Today we speak to Tijera Williams, a painter whose work incorporates collage, self-portraiture, and re-workings of art iconography to form images that are rich and raw while carrying a powerful political message. Tijera is a recipient of the 2020 NRA art grant and it was a pleasure having her on the show to talk about her journey with art, the white supremacist political landscape in America, and how art can play a role in making the playing field more equal. Tijera talks about her experiences in school as a Black woman, self-funding her college education, battling homelessness and unemployment, but hustling in multiple jobs to make ends meet while still finding time to paint. We explore the idea of making political art, Tijera’s frustrations with the political climate in America, how art can engage people and shift mentalities, and how she began to make the transition to making more political work. She talks about balancing her art practice with her job and her health and what the process of making a painting involves. We get into the thinking behind Tijera’s most recent work and she also gives some insight into how her hybrid style developed during a painting assignment in college. Tijera shares about her experiences in a tertiary institution that celebrated a white history of painting, how she discovered Black artists she admired, and what it means to be a Black artist at this point in the history of art. For all this and a whole lot more about the need for change in America and how art can help, be sure to tune in.
Key Points From This Episode:
For more information and photos, visit here: https://notrealart.com/tijera-williams