Art Pays Me

Singer-songwriter Ria Mae shares what happened after her first hit song, why age doesn't matter for musicians anymore and why it's a good thing when people don't know who you are. We also talk about her new album, Therapy.

Multidisciplinary creative, Omar "Oms" Hopkinson discusses how his roots in Toronto's hip hop scene led him to work on diverse projects across the visual spectrum. We talk about how to stay true to yourself even when your interests vary and why he refers to himself as a creator instead of an artist.

Artist, Designer and Co-Founder of Choice, Jonathan Smith shares how this new app helps artists connect with one another, form little sub-communities, and share weird and unique work that they create and discover.

Filmmaker Stephanie Joline and I discuss tapping into our shame to create art, leaning into controversy and her latest film, Night Blooms.

Stephanie's website

Visual Artist, Kristina Elise Søbstad and I talk about leaning into what feels natural for you as an artist and balancing that with what sells. We also talk about the importance of having real life experiences to feed the work that we create.

Kristina Online

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• Instagram

Ally Thatcher is one of my favourite designers. I love how she skillfully makes hilarious subversive statements about culture that appeal to design nerds and regular folk alike. We talk about her brand Fallen Cargo, Black culture, satire in design and making work that functions as activism. We even discuss NFTs and what they mean for artists.

Follow Ally on Instagram Listen to Ally's beats Cover photo by Yamiche

On this special episode I chat with artist Boma Nnaji. I've followed Boma on Instagram for a while but never had a chance to talk to him until we were paired up in the Visual Arts Nova Scotia Mentorship Program. We talk about his paintings, the motivation behind his work and the role gallery representation plays in his career.

Boma Online

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• Website

Presented by Glitterati

I spoke with fashion stylist and digital artist Emily Chase about shifting the direction of an art career, influencer marketing and why it's important to set professional boundaries.

Emily Online

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• TikTok

For the first time on Art Pays Me, I speak with a tattoo artist. Nadia Katherine and I talk about how to get into the tattoo industry, her influences and the diverse skillset needed to be successful as a tattoo artist.

Nadia on Instagram

Interdisciplinary Artist, Letitia Fraser discusses her roots as an artist, her experience in art school and why Black portrait artists are important right now. We also talk about why staying independent of galleries can be a good thing for artists.

Letitia Online

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• Instagram
• Facebook