It was such a joy to interview A’Driane Nieves for the podcast! Addye is a self taught, multi-disciplinary artist with a vision that builds upon the legacy of her family matriarch. Her abstract paintings navigate the experiences she has as a black woman, her traumas and triumphs, journey through healing and explore her identity from an inside-out perspective. She’s the Mama to 3 beautiful boys.
We have such a great conversation about her journey with art starting from a creativity wound she experienced in middle school when a teacher discouraged her from pursuing fine art. She shares how she eventually found her way back to painting, through the suggestion of a therapist to help her through a stressful time in her life. We break down her decision not to go to art school and how an experience at an art fair helped her identify some big things about her work. She shares some great wisdom on going from the position of ‘hustling’ for her worth to creating a space that actually serves her.
Addye is a visionary with a heart for community and in 2018 she founded Tessera Arts Collective, an arts nonprofit currently located in North Philadelphia where it operates a storefront studio & gallery space. Tessera is her answer to the models that currently exist in the art world that aren’t serving marginalized artists, specifically black and brown female artists. She shares about the path of resistance she’s on, standing up to a culture that makes it easy for her voice and the voices of other women like her to be drown out. We have a good chat about representation, investing in living artists and she shares a few of her dreams of the future. I can’t wait for them to come true!!
This is a great episode to listen to if you want to be reminded of your worth as an artist and mother. Addye is a true gem and I’m so grateful she took the time to talk with me for the podcast.
The books Addye mentions:
The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
Invitation to the Party by Donna Walker-Kuhne
Please connect with A’Driane further on instagram at @addyeb_art or see more of her work on her website ( http://www.addyeb.com ). See more about Tessera Collective on their website (https://www.tesseracollective.com) and instagram @tesseraartscollective.
The Artist/Mother podcast is created and hosted by Kaylan Buteyn. You can see more of Kaylan’s work on her website or connect with her on instagram @kaylanbuteyn
Mural details: “Untitled”, acrylic, house paint, charcoal, marker on plywood, 8’x8′, 2019
