We were lucky to catch up with Yasmeen Abdallah recently and have shared our conversation below.

Yasmeen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Acts of nurture and care through the processes of art-making. As a teaching artist, I’ve found that through slow work like mending, weaving, sewing, and painting, people are able to find solace and comfort individually and together. In my classes and workshops, everyone finds their groove, and navigates their path to articulate what they want to convey. It takes a lot of bravery for anyone to open up like that, so creating a soothing and engaging environment is important to support them in every way that I can.

Yasmeen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a visual artist, art educator, and an independent curator. I’ve loved art since I was a child, and my life has built itself around it. I work in different media like sculpture, painting, photography, installation and textiles. I love going to and organizing exhibitions; as well as writing about art, teaching art at all age levels, and feeling connected to the world in this deeply gratifying way. I feel very fortunate to be so rooted in a field that is so healing and meaningful. It is always invigorating, freeing and all-encompassing.

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

Governments should be putting much more support and funding into the arts than they are. It is the mark of a healthy society when everyone in it has what they need to not only survive, but to thrive. When people have their needs met and are able to relax and not spend all of their waking hours working, it makes for a happier populace. The public is able to enjoy the benefits of public art, parks, rest, quality food and housing. There needs to be a shift from funding war to funding the needs of the people; and when those needs are met, ecosystems thrive. Artists are just but one part of that, but an essential part, because they are the barometer in which a society can be measured. Artists are reflecting the times they live in; they are documenting, responding to, and depicting everything happening around them. So, if an administration wants to be historicized positively, they really should invest in the people they are serving and listen to the needs and wants of their constituents to build more equity and support within their communities.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the world-building that comes with it. We get to dream outside of what we’re told is reality, to dream as large and as fanciful as we wish. We get to create the families we choose, we get to indulge our sincerest interests unabashed. We get to play, experiment and create, and it is taken seriously, because it is serious, and truly integral to the fabric of being human. We get to bring joy, depth and rawness to the world in boundless ways. Artists play an important role in society, and that is to keep one foot firmly planted in the journey of “what if” wonderment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yasmeenabdallah.com
• Instagram: @86cherrycherry
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yazz.meen.9/