A New Age of Curation
Kiara Ventura at For Us, Bronx Art Space
Meet Dominican-American Afro-Latina curator & writer, Kiara Ventura. Ventura curates spaces that highlight and document the works of young artists of colour, read more below ✨
Addy: Kiara, thank you so much for joining me! How did you develop an interest in curation?
Kiara: It all started with school, even since I was younger I've always loved art class. High school was a pivotal time – my teachers noticed my writing and my love for art. My counsellor recommended that I apply for an internship at the Met during my junior year. It was an interesting time in high school because I went to a math and science-focused school, but I realised that my passion lay in art and writing.
I applied to the Met's teen internship program and got in, which brought a mix of experiences. There was the educational part of the program where we were taught how to have conversations around art. We discussed art openly, deciphering paintings, embracing diverse viewpoints, and I loved that part of it. At the same time, I was placed in the publications department, which shed light on the lack of diversity – I was the only person of colour. That was my first time ever really seeing what happens behind the scenes.
Growing up in the Bronx and going to school in uptown Manhattan where we have mainly immigrant communities, this lack of representation struck me. It was unusual for me to be in a predominantly white space. This realisation prompted me to question the structures of power within institutions. Who decides what art is displayed? Which artists are given a platform? These thoughts sparked this almost investigation of the artists showcased in the Met galleries.
As I explored the contemporary section, a pattern emerged – predominantly white male artists. This fuelled my interest in curating and understanding what a curator does. This is where it all clicked. I was like, there needs to be some change here.
An Ode To, Band of Vices, Los Angeles
Addy: It must have been a real culture shock to be in that space and maybe not feel like you could truly be yourself, especially at such a young age. In cultural spaces, you tend to see more people of colour at the entry levels. But the higher you go, the less diversity there is most of the time. I can totally see how that would've been so overwhelming, but I really admire how it inspired you to get into curation.
I went to a STEM school as well, and I didn't learn about curators until later on. There definitely needs to be more education around the different pathways that young people can take, for sure.
Kiara: Exactly. I think even now, at openings there are people that come and ask me, “Are you the artist?” I'm like, “No, I'm actually the curator.” Then they're like, “What?” Even adults sometimes ask, “What's a curator? What do you do?” I see it as a moment for educating people because I didn't grow up knowing what a curator was. I do love being in this position where I'm able to educate people and let them know that there is someone making these decisions from an intentional place.
Addy: Yes, definitely. You curate spaces that spotlight the works of young artists of colour. What inspired you to pursue this specific area?
Kiara: Again, another institutional experience pushed me towards this path. After interning at the Met, I went to NYU. Initially, I just wanted to get a degree in journalism, but when you study journalism at NYU, it’s a requirement to double major in something else.
So I was like, okay, I just came from this experience at the Met, I'm going to double major in art history. Then throughout my years at NYU, I realised again that in the classrooms, I was mainly learning about white artists and it led me, especially junior year, to a point of frustration.
It's built into the curriculum. I also realised that it wasn't just at NYU, it happens across a lot of institutions and universities where you’re supposed to be learning about art history, but they don't make it evident that you're actually learning the history of European, white artists. My main critique was that they weren't giving us a global worldview of art history.
The Living Room Kitchen at The Andrew Freeman Home, courtesy of Xola Thompson
From that experience, I realised that if I really wanted to get the education that I was looking for, I was going to have to go out and see shows myself, go out and connect with the artists that are living and breathing right now, and learn about them. Then I just started interviewing artists, cause I was studying journalism, so I was interviewing a lot of artists that I love, similar to what you're doing. [laughs]
It's beautiful to just interview someone, especially if you're a fan of their work. It's like, wow, we're going to have this dope conversation. I started interviewing, doing articles and then that turned into me wanting to produce DIY pop-up shows. At the time, I was going to a lot of pop-up shows in New York, especially uptown. This was 2015, and then I thought, okay, let me just start doing these pop-ups.
I did a show in my best friend's apartment. She wanted to start painting, I wanted to start curating, it was deep in the Bronx. I did a show in a warehouse in the Bronx owned by these legendary graffiti artists, in my uncle's backyard in Brooklyn. [laughs] Basically, any space that I could find, I would curate a show at.
When you're studying art history, you realise how the contemporary moment is so precious, because you learn just by studying artists, how important these narratives are. Not only what that artist is making, but also who they're connected to. Which artist is hanging out with who, which artists have read the same book or looked at the same research.
These artists are responding to major occurrences that took place during their lifetimes and examining their connection to the country's history. Everything is relevant. I found this sense of urgency to show these artists, they're responding to our contemporary time, to our current politics, to what we're going through as a society. I also want to be a part of telling that story, I think that’s what drives my practice.
Addy: Definitely. How important is collaboration in your curatorial practice?
Kiara: It’s everything. It comes with its pros and cons, I have to say. As a curator, on so many levels, I've learned how to effectively communicate with people, but also listen. You really have to be open and honest with everyone that you work with. I've always seen my curatorial work as being a line of connection between the artist and the public.
I often describe curating as being an octopus with lots of tentacles. I'm reaching out towards the public, I'm reaching out towards the artists, and I'm reaching out towards the gallery, then I have my own perspective on things. I try to effectively communicate with everyone at once to the best of my ability. It's even more pressure if you have a group show.
The Living Room Kitchen at The Andrew Freeman Home, courtesy of Xola Thompson
Sometimes I'm communicating maybe with 5, 8, 12 artists for one show. Then we have the public and the gallery. I've learned to just be as structured as possible in my communication, in order to have everything go as smoothly as possible. I've also learned a lot of problem-solving skills as a curator, because no matter how much you envision and plan, install will never really 100% go as planned.
I'm not saying that from a pessimistic point of view, it's just that you always have to be on your toes to problem-solve and also compromise. Sometimes you want a work to go somewhere specific, but the nail can't go into that wall, or a projector can't be put there. So I think, “All right. We have to change this around.” There's certain limitations that a space could have.
You have to be very present and responsive to anything that arises. On a personal level I have to be very aware of my energy as well, because I'm communicating with so many people. I'm showing work by artists who are making work intentionally. Some of the themes that are being spoken about in the show are emotional.
Some people are making work about their family. Some people are making work that's super personal. Some people are making work about death. I've learned that these works that I'm showing are very precious. I just have to be very respectful in the way that I handle these things.
Also just realising if there's a moment where I need to step back and collect myself and then come back, that's where the communication and the boundaries come in. There's a lot to think about at once. I'm also learning to pace myself between shows. There were points in time during my curatorial career where I was curating three shows at once. Now I'm just like, let me pace myself, make sure I'm taking care of myself between shows as well because usually, it's a sprint when it's time to go and open a show.
Addy: Totally, rest is also a form of productivity. I think it's so good that you’re giving yourself that time. It sounds like there are so many moving parts when you're curating a show and when you're collaborating, and there’s also a lot of trust between you and the artist.
Kiara: Right. The way that I usually describe curating to people is that curating comes from the Spanish word cuidar, which means ‘to care for’. That's literally what curating is. In a museum, a curator is usually the one taking care of that museum's collection. Even in my independent curatorial practice, my job is literally to care for the work, care for the gallery space, care for these conversations to happen.
It's a lot of holding space for others. You have to learn the hard way that in order to hold space for others, you have to hold space for yourself first. That's actually where I'm at right now. I just opened a show and completed a 10-month fellowship with NXTHVN. I lived in New Haven and opened the show at the end of June, that opportunity was a blessing within itself. Now I'm in a place where I'm just slowing down and collecting myself.
Addy: Definitely. Congrats on everything, I've read so much around the show and it looks amazing.
Kiara: Thank you.
RECLAMATION, NXTHVN
Addy: Your latest project Reclamation reclaims the power of Western consumption as it relates to notions of beauty, art, history, religion, spirituality, and sexuality. What was the inspiration behind this?
Kiara: The inspiration came from the other curatorial fellow and I's experience of listening to and visiting the artists throughout the program. At NXTHVN, the fellowship is meant to create conversation between all of the artists and curators. Personally, I found it to be super exciting because usually when I'm curating a show, maybe I'll visit the artists once or twice before the opening because their studios are all around the city. Some people don't even live in New York.
I was really excited for the fellowship because for the first time, I’d be living right next to the artists that I would be working with, and their studios would be right there in the building. It was a lot of popping my head into their studios and asking, “Hey, what's up?” [laughs]
We had a lot of conversations around identity, belonging, exploring how the environments in which the artists grew up have influenced them. A lot of conversations around the sense of self, the personal, and collective.
A lot of the artists spoke about identity, for example, Donald Guevara is queer and mixed and has a very mixed background. His work is about the glitch and the glitch talks about being in an in-between state, it’s usually defined as a malfunction or error in a machine or in technology. His work is about embracing being a glitch, embracing being dimensional.
The more and more we looked into each work, we noticed that a lot of the works were about not only specific identities, but intersectional identities, about being multiple things at once, being multidimensional as a human, having these very human desires and embracing that and celebrating that.
We kept having these dialogues throughout the program, and that's what ended up inspiring the show, the reclaiming of these desires and these wants that we're often taught to push aside.
Addy: That's so powerful. I love that it came from being in such close proximity to each other, which gives the show a different layer in terms of how closely you were able to collaborate.
Kiara: It was definitely a beautiful experience. Each artist has their own unique gifts, but also quirks and personality. They all definitely inspired me during my time there too.
Addy: Can you describe your curatorial process?
Kiara: It's different every time, but usually I'm writing in my journal, or I'm on the train, and a thought hits me. I'm thinking about my family, or my feelings as a woman of colour in today’s society, or how I want certain things to change, it comes from those internal realisations first. I end up writing them down, and then I think, “Oh wait, this could be a show.”
Then I start looking for artists who are exploring the same themes. That's when I start reaching out and doing studio visits. Usually, to find artists, I have my own personal list in a Google Doc, and I just look through, because anytime an artist catches my eye, a new artist that I've never heard of, I write their name in this list that I have. [laughs]
Addy: Same, I have a list in my notes app on my phone.
Kiara: Yes, it's so good and those lists are really important for remembering an artist so that you can come back and follow their work. I usually go to my list or I'm scrolling on Instagram. Instagram has definitely been a part of my curatorial process for years. When an artist creates a new painting or puts out a new work, I'm like, “Damn, that's different.” [laughs]
Then I begin my research phase. I start reaching out to people and doing studio visits to see if they have any work available. Honestly, studio visits are the sweet spot of the curatorial process. Those are the moments that I really live for. There are so many studio visits where I look at the work then ask the artist questions and we both transcend into this thought space, and I feel like I'm not on earth anymore. It feels like we're both high. We're thinking about, “How do you convey light through painting and how do you convey feeling through painting and moods?” Like, whoa. Okay.
Addy: So trippy.
Kiara: Exactly. We get into this very airy, artsy space, which I love. Also, within my practice and in my Instagram bio, I have the word curadora, which means curator in Spanish, but the Spanish translation also means healer, and I really connect to that.
BY US exhibition install
I do see art as healing. I've always seen my shows as a space for healing, a space for these realisations and these internal shifts to happen, especially for the public. I think that is why a lot of artists create work, not only heal themselves but to have people connect to the stories that they're telling.
I also have my own spiritual practices. I got into tarot and it was a beautiful practice to bring into my life because literally when studying art history, we are trained to look at images and interpret them. That's literally what tarot reading is for me, looking at a picture, looking at the images, looking at the symbols, looking at the colours, looking at the numbers, and literally interpreting what it means and what it could mean for that person. When I go into a studio visit, I don't know if all the artists know this or not, but I'm reading them.
I really see the practice of image-making to be so powerful. To be able to think of something in your mind, or imagine something, or look at a reference, and reimagine that reference, and put it into a physical form on a canvas or even a sculpture, you're touching these things, you're moulding these things. I think it's just so beautiful to see artists put things out into the physical realm or into sound or installation. I'm constantly reading people through their work. These studio visits do turn into deeper and vulnerable conversations where we're talking about the artist's upbringing, and the experiences that they're conveying in their work.
Then usually, during the studio visit, we speak about what the artist can offer for the show, what’s available. Then we do that business part of “Okay, what would you be comfortable showing?” Some artists say, “You know what? I would love to make a new painting for your show,” which is cool.
After that part, it's literally the timeline of dropping off, shipping, picking up, and then it's time for install. Also, after studio visits is the perfect time for me to start writing, adding more to the blurb based on the research from the visits and conversations. Everything is constantly shifting and moving.
Addy: So many moving parts.
Kiara: Yes.
Addy: Which project are you the most proud of?
Kiara: That’s a hard one. I would definitely say the NXTHVN show that’s on view right now, I'm really proud of it, but I think I'm proud of that whole experience, doing the fellowship. I would say I'm most proud of accomplishing the fellowship and also the relationships with the artists that I've gotten out of it, and the conversations that we've had.
I feel so different now, even as a person. That was my first time living outside of New York long-term. I was born and raised here. The only other time was when I studied abroad in Madrid for 5 months during college, but this time I was living somewhere for 10 months. I had my own apartment for the first time, so that was a liberating experience. I’d never lived alone, or had such close proximity to artists. Also, during the program they had different speakers and scholars come in to teach us about the different parts of a creative practice.
We were taught how to do our taxes as creatives, lessons around PR and marketing, lessons about dialogues around art, and how to have negotiations with galleries. The truth is, I say this all the time, even before NXTHVN, I make curating look real cute online. I make her look real cute on social media.
I think it's just the social media optics of, “We all look like we're doing well in life,” but the truth is that I really wasn't making a living wage or income independently curating. It was a lot of struggle because I wasn't taught how to negotiate with people or really ask for what I deserved out of a lot of the projects.
I’m in this in-between state where I’m celebrating all of the wins for myself and my community. I’ve gotten a lot of great opportunities, worked with great spaces, amazing artists. I'm here for the wins and the celebrations, there are a lot of artists of colour who are getting the flowers, and I'm here for that. At the same time, there are a lot of structural changes that need to take place.
The traditional gallery structure is still very much the same in terms of how works are sold, but the idea of the independent curator is still very new to people. It’s also the same for artists, a lot of artists go to school for art, and even in art school, they are not taught how to make a living as an artist. I think a lot of artists don't understand that when you say that you want to make art for a living, you're also opening an art business. You need to have some money coming in or multiple streams of income in order to fuel this practice, especially if you don't come from a privileged background.
If you don't come from a lot of financial wealth in your family, there are more hurdles to go over and I've experienced that so much. I grew up in a low income community, I'm from the Bronx, single-mother household and a lot of people have that same story as me, but we're still trying to participate in the art world and contribute and show up. It's a lot of work, a lot of labor.
I'm not saying this as a way of complaining, I have a lot of hope for the art world. I want us all to win, and I want us to continue having these moments of joy and celebration, but at the same time, I believe that an artist needs to have a sense of safety and stability in order to also keep creating and to have a sustainable practice.
That's where the grants, the residencies, programs for support, that's where they come in, and that’s why those opportunities are important. There's still a lot of work to be done and institutions like NXTHVN are working to solve some of these issues, it's an ongoing conversation. I totally forgot the question. [laughs]
The Radical Act of Taking Up Space, Maryland
Addy: This definitely relates back to the question! I've spoken with artists who struggle to navigate the business side of things, and it's something that’s rarely taught as part of an undergrad or even an MFA degree. It's so important for artists to be aware of these things so that they aren't exploited. Of course, it's great to celebrate the strides that have been taken, but it’s important to acknowledge that there's so much work that still needs to be done.
Kiara: I'm hopeful, that's the thing. I think one thing I've learned, and I've also talked about this with a lot of artists, is that if you do not feel comfortable with the circumstances that you've been offered, let's say someone wants to work with you, a gallery wants to show your work, this is where the communication part comes in. It's that communication of, “I would feel comfortable if we were to actually do this.”
That's the thing I think I've had to learn on my own. I don't think I was really taught to negotiate with people or that I had the power to change the standards or circumstances for myself. It’s easy to just think, oh, I just have to accept the standards that I’ve been given to do this opportunity that I'm really excited about. Now I'm at the point where I'm very comfortable saying no. That way I can save myself and preserve my energy for someone or something else. No hard feelings, no disrespect and keep it moving.
Addy: Yes, it's all about knowing your worth. In 2020 you curated CYBER HEALING at NYU, which explored how Latinx and Afro Latinx artists heal via feminine energy in the digital space. How do you see technology and virtual platforms impacting the future of art curation? I know this is a big question. [laughs]
With COVID, a lot of things migrated over to the digital realm, which changed the way that people curate spaces. There were obviously artists and curators working in that medium before, but there's been a huge shift. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.
Kiara: I think social media and the digital space has already altered and changed the art world and art realm because, just going off the themes that were in CYBER HEALING, I was thinking about how a lot of women and femmes of colour found safe space and created community through the digital space. I guess it stemmed from a lack of feeling a sense of belonging in their daily lives and not experiencing a strong sense of community or everyday support. The digital can provide this sense of safety, belonging, and acceptance.
Also, artists have created these inspiring messages using the digital space, the social media realm also serves as a platform for releasing their art. That's what I kept seeing even through Instagram, and now, TikTok. It's all of these amazing women of colour, femmes of colour on social media, just creating this content to inspire their communities to see it as a valid platform to release work. You don’t need to be validated through the gallery space to release art to the world. You can release it independently on your own page, on your own platform, and say “This is a work of art created in 2021.” That's it.
Then to have your own community validate that and celebrate you, to have that sense of support and be inspired to also have those digital dialogues, that's where that came from, just seeking healing and community through the cyberspace. I think that's still very much happening. What I do like about the digital, social media space is that it goes beyond the physical.
That is very exciting for me because through conversations, I see a lot of artists on this journey throughout their practice of the big question of, how do I convey the intangible through the physical? With the digital, it's a beautiful platform because you're conveying something intangible through the intangible, which is a digital space. It's just WiFi in the air.
Addy: That's so meta. [laughs]
Kiara: It is. Now in my curatorial practice, I think in a very expansive way, and a lot of people ask me, “What do you want to curate next?” I don't know why, but I'm being pulled towards sound or just mediums that you literally cannot touch. I guess as a society, we're going to go through these different iterations in the online world and in the digital space, obviously it's a very powerful platform. I can see it appearing in art history books in the future: artists making work online on TikTok, Instagram, Twitch.
They're going to be written about because now we're shifting and decentring the gallery space. That is an act of resistance because a lot of gallery spaces and the gallery world have been predominantly white. I acknowledge that there's still a sense of allyship and a lot of collaboration that happens in those spaces. At the same time, the digital space is getting validated and is being seen as a valid platform. Curating CYBER HEALING was really liberating because I could still reach my community and speak to everyone through the digital space, through a website.
I'm all here for the video essays on TikTok, and right now, there’s so much discourse around how we're going back to these nostalgic eras of ‘90s and Y2K, not only in fashion but the way we exist on the internet. More people are returning to Tumblr or embracing those really hyper-femme pink, MySpace aesthetics, the sparkles, the emojis.
I think we're resorting back to that early internet era where we personified our space, our pages, and profiles. A lot of social media platforms have been super expansive, and it's not as intimate. I think we're going to resort back to those more intimate spaces and I'm interested to see how this may be conveyed in the art world. That was a long-winded answer.
Addy: No, I love that answer!
Kiara: I like this topic. [laughs]
Addy: That’s such a hot take. I agree that we’re pivoting to a hyper-femme aesthetic and really leaning into Y2K. There’s this desire for personal blogs and that kitschy aesthetic that people loved when they were first on the internet. It's also great that the internet is making art more accessible for a lot of people. The internet can provide new ways for artists to reach audiences who might never have discovered them before, that’s what's really exciting about it.
Kiara: It's definitely this act of taking power back and saying, “I can use my own platform and have my own conversation in this section of the internet.” [laughs]
Addy: Yes. Who or what are your greatest creative influences?
Kiara: I actually wrote this down in my notebook the other day. I've been really thinking about it. Since completing the fellowship, to be honest, it has raised a lot of questions for me personally within my career and I've been in this state of just being curious. I really want to feel fulfilled and make sure I'm getting what I deserve out of my career. I also want to be fulfilled creatively. I'm always thinking about the future and I tell people, expect nothing from me, please. [laughs]
Addy: Yes queen, give us nothing! [laughs]
Kiara: Yes, exactly. Wait. Oh, what are my influences?
Addy: Yes.
Kiara: I’m influenced by artists and creatives that have a multidisciplinary practice. Virgil Abloh has been one of my biggest influences. I met him in 2016 when I was interning at the Brooklyn Museum. He was spinning in this installation by Tom Sachs called Tom Sachs Boom Boxes in the lobby of the Brooklyn Museum. At the time, there were just little white boys coming from the downtown skate scene to see his DJ set in the installation. I didn't really even know who he was.
Then after that, I started researching him, then I started following him, and then he had a collaboration with Nike, and he just blew up. He really knew how to master different mediums. He would DJ, he would design, he also made artworks. He designed clothing obviously, and he would conquer these different mediums, like he studied architecture. I just love how he had a very open-source philosophy, it's so inspiring. Even after his passing, he's still influencing young people to follow his path. I look to people like that, that have a very multidisciplinary practice and that are very unapologetic about it. Solange. Omg, Solange is just that girl for me.
She's an artist, not just a musician to me. She combines architecture, design, dance, music, her voice. Then she also has her platform, Saint Heron, which she releases products and collaborations through, it's her creative platform. I want to get more into that realm because I think right now my practice is definitely defined by exhibitions. Again, I see curating very expansively, not only can I curate physical artwork, but I can curate music, curate my outfit.
New Season at Processa, 2021
Right now, I'm trying to remain curious to see what other mediums I could practice through. I have my own platform Processa, which is my curatorial platform, so I want to use that as a vehicle for more of my creative ideas. I would say Virgil and Solange are at the top of my list. That's a long answer. [laughs]
Addy: I see you as very much a multi-hyphenate, and I really love that. Being a creative means having your fingers in a lot of pies and that’s part of the process. You're not bound to a particular thing, which is a big part of being a creative. What has been the most challenging aspect of curating exhibitions and projects?
Kiara: Let's see, I guess it would be handling a lot of logistics. Usually when I'm curating a show, my to-do list is so long. [laughs] The most challenging part is handling the day-to-day logistics, communicating with the artists, with the galleries, just making sure everyone feels fulfilled in a certain way.
I think I touched on this earlier, but from a wider lens, it’s also the fact that sometimes I'm put in a situation where I have to do a little bit more labor because my role isn't fully understood. It's just having your arms in a lot of places at once and trying to balance. It's definitely a balancing act, the practice of curating.
Addy: Definitely. Lastly, who are your favourite artists at the moment?
Kiara: Ooh. Omg, that’s a hard question. [laughs] I've worked with so many artists. Visual artists or just anybody?
Addy: Literally anyone, who are you obsessed with right now?
Kiara: Omg. I think throughout time I've been obsessed with certain artists' work, Adrian Piper is that girl for me. I like how blunt she is in her work. I also like her performance art, where she's thinking about gender, race, and identity. I also like her sense of humour, she’s able to talk about things in politics and justice but then she'll also throw some humour and play at you. I love that.
Not For Sale, 2023 (artwork by Anthony Akinbola)
Anyone who knows me knows I love David Hammons. [laughs] I also had the chance to feature two pieces of his in a show that I co-curated at NXTHVN called Not For Sale. That was literally a dream come true. I think his work is definitely an ode to the streets and street culture, but also African American culture in the US and he does it with just so much simplicity. He really mastered conceptual art for me. Let's see, Ana Mendieta, I love her work too, connecting to the land, earth, and nature. Wangechi Mutu, I saw her show at the New Museum.
Addy: She’s one of my favourite artists ever.
Kiara: So good. I think, her show was just so inspiring because it really showed her early work and then where her work is now. It's so inspiring to see an artist go through all these phases and eras in their lifetime. Her work has gotten more and more ethereal, goddess-like, and cosmic.
Addy: Yes, her collage and moving image works as well, so good.
Kiara: I think it's also beautiful to see these older artists that had so many phases throughout their career be able to explore so many different mediums and everything is still connected. The work just gets stronger and stronger or the work has this sense of universality to it. That's beautiful to see.
Addy: It's her own language in a way. Her practice is so experimental but it's also distinctly her, which I love. Anyway, sorry I interrupted you.
Kiara: I'm trying to think of anyone else. Honestly, I have to give a shout-out to some of the NXTHVN artists. Athena Quispe, who I spent a good amount of time with during my time there. Seeing her grow throughout the program was a beautiful experience. Her work is so vulnerable and so ancestral. Even standing in front of her work was very healing.
I would say, Anindita Dutta, she makes work about the femme experience, thinking about how trauma lives in our bodies. Her work is also an active resistance at the same time. It's like the sculptures that she makes act as armour protecting the body. Let's see, Ashanté Kindle, she makes very cosmic abstract work. It was so beautiful to have conversations with Ashanti and to see how she conveys her own personal experiences and experiences around healing. It’s not only about the painting that we're seeing or the end result. Her work is very much about engaging her body, and the act of painting. I really admire her for that.
I'm always rooting for women artists of colour. I'm just like, please keep making work, because I think we need to see ourselves represented in a lot of these spaces. Not only the younger generation but older generations seeing this work and being able to connect to it. I think we have to have those moments of dialogue too.
Addy: Beautiful, it’s so crucial for us to see ourselves. Okay, so at the end of interviews, I like to do something called a rapid fire round 🔥 I try to make the questions tricky, here we go! Abstract or figurative?
Kiara: That's hard. [laughs] Abstract.
Addy: Modern or contemporary?
Kiara: Contemporary.
Addy: Paintings or textile art?
Kiara: Can I say, mixed media? [laughs] Mixed media collage. No, if I had to choose between the two of them, painting.
Addy: I love mixed media as an answer, too. Surrealism or impressionism?
Kiara: Surrealism.
Addy: Deep sea or outer space?
Kiara: Outer space.
Addy: Nice, I'm actually really scared of the sea.
[laughter]
Kiara: That's what I thought. I was just like, “Ooh, scary.” [laughs]
Addy: Sunrise or sunset?
Kiara: Sunset.
Addy: Velvet or satin?
Kiara: Ooh, velvet or satin? Satin.
Addy: '90s grunge or Y2K?
Kiara: Y2K. (We stan)
Addy: Board games or video games?
Kiara: Board games.
Addy: Fiction or non-fiction?
Kiara: Can I say, self-help books? I'm in my self-help era right now.
Addy: Have they transformed you?
Kiara: I'm still in the process of reading them. I got a Cesar Millan dog training book, and then I got one about psychic abilities yesterday. [laughs] I'm currently learning about clairaudience right now. I don't know, I guess non-fiction because I like to do things that inform my real everyday world, and things that give me tools, I guess.
Addy: So poetic. Lastly, what was the last song that you listened to?
Kiara: I have two answers because this morning I walked my dog, and usually, I listen to a podcast, but today, I listened to a wind-chime meditation. It's not really a song, it was literally just wind-chimes. Then before that, I’d been listening to my favourite band, Incubus. I'm going to their concert this Friday, and I'm going to cry. I've been listening to their songs to get me hyped for their concert tomorrow. The Warmth by Incubus is the last actual song that I listen to.
Addy: That's so fun, I haven't listened to them before, but I'm intrigued.
Kiara: They're definitely from that late '90s, early 2000s alternative rock era. I used to be an emo girlie back in the day. I don't think I dressed that emo. Maybe I tried. It wasn't that good. [laughter] I loved rock music growing up.
Addy: Omg same, I was an angsty teen, I used to listen to lots of indie rock, and I was like, “No one understands me!”
Kiara: Exactly. Those eras in life were needed, I think. Now as an adult, I know that it's okay to feel rage and anger. [laughs]
Addy: Yes! Kiara, thank you so much. I really enjoyed speaking with you and learning more about your practice. I'm so excited to see what you do next!
For more from Kiara, check out her website here!