Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sya Warfield. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Upward Together is a public art project offering creative resources to build leadership skills in youth. I founded this project in 2016, by teaching youth photography as a tool to create murals.
Currently, I’m expanding our reach by creating a team of Los Angeles based teaching artists ranging from sculpture to creative writing and photography to painting murals. Our vision is to empower system-impacted youth and beyond. The mission of Upward Together includes developing visual arts talents and capacities in communities. Stay tuned for more about our growing team.
Our previous workshops have used cameras to capture images by observing their environment, framing their subject, and using light. Each of our past projects have used photographs taken during the workshop to create a mural on the wall of schools.
Spring 2019, we partnered with Kids Ocean Day to produce a mural at Will Rogers Elementary School in Los Angeles, California. Summer 2017, we spent 3 weeks on the Navajo Nation in Shonto, Arizona working with the children at Shonto Preparatory School. We produced 2 murals on the Navajo Nation spelling out the words LOVE and BELIEVE chosen by the children attending the program. These murals are made of the photographs the children took during the workshop.
We produced 5 murals throughout 2017. These murals are located in San Francisco, CA, Shonto, AZ and Boulder, CO.
Sya, 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’m Sya Warfield, a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles, CA. To me, art is an external expression of the imagination. At a young age, I dreamt of living in Los Angeles and being a photographer who traveled the world. Now living my dream, I create art to transform spaces with vibrant colors and effervescent imagery. I have woven several mediums into my work throughout the past decade including video, photography, street art, mixed media and most recently digital art. My unique style comes from listening to my inner voice and following my intuition.
I lead a fiscally sponsored organization called Upward Together. I was inspired to start this project while traveling in Brazil in 2016. The goal is to grow leadership skills in youth primarily in under-resourced communities by teaching art. At the moment, we are growing our team of Los Angeles based teaching artists which range from sculpture to creative writing and photography to painting murals. Our vision is to empower system-impacted youth and beyond. The mission of Upward Together includes developing visual arts talents and capacities in communities.
As a mental health advocate, I launched The Binaural Beat Podcast in 2022. Weekly episodes of TBBP support better living through sound therapy as a way to soothe anxiety, maintain mental health and recover from insomnia.
My artwork is available for sale/weekly rental through Art Pic in North Hollywood. Early this year I started working closely with an on-trend, affordable luxury home goods company and my art will launch with retailers in 2024.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
Don’t like them!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
The pandemic was a crucial pivot in my career as an artist. My non art small business collapsed in March 2020 and I suddenly had so much time on my hands. I started painting an alley outside of home which lead to many paid street art commissions throughout LA. This lead to creating a body of mixed media portraits after I turned my garage into an art studio. For me, it was important to have the awareness of doors opening and closing as an opportunity to take advantage of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.syawarfield.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/syawarfield/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swarfield
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sya-warfield/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsg5enPyxqyfRnAdWoWETow
Image Credits
Art created by Sya Warfield in 2022-2023