We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Victoria Pouncy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Victoria below.
Alright, Victoria thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
There is multiple reasons I wanted my professionally life to be in the creative field. The first time I knew pursuing a creative or an artistic path professionally was for me, is when I realized I could not do tasks my way, I guess you can say in a direction that inspires creativity. Another reason is when I could not stop thinking about painting or doing an activity that was creative.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a multidisciplinary artist and model out of Shreveport, Louisiana. When people say talk about yourself, I do not know what to say off the bat, I like to mention or describe others. I will start off by saying I have always been an artist, I do believe that every person at birth are one. I never want to discredit others creativity. But I was fortunate to be able to continue to see people, objects, and places in a creative matter or what I decipher on my canvas, platform, or digitally. I got into the industry by always being curious and trying new things. I did not know how to enter into the “art world” but I knew I had to “study” the community I am in, understand what I lacked, what made me different from other creatives, and learning to keep going when I mentally and physically could not, but here we are. I have always wanted to do something with my hands, originally I was going to do something in the engineering field, crazy how things work out.
The services that I provide when it comes to my graphic designing and art managing are logo design, market branding, art direction, and project coordinator. I know there are thousands of people that are in a similar career path as myself, but I do think being a woman of color and an artist does set me apart from my counterparts, because being a woman of color I go through many obstacles, I have to be resilient, and patient with clients and the general public. I do believe me being resilient and patient, other than being a multidisciplinary artist, my confidence and graduating with my BFA (aiming for my masters soon) are the main things I am proud of.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Society can do so much to support artist, and you know the first thing people think of, MONEY, that does help but we need more help in other aspects. For instance, more transparency on artist calls, better mentors, fund the arts in public schools, better direction on how to apply for artist residencies, encourage people that a career in the arts or being a creative is attainable. Like, share, repost, or go to your local gallery or see if there is an artist crawl/walk. I am very grateful there’s intuitions like the MoMA, the Guggenheim, or the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but that had to start somewhere, support your local or up and coming artists as well as your local institutions.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lessons I have unlearn is “listen to YOUR audience”. I say that because sometimes, there is a possibility, your market is not your city or surrounding cities. There is a chance that your market is out of your state or even country. Do not let that discourage you, make that part of your motivation. Do not study or try to understand why your artwork does not sell in your town, yes get your name and face familiar with the art community in your city but never let that stop you for wanting more for yourself.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: nikol8_art
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NikolArt8
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikol8arts
- Other: email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Ramanda Jones
Haleigh Johnson