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

Tim, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

In 2021, The U.S. Ambassador to Malawi chose my work to exhibit at his residence as part of the U.S. Department of State’s office of Art in Embassies Program. The Art and Embassy program curates permanent and temporary exhibitions, artists exchanges and publications. Five of my paintings were exhibited which provided Malawians and international audiences to engage and experience my art. Two years later, there was a plan to have an arts exchange where I, with another artist had a chance to travel to Lilongwe, Malawi to conduct a workshop with artists, organize an exhibition and and speak to students at the University of Malawi in Zomba. The journey allowed me to see the culture and meet people and share stories of life from the U. S. and our culture. Through the art workshops and talks I was able to connect to the students and artists and help them grow creatively and give advice and hopefully inspired them to follow their dream as a creative artist and stay true to your self and purpose. This also educated me on how people with less means show a strong resilience and move forward with life with faith, hope and love.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born in Chicago Illinois and got interested in art and drawing in high school. I never planned on going to college for this, because we just didn’t have the means. Through scholarships, I was able to attend Eastern Illinois Univ. and the University of Illinois and study Art Education and Art studio in sculpture and painting. I came to DC in the 90s with a fellowship to do research and continued working at the National Endowment for the Arts along with teaching and raising my family. As an artist, I had a desire to create a space to exhibit my work, local artists’ works, and host international exhibitions from other parts of the world. I opened a gallery in 1997 with the help of a few other artists and named it International Visions Gallery, LLC. That began the journey of exhibiting art internationally and nationally and building a place for artists, collectors, writers, and people to gather.
The biggest problem was educating the public on the importance of art, and how having it in your home, office, restaurants, etc., and also having artwork that inspires people and others. Between teaching art and exhibiting art I developed my style and narrative work that has been successful. There are many proud moments, but raising a family while continuing to build my art and business practice is number one.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission for my continued journey as a visual artist has been to create works of art which people can indulge, reflect and experience something new, significant, a historic moments. Being an artist is a responsibility to the human race not only because people will see your art individually, but one also experiences the work or process of the creation. As I create, I have the viewer in mind and hopefully the work will generate questions and dialogues with others for further research and be a learning experience. The process of creating art is a journey of diving deep into one’s self and utilizing time and energy to develop stories that may be beautiful, difficult, truthful and historical.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

In my view, society can support creatives in all fields, from musicians, poets, writers, and dancers by making sure that our tax dollars are going to schools and organizations to help develop artistic skills for students who want to learn these skills for their personal career. Funding should always be available for any person to strive and earn a living after they have finished high school or college. Our society does not give enough attention to artists as professionals, so in every city there should be more spaces for people to be able to come and view the artistic experience in all the disciplines. It should be as normal and natural as going to any event.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.timdavisart.com
• Instagram: @timdavisart
• Facebook: @timdavisart
• Linkedin: Tim Davis
• Youtube: international visions gallery

Image Credits

Tim Davis