RESET THE ALGORITHM

Season 1 Episode 9

The Artist we are in conversation with this week is the fabulous Tricia Elam Walker. Speaking to her about her craft, we are reminded again that the journey of an artist is never linear and looks different for everyone. Growing up in the Roxbury area of Boston, Tricia went on to practice law for 16 years before she became a Novelist and Children's book author, penning Breathing Room Nana Akua Goes to School and Dream Street. In this latest episode she takes us through her journey of self expression from her fashion choices, to the stories she has written. Bringing us along with her on her path to self-actualization, Tricia shares the major influence her mother holds over her ongoing drive to create through literature. Artists like Tricia Elam Walker show us the importance of continued exploration and inspire us all to keep dreaming. She will appear as a featured writer at the 2024 National Association of Black Journalists Convention later this summer and you can catch our conversation with her now wherever you get your podcasts.

10.13.2024
34 MIN
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5.28.2024
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41 MINS

Season 1 Episode 20

This week on Artist 2 Artist, Patrisse Cullors joins a discussion of heritage, art and the resistance of reimagination with artists and mother-son duo, Shahla Dorriz and alexandre ali reza dorriz. "You're the only person in the world who could get my mom and I in a room together to do a podcast of all things”, ali reza says to Patrisse… and while that may be true, we are so grateful they came to chat. This episode is an authentic reminder of the importance of personal expression in conjunction with legacy, and how the representation of heritage can transform future generations through art. Shahla, a fashion designer and creative consultant, shares her journey to finding her most authentic artistic medium through fashion, and the importance of the multi-generational approach to her work that centers the inclusion of her Iranian heritage, often in collaboration with her son. Ali Reza, an artist with a research-based practice, sheds light both on his own work with Crenshaw Dairy Mart in Los Angeles, and his work in creating localized hubs for economic, artistic and agricultural autonomy for his community, but on the awe and inspiration instilled in him through both his own experience of his artistic practice and in the one that has been nurtured between himself and his mother. In conversation, the trio explore the waters of storytelling through fabric, the influence of the duo's Iranian heritage on their work, and both the challenges and rewards that arise when one sets an intention to preserve cultural design and promote diverse, unique perspectives within the fashion industry. This mother-son duo are an impactful showcase of how divergent ideas can curate something beautiful, created through that unique channel that each of us has access to; of how that channel becomes ever more powerful the more honest and collaborative we open ourselves to be. This episode reminds us all that artists have the ability to challenge oppressive systems, to create in a way that reminds consumers of times past from which they have the opportunity to learn, and that in embracing ourselves and the roots from which we grew, we become unshakably planted in our identity. "Value your work. If you know what you're working on and if you see that work as valuable, it is valuable."