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

Alright, Tahj thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?

The art industry has only recently become corporate but it still has its values of very expensive works by artists that may or may not still be with us. Typically, galleries and collections are built by older white men. Now there is nothing wrong with that, but it does leave those buyers searching for older white artists and their works. Corporate America leave little exposure and purchasing power to the members of the BIPOC community. Nor do many entities shine light on the mental health issues artists and creators go through.

I mean Van Gogh was driven to cut off his own ear, we all know that story. But Jean-Michel Basquiat dealt with racial inequity in the art world so badly, one can only image what that was like for someone who was kicked out and homeless at 15.

But bringing it back to my point, Corporate America makes it difficult for the average person (especially of color) to even dip their toes into the art world pool. It is not easy to locate BIPOC artworks and creations. It also kind of makes it difficult for artist to get the props they deserve while they are alive. Not everyone has a million dollars to spend on a work by DaVinci. But someone might have the cash for a $200 painting from someone who lives right in their city.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Our business is DestinedGen which stands for: The Destined Generation and we are on a mission to showcase and grow the BIPOC art community in Kentucky. We sell art works and creations made from BIPOC artists and market them to community. The creators receive majority of proceeds. We also work to find opportunities for BIPOC artist in the city to do what they love, create, and even get paid for it. We plan to host an inaugural Black and Afro-American Creativity Exhibition as well as monthly gallery showings. While currently only online, we are working to establish a physical location in the coming years. We are based out of Louisville, KY and are not the only retail store to curate local art but we are one of the only to be black-owned. Especially with having a focus on the mental health of our creatives. What we are most proud of is the appreciation and good feedback we are getting from the public. Creatives are telling us they see a need for this in the creative space for Kentucky as well and that’s all we ask for to continue to motivate us. It is not easy starting and sustaining a BIPOC business for the BIPOC community. But we started, we will continue, and we won’t stop.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn was doing things on my own. You picture business owners venturing off on their own and running a business on their own. The key word I am finding is HELP. You’re gonna need it and a lot of it. Always. This does not mean money but information and advice. I have talked to as many people as I can from consumers to industry leaders in the city and will continue. Because running a business can put you in a mind bubble. It’s a lot. So continue to speak to others, ask for advice, find local information and resource programs, and ask for feedback. And take criticism as a constructive do not let it be damaging.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I keep in touch through email or social media dms. Sometimes I use my personal number although I am trying to move away from that. It helps for clients and people who you really grow close to or trust so keep that in mind before giving it out.

Building brand loyalty is a weird phrase to me. I like to think of it as brand faithfulness. I am in year two of my business and my main focus shifted from trying to sell to building community. A transaction is simple and quick. Money has no feelings. But the complexity of relationships and communication. That’s what I want to nurture, So we post affirmations regularly and are in the works of developing informational mental health articles for the public.

Show people why they should work with you in the first place. Not why they should buy from you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://destinedgen.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destinedgen/

Image Credits
DestinedGen.com DestinedGen Instagram @destinedgen