We recently connected with Xander Priddie and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Xander thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My learning process started with my insatiable need to tell stories. Early in my art career, I was so concerned with my story, my pain, my art. It wasn’t until I started listening to other artists that I learned how to really speak. I became an actor to escape the pain of my life. I became a director so I could feel control in the artistic space. I became writer to tell stories that fit my body. I danced when I no longer wanted to speak.

With any art form I work on, I strive for praxis. I am obsessed with theory and deconstruction because I believe it can make art more accessible and sustainable. When I am acting, I go back to the acting methods. With dance, I look at the lineage of movement that makes me feel something today.

I am of the strong belief that every art piece is a reference to every other art piece that person has seen in their life. To be a better artist, I have to see the world of art. I have to live in order to reference life.

Xander, 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 am a multidisciplinary artist who is concerned with integrating surrealism, mental health and the black experience into everything I do. Inspired by French Avant Garde Theater, Latin American Third Cinema, Brazilian Theater of the Oppressed, I believe that art is conduit to community connection. Art is topic that can divide or connect, but at least it starts a conversation.

My love for research and reference makes my artistic process longer, but deeply fulfilling for me. I have to known the past before I can create in the present. I have learned to build a repertoire of work that is as didactic as it is entertaining. I am currently working on building a theater practice that makes mental health education and community connection essential to the viewing space. Additionally, I am working on building nuanced Afrofuturist stories in the film and television space. Lastly, I am exploring what home means for my body and my ancestors within the dance space. I always have to work within multiple art forms at once because I am constantly in question of what medium matches my particular cause.

I just completed my debut short film, This Room Echoes. It is a tale of lesbians lovers stuck in an abusive and cyclical fight. As of survivor of domestic violence, it was an ode to myself.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Ah, resilience is a fun word. Sometimes it feels like a compliment and other times, it feels like a brand you can’t escape. These past few years have been an odyssey to say the least. I was homeless two years ago and lost everything. My job, my car, my possessions, my community and my sanity. I was running away from a life that I felt was unsafe. After many months, I had to return to the life I left. I had to pick up the pieces. I learned how to get dressed again, how to walk outside without fear, how to go to class…Once I felt stable, I decided to go to school for dance. It felt like a low pressure way to build my tolerance for working again. I was so scared and two years later, I left as a choreographer and dancer who had presented multiple pieces. The movement was therapy for me. I have had an eating disorder for ten years and it was the first time I really had to engage with my body. I fell in love with dance. I would research dance techniques and theories from other countries until I found my home. I left school and got at internship with the Academy of Motion Pictures. A few months after that, I landed a full time position at a LA production company. All of this while living in the shelter.

Today, I am moving into an apartment and my community is strong than ever. I am happy and capable. I am loved and prosperous. I am alive and I choose to keep fighting.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I hope society can get better at creating space for artists. We don’t need more awards or highly selective festivals, we need space and resources to create. If you told a thirteen year old black artist that they could either have gold plated award or free studio space for a year. Which do you think they would take? We need to make art making accessible. People should learn how to make art for free, not for a degree. We need to have space to show each other art for free. We need more collectives and less companies. We need art for the community, not for profit. I think the first killer of elitism is giving everyone the master’s tools. If every community had their own resources and festivals, there would be less of a hierarchy. I dream of a world where everyone believes they are creative (Whether they are in STEM, retail, security…). I want a world where we all have the resources to feel special.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @xanderthegreat01
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xander-priddie

Image Credits

Photo of me in Purple Speaking – Blaine Harrington IV
Photo of me on Set with Two People – Blaine Harrington IV
Photo of me in front of Gold Rising Sign with Multiple People – Blaine Harrington IV
The rest belong to me