#visualartsalberta

Don't Quit Your Day Job #8: Natali Rodrigues (Special Video Edition)

Natali was born in Kenya, to a German mother and Goan father. In 1975 the family immigrated to Canada.  Her early education was in French, German and English. These various cultural facets could have lead to feelings of disenfranchisement and alienation. Fortunately the contrary was the case: what seems like disparate cultural elements are united by a rich familial history of story telling, of retaining and reinforcing identity through language, faith and journey.  Going against the conventional wisdom surrounding artists and craftspeople, Natali has never felt she is an outsider, or of being Other. Rather being a maker has allowed her to mark and contextualize her place within the multicultural, multi-faith and cosmopolitan community that is Canada. Natali’s work explores the threads that bind her family together across the globe, through the exploration of language, faith and journey. These three themes manifested themselves in works that link personal story to the larger narratives of liminal space and transformational experience.

For more information on Natali's work, visit her at DaDe Art and Design Lab: http://www.dadeartanddesignlab.com/natali-rodrigues ---------- Although today was a video edition of Don't Quit Your Day Job, we would still love to get your answers to our two regular questions. We will be continuing to do regular text posts (every 1-2 weeks). Don't Quit Your Day Job is a feature profiling Canadian artists and their experiences dealing with the often conflicting spheres of art-making and secondary employment. Each artist simply answers two questions: what job(s) have you worked while you have been a practicing artist, and how did that work effect you as an artist (creatively, financially, socially, etc.)?