Meet Adriana Mejía

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adriana Mejía. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Adriana , first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I don’t believe I have completely overcome imposter syndrome. When I face a difficulty in my professional or personal life, negative thoughts arise, focusing on my failures and shortcomings. To get out of this mental state, I do a memory exercise, recalling the achievements I’ve made—positive feedback about my artistic work, compliments from friends and colleagues. I also tend to talk to myself out loud, reminding myself that life is a learning process, that I am not perfect, and that I need to approach things like I do when I paint, where there is no end, only an infinite game of possibilities.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Adriana Mejía Martin (Mexico City, 1986) I am a painter, teacher and Independent cultural promoter. I studied the Bachelor’s and Postgraduate Degree in Visual Arts at the Faculty of Arts and Design UNAM, and a second MBA in Cultural Management and Cultural Policies at the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), and I also completed an Scholar Stay at the Complutense University of Madrid. I have been a scholarship recipient in the National Young Creators program FONCA and the Stimulus Program for Artistic Creation, PECDA for the State of Mexico. I have participated in 3 individual exhibitions and more than forty national and international group shows.

I am currently part of the National System of Creators of Mexico, in the discipline of painting. This is a group created by the Mexican government’s scholarship system for the most outstanding and promising artists, actors and writers. My personal artistic research is oriented in a direction that reflects on the female body, the fast fashion, places of consumption and the origin of instant gratification, which inevitably leads me to reflect on the heartbreaking scenarios that the capitalist production system has been imposed in places such as Mexico and how these bad practices affect people and their societies. Image and merchandise are the main tools for harm society and that is why it is my interest to work with them believing that imagen and merchandise can also heal and be use for good.

For sixteen years I have dedicated myself to teaching and promotion of visual arts in public and private schools and institutions, focusing on communities with low access to culture and arts, however, since 2021 as a consequence of the crisis caused due to COVID19 Pandemic, I had the need to become independent and opened my own studio to carry out a venture which I entitled Taller Adriana Mejía, where to date I teach painting and drawing classes for children, youth and adults, at the same time I have collaborated with other women artists, designers and groups so that they can carry out their workshops in my workspace and improve their income. My professional interest is to continue building networks and bridges of projects that relate art and culture to reconstruct communities.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Three skills that have helped me build my career as an artist have been: discipline, which helped me create commitment and self-control with my goals and objectives; The second skill is perseverance, it has helped me to be constant despite having many failures and disappointments, the art world is complex and it is necessary to have this skill; The third skill is practice in painting, through this action I have learned to reflect and be critical of the world around me.

I advise people who want to dedicate themselves to some artistic practice to persevere with their dreams. These professions require a lot of passion, courage and resistance. I believe that true talent is always believing in yourself.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I would love to collaborate with cultural agents such as: gallery owners, art promoters, curators, art critics, art sellers who are interested in my work in order to be able to promote my artistic work in other countries. If anyone is interested, you can send me a message on Instagram @adrianamejia_martin or email at adrix_painter@hotmail.com

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.adrianamejia.com.mx/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrianamejia_martin https://www.instagram.com/taller.adrianamejia/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adrixpainter https://www.facebook.com/AdrianaMejiaMartin/

Image Credits

Paola García
Gabriel Mestre