoleto festival. I continued to meet beautiful and kind dancers, who I now consider my “dance fam.” I also continued to work on this piece at Carolina Performing Arts.

Taking that risk shaped the beginning of my artistic career.

Savannah , 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 am an interdisciplinary visual artist, performer and educator. What this means is that all aspects of my career feeds each other. I entered my professional career headstrong as an actor, dancer and puppeteer with organizations such as Bread & Puppet Theater Company, The Spoleto Festival, The Kennedy Center, and other theater platforms between Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD, and NYC. In addition to freelance performance and visual work, I also teach. I have taught largely through Baltimore based non-profits and institutions such as Maryland Institute College of Art, Jubilee Arts, Summer Arts for Learning Academy (SALA), and Baltimore Youth Academy. In addition, I host art workshops for people of all ages that cater to self-reflection processing through artistic practices.

My first personal project has been the adventure of Our Art Room, a critique series I developed out of necessity. After traveling for two years pursuing performance, I came back to Baltimore realizing I lacked an artistic community in a substantial way. Our Art Room is a collective of unique artists in their early career who share resources and networks, provide accountability to our personal practices, and create authentically to our artistic voices. We partner with local Baltimore businesses to provide refreshments every monthly meeting, while also supporting our communal economy.

Our Art Room’s first show will be December 1 with our cohort of artists in the gallery NoMüNoMü, one of our sponsors. Individually, our artists are embedded in respective communities as teachers, museum employees, community and cultural workers, muralists, and folks in the work force. Collectively, we are a supportive environment that pushes each other to develop our artistic practices. This space has become a method to subvert the transactional nature of the “art world” and an attempt to create authentic and meaningful connections with artists. In an era of catastrophic calamity and being a part of a country that perpetuates scarcity in individualism, I am trying to practice and relearn what it means to be mutually supportive and nurturing.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivoting in my career is what allows me to claim interdisciplinary as a career title, and it is the act of acknowledging the many aspects of your creative self.

I had to drastically pivot when I was let go without warning or severance from a job I had at for two years. After graduating college, I worked virtually as an assistant to an artist while being hired for performance gigs simultaneously. This set up allowed me to travel, build my resume, and say yes to risks! Then suddenly I was let go for no fault of my own, I was not hired for as many shows, and I did not have a back up plan.

That was when I turned toward teaching for stability. A close friend of mine got me a teaching gig she was working at, and it got me back on my feet. In the process, however, I remembered that teaching was an avenue I felt passionate towards that I had also neglected in my personal pursuits. The space of teaching is highlighting other aspects of my creative mind, my ability to lead and facilitate, and also offering me the time and space to commit to my visual arts practice.

Surrendering to this pivot has shown me what I have not been able to nurture while traveling and investing into other artists’ projects. It is helping me recalibrate toward my own creative pursuits, such as Our Art Room, my painting practice, and developing regularity for myself. Adjusting to the pivot has not been easy, but I am doing my best to embrace it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I am actively unlearning is the idea that I must do everything on my own. As a creative, you are the driver of your own boat always. However, this does not mean you are siloed into solitude in terms of resources, problem solving, and strategizing for your future. When I approached financial and job instability, thus impacting my creative practice, I had to traverse internalized shame around not knowing what to do. My chosen community guided me through uncertainty in emotional, mental and financial ways. I am learning that often one does not become “successful”, comfortable, or stable without the support of others.

Relationships, and the generosity within them, have been been the key to my opportunities, strategy, and sense of stability. I am continuing to unlearn the lie that says, “you must figure this out on your own, and if you ask for help you have failed.” That is a perfectionists standard and it is unforgiving. Creatives need room to breathe, explore, take risks, and practice choosing from options. All of this is done with mutual help and reciprocity.

Contact Info:

• Website: savannahimaniwade.com
• Instagram: @savannah.imani AND @our.art.room

Image Credits
Image of me with puppet – photographer: Amanda Crommett – director of play: Aleah Black – puppet artist: Aleah Black Image of me with large puppet – photographer: Osoikame – puppet artists: Savannah Imani Wade and Vy Vu