Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tatyana Kurepina. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Tatyana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Sharing stories has always been a powerful tool in connecting with others and in many ways, art and storytelling go hand in hand. By using color, line, gesture, composition and symbolism, artists present their own narratives. Narratives that help us make sense of the world and also question our place in it.
It is why during times of hardship, people turned to the arts as a means for inspiration, relief and escape, something that I think we can all relate to in our collective experience of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a documentarian and visual storyteller, those are the stories I wanted to tell and what led me to start the Films About Artists series.
By using my experience in journalism and documentary filmmaking, I began conducting in-depth, on-camera interviews with local artists. I felt it was important to document the pandemic from an artist’s point of view.
It’s not about fancy lighting kits, camera rigs, or any of that stuff — it’s about creating a space to share their unique stories from a moment in time, which otherwise may never have been told.
At the end of the day, the most important part of what I do is right in the name of my initiative – “Films About Artists.”
I hope that these short films not only allow viewers to connect with their local art community, but also appreciate the vital role artists play in our society, by showing the good that can come from continuing to create, especially during times of struggle and uncertainty.
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.
How I got where I am today… well, it was a bit of a winding road, filled with peaks and valleys. A road, or rather, a journey, that I’m still navigating today.
Growing up, I’ve always gravitated toward art and storytelling. And because of the support and encouragement I received from amazing teachers and mentors along the way, I was able to become a student reporter for the Chicago Tribune and then later an apprentice to glass mosaicist, Julia Sowles-Barlow, who truly inspired me to pursue my passion for the arts.
Right before leaving Chicago to pursue studies in journalism and documentary filmmaking at Emerson College, I remember Julia telling me to not forget about her and the artists we worked with and to someday tell their stories. So that really stuck with me and is one of the many reasons I do what I do today.
What started as a passion project (Films About Artists) quickly turned into a calling, one that led my work to be featured in galleries, magazines, a film festival, and even a local art museum.
While continuing the Films About Artists series here in Seattle, I am also working with two incredible, innovative community leaders; Award-winning Artist, Carol R. Williams of the BIPOC Tiny Art House Community, and Transformative Photographer and WomanSpeak Leader, Judy Lee. Their stories are set to be released in 2023.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
As a close friend of mine used to say, “Ideas are an artist’s greatest currency,” and I truly believe it’s in society’s best interest to work with artists to come up with not only better systems, but also innovative solutions to the various problems we face in the world today.
In my opinion, the first step would be to shift the ways in which we look at artists and creatives, seeing the value of their work and the vital role they play in our society.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
What drives my creative journey is documenting important moments in time from the artists’ point of view. To not only inspire creatives today, but also help future generations of artists to better understand the world around them and the role that they play in it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.
filmsaboutartists.com/ - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/tatyanakurepina/ - Linkedin: https://www.
linkedin.com/in/tatyana- kurepina-394a9176/ - Youtube: https://www.youtube.
com/channel/UCHVnfXdqdyh_ aT2114BpADw - Other: Email: tatyanavkurepina
@gmail.com Phone: 786-618-6071
Image Credits
Stills taken by Tatyana Kurepina