Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Leavitt, Solei Arts.
Emma, Solei, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up singing all the time to myself, teaching myself to draw and paint. I have always been self motivated to invest in myself through creative processes. I ended up in Boston for college and after school I landed in some really supportive creative communities around the Cambridge area. I formed my band, Atlas Lab, and my freelance art business Solei Arts, doing murals and other arts related activities for small businesses and individuals around Boston.
As I developed my own artistic practice, I also got involved in a volunteer cultural collective called Brain Arts, which organizes shows, a website, a newspaper, a flea market and now an art gallery in Dorchester! I am involved in all those activities and have also taken on responsibilities of Gallery Manager at our art gallery, Dorchester Art Project.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I work in a few different mediums. I paint and I love making large scale work – murals and other big art are my favorite opportunities 🙂 I have made murals for many small businesses including Intrepid Cafe, Landry’s Bicycle, Farmer Horse Coffee, and Pink Noise Studios in Somerville.
I recently just concluded one painting series called Trace, and I am looking to begin a new one but it is only just beginning to be formed.
I sing in a band called Atlas Lab. I play bass and sing/do looping in my solo project Solei.
Pro-bono I design the Boston Compass newspaper, an independent arts and culture guide for the city of Boston. I also act as Creative Director of Brain Arts organization! and I book a regular event series at Hope Central Church in Jamaica Plain which features ambient and mellow music with projections. It is called “Dreamscape”.
I am motivated by two driving forces ~~ my art making is a path inward to learn more about myself and what environments I need to thrive. I see my organizing work as an art as well, my motivation there is to build community and bring people together around meaningful cultural activities.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
Artists are mobilizers. We create value in everything that we do. Space for artists to do their thing is sorely lacking in this city. Access to arts is hard to come by in many neighborhoods. We have been losing our artist spaces throughout the city for many years, we need more support to protect these spaces. I also think that artists need to have more solidarity with one another in recognition of the issues that affect us all.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My website is soleiarts.com. That is the best way to see everything that I have worked on compiled in one place.
I am actively seeking commissions and collaborations — reach out! soleiarts@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Address: Jamaica Plain
- Website: soleiarts.com
- Phone: 207-232-8829
- Email: soleiarts@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/soleiarts
Image Credit:
Jenny Bergman, Hannah Cochran
