On Managing Day Jobs And Finding Inspiration: Dawn Okoro
This fall, BBATX (#bossbabesATX) is partnering with creative entrepreneur and visual artist, Mercy Emelike, to host CHATROOM, an art conversation series highlighting Black women and non-binary artists. This event series serves as an opportunity to provide space for artists to have a healthy dialogue with members in their community.
To launch the series on November 18, filmmaker and artist B. B. Araya interviewed groundbreaking artist, Dawn Okoro. Keep reading for some takeaways from the talk.
ABOUT THE ARTIST, DAWN OKORO:
Dawn Okoro is a Nigerian-American artist who settled down in Austin after receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, and her law degree from Texas Southern University. Her passion to become an artist was inspired by her love of photography, design, and fashion illustration. Using acrylic, oil, and pencil, she incorporates photography, ideas, and collage from popular culture. Her artwork embodies space, movement, pattern, design, texture, and color; as well as lived experiences and self reflexivity. Okoro’s work has been featured in Forbes, Drawing Magazine, and The Austin Chronicle. Her work has also been shown at the Texas Biennial, New York University, Notre Dame University, Rice University Museum, George Washington Carver Museum, and MoCADA Museum in Brooklyn.
about the facilitator, B. B. Araya:
B.B. Araya is a Texas-based filmmaker. After interning for director Richard Linklater, she created and directed the short film series, We Are, which was was picked up for distribution by Issa Rae Productions. Her latest short film, Yirga, had its world premiere at SXSW 2019 and she’s currently penning her feature film debut.
HERE ARE THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM THEIR DISCUSSION:
“The greatest threat to my success is myself.” — DAWN OKORO
During this conversation, Okoro addressed many components of her life that influenced her personal journey through art. She opened up about her reluctant move back to Texas from New York, which resulted in her taking a five year pause from being an artist after facing rejection of her artwork. She confesses that “looking back [she] had unrealistic expectations and was impatient” when it came to settling back into her artistic groove.
“I don’t want to do this, I just want to do art.” — DAWN OKORO
Work-life balance was another important topic that was touched during this session with Okoro. When asked how her day job feeds into her creativity, she shares how she originally struggled with maintaining a job while also preparing for shows and building her art career. There was a period of time where she decided to solely focus on art, but eventually she found a manageable occupation that would support her artistry as well as providing a steady income.
“I wanted to create a space where the community I’m targeting feels like it’s a place where they belong.” — DAWN OKORO
Although Okoro was mainly exposed to American culture throughout her childhood, she traveled to Nigeria as an adult to learn more about her father’s side of the family. She expresses West African culture by incorporating patterns from fabrics she saw while visiting Nigeria, and also using Nigerian-American models dressed in traditional wardrobe and fabric. A prime example can be seen in her exhibition, Punk Noir, in which she features multimedia creative and friend, Moyo Oyeola. Okoro also draws inspiration from notable artists such as Barkley Hendricks, who creates vivid images of people of color against a solid background, and Andy Warhol who uses bright colors and bold aesthetics.
Want to attend THE NEXT CHATROOM?
Join us at the next discussion on December 2, feature mixed media artist, Deborah Roberts interviewed by writer and activist Virginia Cumberbatch.