Alexis Viele of Brooklyn on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Alexis Viele shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Alexis, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity will always be the value I consider to be most important. Without integrity, we’ve got nothing.
As such, integrity is the root of my practice and informs how I move forward, with whom I collaborate, and the message of my work.
In order to build anything of value, one must be clear about what they stand for, what they hope to bring forward, and how they will go about creating that which is envisioned. For me, integrity is an integral aspect of all parts of my being. I say what I mean and mean what I say. And, I hope that my work speaks for itself in this way.
What this ultimately means is that there will be individuals for whom my work is not a good fit. There is a misalignment. However, I find comfort in this because if we are navigating the world in a way that is rooted in meaning, in deep conviction, we will not be for everyone, but we will be for the right people. And, it is integrity that will allow for meaningful relationships to thrive.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello! My name is Alexis Viele, and I am a visual artist based out of Brooklyn, New York. I work primarily with hand-cut paper and seek to spark meaningful conversations with my pieces.
My brand is Paper for the People and was named very much in line with Power to the People. It is my hope that my work will serve as an avenue into the conversations around liberation and what true community can be.
I create work to push against the establishment and the hyper-individualism often celebrated here in America, so that we might begin to grow our imagination of what’s truly possible when we invest in our communities, when there is access to resources, great care, and the stories of our neighbors. I create in the understanding that it is all connected- that *we* are all connected and there is power in our differences. We are responsible for one another, and we thrive when *all* of us thrive.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
For the majority of my life, I was what Julia Cameron calls a “shadow artist.”
As a child, I wanted to be an artist. I loved nothing more than creating and drawing. But, at a very young age, I was told to choose something more “realistic.” So, I put my crayons and pencils away for nearly three decades.
Instead, I surrounded myself with artists- musicians, painters, sculptors, and bakers. It wasn’t until 2017 that I made a sign for a protest I was planning to attend, when I pulled out construction paper and began to cut figures. At the time, I was an elementary school teacher, third grade to be exact, and I never dreamed of reclaiming my artist identity. It wasn’t until my husband consistently, lovingly, encouraged me to create *more*. He could see how much I enjoyed the process and the exploration.
It took a year of him inviting me to explore that aspect of my being, and as I found the courage, Paper for the People was born.
I have been cutting paper ever since!

What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
I left teaching in 2022 after a stroke event and was left in shambles. Everything I had built my life around was suddenly gone, and I did not have an understanding of how I would find myself again. There was a deep lamentation for lost time. In that moment, I had nearly convinced myself that I had wasted 16 years on a profession and had very little to show for it.
However, as I began to heal and to further explore myself as an artist, I began to understand that nothing was truly lost. What I create- the medium, the content, the message- is all a direct response to my life experience and how my time in the classroom, my time deep in humanity, irrevocably shaped who I have become.
I think in moments of despair or perceived failure, it is easy to count losses and to, perhaps, see it all as a loss. But, if you can remove yourself from the circumstances long enough, you may begin to see how it was all a part of getting you to where you are.
I truly believe the only failure exists in not trying.
Everything else is an opportunity for exploration, curiosity, and learning.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely. With me, you get what you see. This ties back to the question about integrity. I do not know how to be anything, or anyone other than who I am. Perhaps, at times, I wish I had more of a poker face. However, I am always 100% authentic. And, this authenticity is present in all aspects of my being- my relationships, my work, and who I am to a wider audience.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
At this point in my life, I believe I am finally doing what it is that I was born to do.
For the first half of my life, I did what I was told- even if it meant abandoning myself. It’s honestly why I went into education. But, this second half? This second half is for me. For more.
I am done playing small and apologizing when I am not what someone else wants me to be. At the end of this life, however long it might be, the truth remains that I am responsible for and to myself. What I experience or achieve is directly related to the courage I have to put myself out there and go after what it is that I truly want.
And, I hope that when that day comes, I am thankful for navigating the fear to take a chance on myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexisviele.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/paperforthepeople
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/paperforthepeopleart
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexisViele