In Conversation With Olive: “The Ideas Of Community”
“IN CONVERSATION WITH” IS A BRAND NEW CONVERSATIONAL INTERVIEW SERIES WHERE WE SIT DOWN WITH CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS AND DISCUSS TOPICS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THEM.
(All conversations are recorded, and transcribed by BrassTuna.)
This Conversation has been edited for length and clarity
Olive is a creative and designer based in Phoenix. She holds a passion for crafting unique visual realms, intuitively encapsulating the essence of concepts or messages. A goal in her existence is to unearth and communicate love, humanity, activism, and alternative perspectives.
(image help from @destinkie)
BrassTuna: Hi Olive, thank you for Joining me Today.
Would you mind stating a little about yourself, Your name, and your pronouns?
Olive: “My name is Olive, my pronouns are primarily she, a little bit of they, and I also put fae as well.”
BrassTuna: Oh I’ve never heard fae ,,, what does that pronoun mean?
Olive: “Originally I was like “what would my pronouns be?” ,,, if I could pick any it would just be like a fairy, but I was searching and fae came up,,, and it’s kind of like the feminine version of they.”
“And I just liked the way it sounded, it sounds like a fairy haha.”
BrassTuna: Period. And you need no other explanation haha.
,,,,
Awesome, well let’s get started ,,,
Can you tell us a little bit about your background in the arts?
Olive: “I guess when I started art it was like day one on this earth. I’m really lucky that my family is encouraging of creativity and art. My dad is an artist and everyone in my family kind of dabbles in it, and so I feel like from early childhood I was painting and coloring, and painting myself ,,, and then as I grew up I started ceramics as well as other mediums.”
“I even liked the earth, and creating like little cities for creatures and fairies, out of twigs and flowers.”
“And then, like through my elementary and high school years, I did more fine arts ,,, never anything like Theatre, I’m not too great at like stage presence.”
“But definitely more of the physical design mediums.”
“And then in college, I studied graphic design and visual communication design. So now I’ve kind of combined the art realm of art and design with my traditional art skills, and that’s kind of what I do now.”
BrassTuna: "Awesome, well the topic we are going to talk about today is about the ideas of community.
Would you mind starting us off?
Olive: “I think initially ,,, of connection and support. How people come together and build off of each other’s ideas, or work and ,,, almost empower each other and form these webs of interconnected skills, and ideas and passions.”
“Where everyone can explore their own identities in their work, also have their individuality, but also be connected and feed into what’s developing amongst everybody.”
,,,
“I think especially with art it really does form a tight-knit feeling ,,, but also with this open community I worry sometimes that it can become too tight-knit, where it can become exclusive, or a bit pretentious, and that’s something I want to try to avoid when I engage in community.”
“I like the idea of an open and welcoming and uplifting community, where people of all different skillsets, and mediums, and outlooks, can come together and feel welcome, and learn or teach and grow and build this space we can all feel part of something together.”
(image help from @destinkie)
BrassTuna: Hearing you say that is such a breath of fresh air. I feel like ,,, I have my fair share of background in the art scenes in Phoenix, and I feel like one of the biggest issues I see is this idea of parasitic community ties. Which we will get into in a bit,,,
,,,
But I really wanted to talk to you today because you are a part of a collective/community called Omnisimul.
Would you mind telling us a bit about that?
Olive: “Ya so we founded Omnisimul in 2022. Essentially the name , it may seem a little funny, like “what does it say?” Or “What does it mean?”,,,
It comes from the ideas of community, and we were thinking, we wanted it to be this “all-encompassing thing”
So I had looked at Latin roots, where omni means “all” ,,, and simul means “together”
,,,
So Omnisimul is “all together” and “all as one,” and since it is a collective of very different mediums,
we have designers, filmmakers, traditional arts, abstract, ceramic,,, and we hope to include other mediums, and the goal is to find a way to create something all together, and beautiful, and that the community can engage in or be a part of.
And when we had started it in 2022, we had the goal of having an exhibition within a year. It was really cool, we came up with a concept for the show “Semblance,” and we gave ourselves that deadline of a year to plan the entire exhibition, and create works for it.
Then in 2023, we showcased the works, specifically under the realm of semblance.
And right now we are talking about hosting classes or workshops, such as ceramic, and design to offer lower-cost courses.
And through those classes, we would be able to fundraise for future exhibitions, as well as fundraise for causes that we want to advocate for.
,,,
That’s the biggest goal with Omnisimul, finding ways to engage and interact with the community, and developing resource lists for emerging artists, who are maybe just getting started.
As well as being transparent on how we book venues, etc.”
BrassTuna: From the outside perspective when I see Omni, it feels so different from every other arts group or collective I see in Phoenix.
And it did feel tight-nit, but not in a bad way, and it felt very much like you all were there to prioritize the ideas of art, and less about “How many followers do you have?” Or “How many Ikes can we get on this post?”,,,
Olive: “No, literally, ,,, we do not care lol.”
BrassTuna: Exactly, and that’s exactly why I wanted to talk to you today,,,
(image help from @destinkie)
BrassTuna: I do have another question for you ,,,
How do you feel is the proper way to go about community building? Or how do you think people can go about building successful communities?
Olive: “I mean, I think that’s a topic that humans have been trying to figure out since the dawn of our existence ,,,
“I think just having compassion for others is such an important place to start. Having room for understanding, while also not tolerating disrespect… compassion with boundaries always.”
“And I think education is really important, whether it’s giving education, or allowing space to grow and learn.”
“As well as creating pathways for people to connect, whether it be big or small events, just putting yourself out there.”
BrassTuna: I 100% agree,,,
I don’t know ,, I’ve always looked at what I do as some type or form of community building, but it’s in such a different way ,,, and that’s why when I look at Omnisimul, and you, and so many other artists, I find inspiration in them.
And I feel like sometimes people think that communities can form overnight ,,,,
Olive: “Oh definitely, it can take years or months,,,”
BrassTuna: And that leads into another topic which is how I’ve witnessed communities here in the local art scene, just come and go, and it can be really hard to find the ones that will stand the test of time.
Olive: “And you know because you’re from here, but seeing Phoenix develop, and seeing how people are putting on so many things and engaging their communities ,,,”
“I feel so grateful to be here right now because when I was a little kid, coming downtown to first Friday was completely different from what it is now.”
BrassTuna: Now events such as First Friday are huge destinations for artists.
Well for my final question I wanted to ask ,,,
When looking back on your specific communities, what do you feel the overall goal or mission is?
Olive: “I think ultimately the goal is to develop a large network of people who can bounce off of each other, and grow with each other, so that way there is always space for people to be like “oh this is something I want to do,”
“So I think helping create this intricate web of people who are down to inspire and find inspiration from one another.”
BrassTuna: Ya, and I feel the one thing that was missing from the community, that is growing now is this sense of letting go of the fear, and this stereotypical ideal of “what does my art need to look like?” ,,, in order to be successful.
OIive: “I feel it’s like a sense of healing of like “Things don’t have to look, or be a certain way,” its a healing of like “I can be my genuine self.”
“And that doesn’t make it a wrong,,, and not a lesser or more.”
(image help from @destinkie)
BrassTuna: As we approach the end of our conversation, do you have any final thoughts or words of advice?
Olive: “I think something I’m realizing and I hope others realize is that you’re forever learning. Even if you’ve accomplished so many things and are at the height of your career, always be open to learning and changing and growing, and developing as you experience new things.”
“Don’t get stuck on “I have to be this,” or “I have to have this vision of what I should be,” you can adapt and mold yourself as you see fit.”
“You gotta go with whatever flow or path feels right.”
BrassTuna: As artists its never-ending.
Well as we wrap up, where can we find you and your work?
Olive: “I have a website and its okieollie.com , as well as the Omnisimul Instagram @omnisimul and my personal @callme.bluebell !”
BrassTuna: Thank you again, Olive. I look forward to seeing everything you and Omnisimul do moving forward!
Thank you to Olive for joining BrassTuna for their “In Conversation With” Interview series.
And another special Thank You to @destinkie for helping guest curate the images featured in this interview!
(Stay Tuned for BrassTuna’s April “In Conversation With” Interview where we discuss culture and identity! )