Alexis L. Silva on "BIPOC on Colonialism, Nationalism, and [the harmful illusion of] White Supremacy"

At last, our conversation with artist writer, and curator Alexis L. Silva is available for your listening pleasure! We talk about finding your community in the art world, redefining success in a non-colonial context, the value of community museums (like the Wing Luke Museum, where he works), being 2nd generation, and a Person of Color in the art world, why we should be building coalitions now, more than ever, and much more.

“Alexis L. Silva is a Seattle based Hispanic Latino artist, writer, and curator who works through the means of performance, installation, and photography. Inspired by the idea of emotion transforming into something tangible and the overall human narrative, he creates his work by constructing thoughtful and immersive experiences that provoke emotive and visual poeticism. 

Born from immigrant parents under the heat of the Las Vegas sun, Alexis began working with photography at the age of 10. Enamored by the idea of capturing time in a box, he continued to pursue his interest in photography and graduated from Las Vegas Academy of the Arts with a focus in Photography. He went on to receive his BFA from Cornish College of the Arts with a focus in Performance, Installation, and Photography. His current works are a collection of poems and found images that tell his family's immigration story. His love for storytelling and narrative fuels his practice where he explores ideas of queerness, race, and the overall human experience.”

Adero Knott for "BIPOC on Colonialism, Nationalism, and [the harmful illusion of] White Supremacy

So pleased to drop the FIRST conversation for our segment with BIPOC creatives on Colonialism, Nationalism, and [the harmful illusion of] White Supremacy. These issues are so pervasive—they seep into almost every area of our lives in one form or another, so much so, that many don’t even question the grievous harm that upholding these ideals causes. While most people who identify as “white” ignore their effects, it is beyond time for us to take on these burdens, and eradicate them.

This segment is not an attempt to obtain our guests’ labor for “solving” these issues—that’s on us white folx. These episodes are just conversations with amazing creatives, who have very different lives from one another, but all have to deal with societal marginalization(s) based on these three ideals on a daily basis. Although the three ideologies are titular, the conversational focus is on our guests’ lives and work.

Our first conversation is with Adero Knott, an emerging curator, inventor, and Founder of AK Prosthetics, an AdaptiveTech startup that makes customized prosthetics and adaptive wear accessible and inclusive. Her first foray into curating was with the show "Disability and Perspective", one of four exhibitions from the Commons Artist Project by Norman Teague and Fo Wilson, which debuted at MCA Chicago, about making art and life more accessible, how we might expand sensory experiences at museums and art galleries, her road to becoming an entrepreneur, being a dark-skinned, Black woman in the tech world, how to invest in her accessible prosthetics app, and her highly varied experiences with racism around the world.