Dorian Sylvain on Community Building and Making Connections as an Emerging Artist
Dorian is a lead artist on the Sankofa for the Earth gathering space. She teamed up with Arty Crawford and Raymond Thomas to create Sankofa for the Earth. The gathering space includes a wooden sculpture of the Sankofa bird covered with mosaic, QR codes and painted images of historical Bronzeville figures, repurposed and painted concrete pieces, and seating made from the trunks of dead ash trees.
In creating the space, she describes the importance of the community relationships she’s built throughout her time in the art space, having been in the Chicago art scene for many years. The team partnered with the Southside Community Art Center and “tried to open the door as much as they [could] and really enjoyed input from the community”.
The relationship with the folks at the Art Center was important because they were able to share both resources and ideas, “we have very close ties with established artists and up and coming artists… part of the process was informal conversations in groups with people… the artists within the Southside Community Art Center, and our immediate arts community really embraces, philosophically, these kinds of Afro centric concepts. So we also knew that within our greater artistic community, that [the Sankofa bird] is a concept that we all embrace, and that this would be a reflection of ideology that is common within that community”.
We asked Dorian what type of advice she has for emerging artists whose goal is to have sustainable relationships like these. “There's a real hunger out here with young people to become artists. And then once they even acknowledge that desire, the frustration that follows in terms of really how to make connections can last a lifetime honestly.”
She says, “you gotta start somewhere, right? For me, it's always about reaching out for the low hanging fruit. What's already in your community?”
“When we were younger — Arty, Raymond, and I — before all the internet stuff, what you did is you went to the Art Center. You went to places where you knew other people like you hung out, and you developed relationships. Today, I think it takes a little bit more effort for young artists to do that. Typically, the easiest pathways are through events and through volunteering. If there's something coming up, and Hyde Park Art Center’s in your neighborhood, you go and say to a local artist… can I volunteer? They're not always paid opportunities, and it's not always even important that it'd be a paid opportunity, because the intention isn't necessarily about making money, it's about building relationships and finding your community of people. Once you establish that, one thing just kind of leads to the other. Even if you participate in these events, you don't necessarily stand out so by volunteering, you get closer to the situation, you build more direct relationships, people have an opportunity to see your work ethic. We need to try to give more so that we can get more.”
When asked to expand, she said “In general, but I think as we're talking about artists, through volunteering, or at least introducing yourself, being on the scene, showing up at art shows. The information is easy to access these days. You have access to a lot of stuff, but if you are void of relationships, the baby steps you take are in participation. I've hired some young artists who've come to me and said ‘hey, I live in the neighborhood, I saw you all paint this wall white, what's going on? Can I get involved?’ But for every one of those people that steps forward, there might be 10 that are like, wow, I would really love to go over there. It is challenging, but like anything, it's competitive out here. “
She explains that mentorship is her way of trying to bridge the gap between legacy and young artists. “It’s really been core to my practice. No matter what project I'm working on, I have a young artist and, what I call emerging artists, working with me. So I usually have at least a couple of young people working with me, including here in my studio… I try to be [a good resource to have] because people were like that for me when I was coming up. You do what you know, and this is kind of how I came up and I know if people had shut me down I would probably be waitressing or something”.
“There's a real hunger out here with young people to become artists. And then once they even acknowledge that desire, the frustration that follows in terms of really how to make connections can last a lifetime honestly.”
In 2023, Dorian worked on a few projects, but was really excited about two in particular.
In July, she worked with a few other artists to restore a 1981 mural that is close to her heart. A “legacy mural” in the South Shore neighborhood where she grew up which has needed a touch up for a quite a few years now will be restored at the end of July. The mural is important to her because she remembers when it was going up, and knew that she wanted to one day be making murals for her community.
She also worked on an exhibit with her three sons that will be premiers August 2023 at Hyde Park’s Blanc Gallery. This project is important to her because she say she rarely gets to do art that’s just for her, and is excited to have this opportunity and to also be able to work with her sons. The exhibit will feature paintings, photography, and paper collage.
You can keep up with all of Dorian’s projects on her website.
