Art, Everything, interview, Issue 76, vagabond city

An interview with Jonathan MacGregor

button upOil on canvas Introduction I think for any creative, world-building is a big undertaking that pushes the limits of creativity. Thinking expansively to create an environment, society, and characters that serve a purpose to explore that world is a continual showcase of imaginative prowess. When that process comes together it creates a rich, imaginative […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 74, vagabond city

tinder notifications, political regimes, and Chromatica Oreos : an interview with Yuyang Zhang

Marrying contemporary chaos with the imagery found on his phone screen, Yuyang Zhang (he/him) is an image-maker with a distinct “tongue-in-cheek” point of view. Yuyang’s inspiration and imagery comes far and wide: Chinese propaganda posters, Marvel’s television series WandaVision, iPhone emojis, or his love of sports cars. In this interview, we talk about his image […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 71, vagabond city

translating with thread: an interview with Thương Hoài Trần

Being her family history’s archivist while weaving a story of her own, Thương Hoài Trần (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Chicago, IL. Combining their training in printmaking with newfound skills in fibers, she documents a familial immigrant story told to them through word-of-mouth and old photographs. How would you introduce yourself as an […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 70, vagabond city

lessons on painting and self-reliance: an interview with Jordan Ramsey Ismaiel

There is something special about seeing an artist create a self-portrait. Through a self-portrait you can analyze what an artist finds valuable, what they overlook, and how they wish to be perceived by their audience. For this month’s issue, I interviewed Jordan Ismaiel Ramsey (they/them), an artist committed to self-portraiture as a form of self-reliance. […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 68, vagabond city

drawing and writing between the lines: an interview with Amy Chu

Tackling issues with post-grad life adjustment, work anxiety, and impulse purchases, Amy Chu (@camoot.journal) gives her viewers a multi-faceted look at modern day adult obstacles and the escapism she finds through imagination and art. A recent grad of SMFA Tufts in Boston, Amy’s work showcases her interest in vulnerability and storytelling while taking inspiration from […]

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Art, Everything, interview, issue 67, vagabond city

sweetness and magic: an interview with Vicky Liang

For this month’s issue I interviewed Vicky Liang, an illustrator/artist currently based in New Jersey. Saccharine, round, and able to make one’s cheeks blush, Vicky’s illustrations capture innocent vision through singular pieces and small-page comics. Taking homage from her inspirations in children’s book illustration and Studio Ghibli media, Vicky incorporates elements such as anthropomorphic animals, […]

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Everything, interview, Issue 61, Reviews + Interviews

In Conversation: Briauna Taylor

Briauna Taylor is a queer poet, teaching artist, and seeker of magick in Portland, Oregon. She created and facilitated the youth writing programming and open mic series ‘Mind & Mouth’ with former radical youth non-profit MarrowPDX. She leads youth and all ages writing workshops across the city, most recently her newest project, Tender Community Garden. […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 56

Featured Artist: Ludi Leiva

For this month’s interview, we talked to Ludi Leiva, a multidisciplinary artist based in the Pacific Northwest. Ludi (short for Ludmila) mainly works as an illustrator, and her vibrant illustrations featuring intriguing human figures have appeared in Vogue, them., Twitter, and exposed in the streets of New York. In addition to being an artist, she […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 55

Featured Artist: Monse Muro

Monse Muro‘s photographs are displayed in a beautiful layout on her Instagram page, whose description reads “borrower of souls for a click or so”. Monse also borrows time, inviting us to stop what we’re doing and take a moment to look around us. Monse is a Mexican-born photographer. She lives in Tio’tia:ke, Canada, where she […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 52

Featured Artist: Weronika Marianna

Weronika Marianna is a Polish artist and designer based in Amsterdam. Her paintings and animations of abstract female figures in pastel colors have attracted clients such as Netflix or Elle Magazine, and she has co-created Szajn, an online space promoting art by women. Weronika discussed her work, her inspirations, and the importance of change with […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 48

Featured Artist: Georgie Wileman

Georgie Wileman, born in 1988, is a British photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. Her photographic projects document intimate experiences of pain and social injustice: with THIS IS ENDOMETRIOSIS, she demystifies a still misunderstood illness which she’s suffered from her entire life, while To Thy Own Self Be True denounces the dehumanization of transgender people […]

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Everything, interview, Issue 48, Reviews + Interviews

Interview: George Abraham

George Abraham spoke with VCL’s Michelle Betters in early May about their first full-length collection of poems, BIRTHRIGHT. In the words of Naomi Shihab Nye, this is a “sizzling, flaring” book that merits multiple readings. But it’s also, as George explains below, a hot mess of prose, traditional poetry forms, erasure, and ekphrasis. In other […]

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Art, Everything, interview, issue 44

FEATURED ARTIST: OCTAVIA TOMYN

Octavia Tomyn describes herself as an extreme extrovert who loves meeting people as part of her work. It also seems like she loves representing people as part of her work. Her Instagram page shows hundreds of human figures, sketched in a single black line, but which still depict a strong individuality and subtle emotion. Octavia […]

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Art, interview, Issue 40

Featured Artist: Caroline Dare

For many artists, the question of how to create in the era of climate change is difficult to answer. Caroline Dare has some ideas. Caroline is a 25-year-old American photographer currently living in New Zealand. Her body of work ranges from monochrome portraits to colorful, almost surrealistic scenes, from carefully composed pieces to fleeting moments […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 34

MERYL D’SA interviews QIANQIAN

Tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Qianqian Ye, but I go by Q. I was born in China and moved to the US in 2012. I went to architecture school and graduate school. After graduation I worked as an urban designer and public art consultant. I’ve been interested in art since […]

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Art, Everything, interview, Issue 31

VAGABOND CITY interviews ADIRA BENNETT

  You work in so many different mediums. Do you have a favorite that you focus on more than others? Honestly, I can’t choose a favorite. I think different fragments — memories, emotions, ideas — demand different forms of representation. I enjoy allowing myself the freedom to play with as many different mediums as I […]

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Everything, interview

KATIE CLARK interviews SHEY RIVERA

I had the honor of sitting down with Shey Rivera at AS220 in Providence, Rhode Island to discuss her work as a poet, artist, curator, and director. You can read or listen below!     Katie Clark: So I’m just going to start off by reading a few lines of your bio: Shey is the […]

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Art, Everything, interview

NICOLE LANE interviews KAILYN PERRY

When did you first begin painting? I first fell in love with painting after my parents took me to a van Gogh exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston when I was seven. Looking up at the thick colorful swirls of paint on his canvases—I was hooked. I wanted to make my own […]

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Everything, interview, Poetry, Reviews + Interviews

KATIE CLARK interviews OLIVIA GATWOOD

  Olivia Gatwood has been calling bullshit and educating through poetry for years now. She is a touring poet and educator, offering workshops on Title IX compliance, community building, and creative writing. Her first collection, New American Best Friend, was released in March. The work explores girlhood and memory, class and sexuality, place-making within and […]

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