Interview with Deaf artists from Dame Art Studio
Renca: Mia Sanchez and Gayle Sanchez are both Afro-Latina Deaf female artists and co-founders of an art business called Dame Art Studio. I contacted them for an interview related with what it is like to be an artist in our current society, Black Lives Matter movement, and the coronavirus pandemic. We discussed their thoughts, feelings, and perspectives.
Mia: I’m from New York City. I was born and raised in Harlem.
Gayle: I’m from New York City, but I was raised in Miami.
Mia: I have an art business called Dame Art Studio with my cofounder who is also an artist, too. Her name is Gayle Sanchez. We happen to have the same last name.
Renca: Oh, you happen to have the same last name? Oh.
Mia: It just happened. We’re friends and artists, and we have the same last name.
Renca: Cool.
Mia: It was a perfect coincidence for us to meet. You know? We became business partners. We have passion for art, yes, but I’ve noticed her work is very unique and makes you think. It’s weird. Mine is very “happy” and flowy, and we try to figure out how to come together with our styles. So we set up different genres that match our work. But we agree that multiculturalism is number one. And it’s the perfect time of the year to happen with Black Lives Matter, and we’re starting to embrace our cultures, generations. So we wanted to prioritize multicultural art and start working on that. Someday, we want to expand and start welcoming more female deaf artists and train them, work with them, and support them to create their artwork.
Gayle: I want to be a part of this and learn more about art, yoga, and psychology… That’s a part of art, too. There are different forms of expressions - anger, sadness, anxiety. That’s part of art, so I believe including more people will help us have more unity.
Renca: So, I’m curious, how do you feel as an Afro-Latina artist in today’s generation when it comes to your artwork?
Mia: We have some types of challenges. For me, I’m deaf and come from a hearing family as I mentioned earlier. Often - you might be aware that for deaf people who grew up in a cultural family who are hearing, you tend to miss out on incidental learning from stories, names of types of foods, types of music… You might lack that kind of knowledge, so I have to take more accountability to do the research myself, and find organizations and clubs to join. For my partner, Gayle, her family is hearing too. She’s the only deaf person. But she values it because her culture believes in collectivism, teaching, and discipline. So we grew up in different ways. She knows about certain things while I know about other things. We exchange information, especially through art. We’ve traveled the world, and she’s skilled in tattooing and has studied tattoo culture too. She has taught me some things about how to do abstractive design, and I teach her some things. It’s nice. We experience life challenges, audism, and oppression. In the deaf community, we find our place and we recognize how. There are not a lot of BIPOC artists who are visible enough. How do we make ourselves visible? What works? Then eventually, BLM happened, so we started seeing more BIPOC coming out and they were more visible. More unity, and they set up social media groups, websites, and everything. Finally, we’re coming out. We share the same frustrations and the same struggles. So I’m excited. I think this is finally opening.
Renca: Like, as for myself, I am not very familiar with art history, but sometimes it feels like that era has different categories, like Victorian art and Renaissance art.
Mia: Pop.
Renca: Yes. So today, I’m curious, what would you categorize today? There are so many kinds of art. What would you categorize today if you could call it a name?
Mia: Revolutionary. I think we’re starting to enter a new era of people expressing emotions, expressing their thoughts, or exposing the truth. How do we know what we overlooked? Newspapers. They do that. So why can’t we do that through art? So I would call it the Revolutionary Era. That’s my answer for right now.
Renca: Cool.
Mia: What do you think?
Renca: I would agree. It comes in different forms. This sign “revolutionary” (as in protest), no- it is more like maybe fingerspelling it?
[Mia shares some possible signs, like express.]
Renca: It could be something like that, like “revolutionary”.
[Renca signs “express change” for the word “revolutionary”.]
Mia: “Revolutionary”! Yes! I love that.
Renca: Thank you for your time. Any last comments you’d like to add or share to the community? Anything?
Mia: Really, I want to keep this sweet and simple. Just be authentic. Be yourself.
Gayle: For example, when I’ve traveled, I’ve met many deaf and hard of hearing artists, but I notice that they copy others. I feel like that might mean they have low self esteem. Copying others may help make them appear talented, but no, I always say “Why don’t you come up with something yourself?” You can brainstorm. Don’t be afraid. If you feel your art is different, that’s fine. That means you’re digging deeper into who you are. I don’t encourage copying others. It is not helping. It means you’re pushing yourself aside. No. Make sure you pull out yourself and who you are, and what makes your art appealing and convincing to people. How? Don’t be afraid. So every time I notice that the art looks similar, you have to break that ice and be different.
Mia: I think it’s time now to open up, show what you love, show what you can do to give back to the community. There’s nobody above others. I hope my stories and our conversation inspires people to find their passion and give back to the community. We need each other. It's a serious time. It’s important for us to work together.
Gayle: I’m hoping with what’s happening out there in the world, please try your best to think positive. Pray before you sleep. Because everyday will be a routine. Nothing will change. What’s most important is when you wake up in the morning. That’s your new day. It’s important to stay positive even though you might have a bad day or a bad mood. Don’t care. Please be happy. Life is too short.
Renca: Thank you Mia and Gayle for your time. You can follow their work and support their work- there is a link to their website in this transcript. Also, links to their Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Website: https://dameartstudio.artspan.com/home
Facebook: DAME Art Studio
Instagram:Dame Art Studio