Meet REDD Q

We were lucky to catch up with REDD Q recently and have shared our conversation below.

REDD, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I love this question. I developed my self esteem and confidence by learning what was appropriate to sacrifice in order to know myself truly. We are conditioned from birth to consent to many arbitray modifications of ourselves. This process exist as part of this unspoken social contract. We abide by the standards, modify ourselves, and in return social acceptance is easy to attain while self-esteem is side stepped entirely. Throughout multiple milestones in my life I have made the decision to in many ways disrupt that silent compliance. From how I dress, love, define whats cool, and and build social support, I find myself choosing roads less traveled for the simple reason that its what I feel myself gravitating to despite where mainstream ideals are pushing me. Looking different, loving different, having a different definition for whats cool/valued, and abiding by new social dynamics can make your life seem so odd to others. Choices like these begat judgement, isolation, and often times a departure from the mainstream that is reflected in how others behave around you. Its a hard choice to make when human beings are so wired to live in community.

I realized that there will be many times in my life where ill find myself at this fork in the road. And each time, I will choose where i feel the most myself despite where the current is telling me to go. When I do that I uncover things about myself that would never be reflected onto my by societal standards and my ability to love myself grows stronger. i learn to love things about myself the the greater society would prefer I discard. I get to celebrate and rejoice in parts of myself most of us are taught not to like. It stands out. When others witness that freedom they associate it with confidence and having a high self esteem, but I would go so far as to say they are just witnessing freedom.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am Redd and I am a black queer nonbinary artist from Detroit. I have never wanted to be anything other than a prolific visual artist, because I know the power the visual landscape has over our perspectives and worldviews. My work explores the intersection of identity, emotion, and the surreal, using the color red and intentional symbolism to connect all the media I produce. I began with paintings, but now find myself creating sculptures, photos, short films and props that work together to convey a larger installation. In my larger installations I also play with controlled lighting and productions as well when more control of the environment is possible. With red being a central focus I am able to build surreal realities that hold much deeper meaning that any element could depict on their own. While color carries its own meaning, the symbolism in the paintings and additional elements in the installation deepen the meaning and totally envelope the viewer.

Red is an intense, multifaceted symbol—one of power, passion, and urgency—that transforms my canvases into emotional landscapes. Inspired by surrealism, I aim to stretch the limits of reality and reveal inner worlds where both struggle and resilience coexist. Each brushstroke in shades of red creates an alternate dimension where the Black queer experience can be felt and seen without inhibition.

Through this bold color, I capture the emotional depth of navigating love, loss, and liberation in today’s world. I emphasize the role of community in creating a healthy pathway. My art invites viewers into a space where familiar shapes and dreamlike elements collide, urging them to confront their own perceptions of identity and reality. By redefining these spaces, I hope to inspire new conversations on freedom and self-expression depicted through contemporary art.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Dedicate yourself to your craft.
Make whatever social sacfrifice that comes with livng a more honest life.
Surround yourself with people who love you.

My journey in the arts has included many shifts, turns, and rediscovering of self. throught that process the three statements above have hellped me navguate the hardest situations where I had to make major life changes. No matter where I have gone I remain dedicated to my craft because it’s the thing I have to offer the world as it pertains to my gifts. But talent is nothing without nurturung so over the years I found ways to consistently re-dedicate myself to visual arts as a craft. its evolved far past the canvas now including public installations, fashion, and digital media

Sometimes following the crowd will redirect you from a future thats more tailored to the life you want to live. resist the urge. We live under heavy capitalism constantly telling us falshood about ourselves so that we wildly consume in an effort to “fix ourselves. You don’t need to do that. Resist the urger to remake yourself in society’s image. Lean into your cringe and love the unorthodox parts of yourself and resisting that urger will stengthen like a muscle.

Those that love not just who you are, but who your becoming, truly love you. surround yourself with people like that and lean into the support of a network built like that.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

As I build upon my relationships with other creative individuals, nonprofits, and local businesses I will be able to come back to them and partner to produce much larger immersive experiences that include so many other talented local individuals. Funding would allow me to work with sounds and lighting technicians better equipped to handle large scale production and ultimately realize more captivating ideas at scale. I want to expand beyond myself and include a small team of experts that can help me put together the best processes and materials to create the installations I have in mind.

If this is you please email me at quadrecurry@gmail.com or foloww me and message me on instagram @redd.q

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @redd.q
• Youtube: REDDSLIVE

Image Credits

Chanel Beebe
Sarah Mark
Jamar Mareign
Jeff Cancelosi