Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Onajide Shabaka. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Onajide, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Some in my family call me an archivist and storyteller. When you find interesting occurrences, lessons in life, or fascinating histories there are a wealth of stories to be savored and shared but these things evolve over time. There is no predetermined time and place for one to share these things creatively. Actually, people are rushing from one place to another focused on their own agenda making it difficult to share your stories or creative ideas. I just continue to work at it, refine it, develop it, and know that I have done my job to my best ability. People will eventually slow down enough to catch that one kernel to get their attention and pull them in.
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?
I envelope myself in a creative environment. I do that in a way that may sound odd but it really isn’t. I walk. I have a decades old walking practice that takes me through both urban and rural spaces. I really enjoy the rural much more because automobiles have been given such priority in the urban spaces that I find it challenging, and sometimes not safe (meaning narrow sidewalks right next to the roadway, for instance). Rural spaces, on public property, are great because they are often national parks, forests, and designated trails with many encounters with plants and animals in their natural habitat. The creative aspect of walking comes through investigating various plants and animals, or the history of a specific location. Of course, there are surprises, such as my first trip to Minnesota where the color of the wet oxide enriched soil, then turned into a muddy roadside puddle of water captured my attention. That was 1997 and I still use that beautiful oxide color when making works on paper with the raw pigment.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Although I may have taken it upon myself to do research on a topic I do not call myself an expert and try to remain humble and definitely listen to other people for their valuable insight and experience. That is how I feel I have learned from my elders, friends, and professors. Of three things that were impactful, one would be listen carefully. Another would be ask questions. The third would be remain humble, which is not easy in the world of social media. So many are trying to be stars and influencers but are they really models to emulate? I say that we should look in the mirror and work on the person you see there to be a better, more kind, understanding and knowledgeable person.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
There are many challenges in our lives to be faced every day but my main one is to stay healthy. That may sound easy, or that I am there already since I’m mobile and don’t take medications, but it is a daily challenge. I must remain motivated because it’s easy to be inactive and eat crappy food. It gets tougher to stay motivated as we age, and I’m far from being a young man now. Lol. But, I feel good and have joy in my life. Being creative is an energy that feeds good results.
Contact Info:
- Website: art3st.com
- Instagram: @onajide
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onajide.shabaka/
- Twitter: @onajide
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/miamiartexchange
Image Credits
All photo credits and artworks copyrighted to Onajide Shabaka
