Whether through word-of-mouth, written documentation, or visual craft, storytelling is one of our most historical and human communications of the arts & culture. Through an exploration of mediums, Nastassja Swift is a sculptural fiber artist in the Tri-Cities archiving ancestral stories of her own.

Read ahead for Nastassja’s words:

CultureWorks: Who are you and where do you come from?

Nastassja Swift: I’m Nastassja Swift, (she/her) an artist and instructor. Art has been a part of my everyday life since I was a child. My mother was an artist and her high school and college portfolios were my first gallery experience. Her figurative charcoal and pencil drawings ignited this light in me at such a young age, and I haven’t stopped drawing and creating since. I grew up as a Navy child so we moved around a bit, and art was always something to hold on to. Something that could travel just as much as I did.
 

CW: Tell me a bit about your art practice! What is it and how did you get involved?

NS: I describe myself as a sculptural fiber artist working in three-dimensional portraiture to tell stories surrounding history, ancestry, spirituality, and place.

My background is in figurative painting and drawing - stemming from being inspired by my mother. While at VCU, I got into fiber and decided to make that my minor (Craft + Material Studies), and surprisingly that has superseded my love for painting. I learned needle felting during an Intro to 3D Fiber course and since then, that process has become the foundation of my professional practice. Finding all the ways for this material to exist and complimentary materials I can pair with it provide this sense of adventure and exploration within the process of my practice that I really enjoy.

CW: Are you working on any projects at the moment? Share whatever you would like about the present state of your work!

NS: I am currently working on two large-scale public art projects, which will be a first for me and my practice, so I’m really excited to see them unfold. I was recently selected for a Public Art Commission in Richmond, something I never thought would be accessible for me as public art is such a tough genre to enter without a portfolio of previous work. Both projects are in pretty early stages but I enjoy the spectrum of work textiles and fiber offer. It's become so much more complex than what painting was for me.  

CW: How have you felt your artwork connect with the community around you?

NS: My practice overlaps into community engagement quite often, through workshops, residency opportunities, and collaboration. It’s important for me to think about access and communities that aren’t afforded such. How can I make Contemporary Art accessible? A question I posed for myself a few years ago and I’ve allowed it to steer how I approach collaboration and especially youth engagement with communities of color.

Last summer I participated in a six-week residency in Cleveland, Ohio where I facilitated a youth parade that was accompanied by a series of process-driven workshops. I visited several neighborhoods around the city and hosted pop-up-style workshops that removed any and all barriers of access and allowed the kids outside playing to participate if they chose. Working with all the kids and sharing my process and love for felting, in that way, was such a rewarding experience.

CW: Have you collaborated with any other artists/spaces/organizations recently that were meaningful for you?

NS: My recent show at Quirk Gallery in Richmond was with artist, Avery Williamson. I met Avery during a residency in 2019 and we immediately clicked. Our work explores similar conversations around ancestry and the archive, so when the opportunity for a show at Quirk presented itself I was thrilled to share that space with her.

Our two-person show, “to hold on, to be held,” opened March 2022 and provided a visual narration of our memories of home, and the warmth and love from nostalgia and archived images. We conversed about that show for about two years and were both excited to see how it all unfolded. Can’t wait for the next collaboration together!

CW: What has been a triumphant moment for you in your creative journey?

NS: There have been many triumphant moments for me up to this point, but I think the one that feels really good is being able to buy my first home as a full-time professional artist. Relying solely on my practice is something high-school-me questioned whether it was feasible. I think she’d be proud of trusting herself.

CW: Where do you look for inspiration these days, and how do you stay inspired?

NS: I pull inspiration from a number of places: books (specifically Black woman writers), conversations I hear or have, archived images both personal and public, and moments in history. These things find their way into my work as concepts, titles, and referenced imagery.

I consider myself to be a storyteller and I feel as though I haven’t even scratched the surface of all that I’m interested in sharing. This keeps me inspired because there’s an excitement to see it all come to fruition.

CW: What do arts and culture mean to you? Why does it matter?

NS: I truly believe that arts and culture are the backbone of any community. We’re surrounded daily by things that were designed and created even when we don’t consider them in that way. Architecture, digital imagery, garments and functional objects, theater, and performance (the list goes on) all hold cultural significance depending on location, and without them, where would our communities be? Artists, designers, and makers in every tier are stewards of that cultural significance.

To view more of Nastassja’s work: http://www.nastassjaswift.com/
To stay updated with Nastassja: https://www.instagram.com/nastassjaebony/