For The Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Jordan Brooks
Jordan Brooks, Self-Portrait, digital drawing, 2020.
Happy 2021! We made it!
I couldn’t be happier to start off this fresh new year with a Community Artist Interview with my friend, colleague, and fellow artist, Jordan Brooks. I met Jordan in the spring of 2019 when he joined Iowa State University’s College of Design as our Multicultural Liaison Officer. I remember getting our dean’s email introducing Jordan and describing how he uses art to build community, and I remember thinking, “We are so lucky - I cannot wait to meet this man.” Since then, I’ve gotten to know Jordan through his work in our college, by him generously guest lecturing to students in my classes, through our participation in a flash mob on campus last fall, and through Draw from Life, a biweekly virtual sketch group that he hosts.
Jordan is the creator of KNWSLF, which stands for Knowledge, Wisdom, Self Love, and Fellowship. Under KNWSLF, Jordan creates custom artwork and murals; he specializes in graphic note-taking and visual recording of events; and he coaches and facilitates workshops in the following areas: identity development, identifying barriers to equity and inclusion, creating inclusive teams, developing culturally relevant and engaging activities, and developing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion related initiatives.
I hope you enjoy this interview. AND check out the video at the end that shows the creation process of Jordan’s Self-Portrait. Oh, and listen to “The Bird” by Anderson Paak, which was Jordan’s soundtrack while he created his drawing.
Be sure to connect with Jordan on Instagram, Facebook, and at his website, join his Draw from Life Group, and contact him to learn about his upcoming projects and offerings.
Jordan Brooks, Outrage to Change Community Exhibition, Octagon Center for the Arts, Ames, Iowa. July 1 - 31st 2020.
Jordan was one of sixteen Black artists featured in the windows of downtown businesses in response to George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police on May 25, 2020. You can watch Jordan’s video about KNWSLF and his Outrage to Change installation here.
In Jordan’s words:
My name is Jordan (KNWSLF) Brooks.
I am a creator.
It took me over 25 years of living and learning to come to this place in my identity. It will change overtime, but for now it is how I sum my various social and cultural identities.
Professionally, I am an illustrator, educator, muralist, and facilitator. My primary artistic mediums are pen and ink, digital painting, and acrylic painting. My art and my research explore the creation and manifestation of Black culture, identity, community and experience. I’m guided by the affirmation, “See yourself, know yourself, be yourself.” Representation and modeling is essential. Knowledge of cultural history and daily life is essential. Expressing yourself is essential. I created KNWSLF to bring my passion for creativity and identity development together. KNWSLF stands for KNowledge, Wisdom, Self Love, and Fellowship. I use my art and education to explore each of these concepts to continuously create a better whole, a better me.
A better me, a better you, and a better world all starts with our capacity to imagine. I truly believe that creating leads to mastery of self and knowledge of self is essential to a meaningful life.
Let’s create together.
Lesson Check-In is a free platform that supports students and families impacted by distance learning. On November 14, Jordan led a creative session with many of the students from Lesson Check-In.
He describes the experience: “We talked about our values, identity, and goals. Then we made self-portraits based on our conversation. Seeing the creativity, passion, and consciousness of these young people encouraged me and made me proud of the work of this organization.”
Who are you in 10 words?
Creator of space, relationships, community, love, action, and developmental experiences.
What are your creative rituals?
I have a sketch warm-up routine that I repeat when I am drawing. I draw a series of squares, cubes, circles, cylinders and pyramids. Then I fill them in gradients with different pen strokes (hatch, crosshatch, dots, etc.)
Before I create, I make a playlist or use a generated playlist with different moods I like. Once I find the song that matches my creative muse, I listen to the same song over and over. Most times the vibes or lyrics take me to the place I need to be so my creativity will go.
I also like to create with and among people. I think it goes back to school. I always drew during class so there is something about having people around that makes creativity exciting for me.
I also am most creative at night. I feel more open at night. It’s like I use the day to socialize and just think about the concepts and then the night to bring them to life.
What community rituals do you value?
I really value creating with people. It’s so much easier for me to create in community with people. I think that is why I openly share on Instagram and also why I create different ways to connect with other artists and be creative.
I also benefit a lot from conversations with people. The conversations are almost like the music and they send me down different reflective and creative paths. I feel responsible to the people I create in community with. Initially, I created to share my thoughts and feelings. Then once the work became more community-oriented, I thought it was most important to share what they were thinking and feeling.
How do you merge your creative work with your community work?
I created KNWSLF. I feel like I want everyone to know they are creative and can express themselves.
It started in undergrad when I was doing service work at a place called Friends of Youth. I would draw in my spare time and the kids would draw with me. We would sit there and discuss their personal life while I was drawing and as a Psychology major, I picked up on the power of creativity to help people reflect and express what they were experiencing.
Art-making is a meaning-making tool, so if used intentionally, it can help us grow and develop. In college, I made my own projects that addressed bias and issues I faced in college. I think that early history is what made creating KNWSLF make sense. I even work in a college of design doing identity and justice work, so it’s just being infused into my everyday life.
How has that changed in the last six months?
These last six months have made me focus so much more on being with a community of creatives. I feel like people are turning to the work of creatives to navigate the racialized pandemic and health pandemic we are in. As creatives we are helping people get by, but it made me think about who is helping us. I hope by being in community with each other and Fellowshipping (tenet of KNWSLF) with each other we can care for one another.
I think before the pandemic, I was focused on growing my audience. Now, I focus on deepening my relationship with my peers. I’m sure if we take care of each other, the work and opportunities will come.
What has been your hardest community lesson?
As a creative, I think I imagine the future a lot, but I don’t always bring others along the journey to the imagined future successfully. Especially in community-related work, you have to go on the journey together. I can just force my vision and imagination on people. We have to grow together and innovate together.
Of course, I can still influence it. By no means is my participation objective. It’s just supposed to be in relationship to the community. Because sometimes you miss what’s important. For instance, I believe you heal by doing something liberating. But if people don’t have the emotional capacity to act, then it’s more important for me as the community artist to take the time to maybe just be, or to talk and process, or some other action the community determines it needs.
I can always offer the action as a possibility, but must be mindful of how I push it.
What has been your most fulfilling community moment?
I think it’s seeing people I have shared time with be successful. As a community artist you connect with the lives of so many. So, to see them thrive and have them desire to stay in relationship with me is my prized and fulfilling moment.
What tips might you have for artists who want to dive into community work?
Let the community lead you.
Explore the depths of your community first, and get deeply connected with your people. Through true and critical exploration of your own people, you will find meaningful connections to others.
I see a lot of people try to do community work in communities they are not a part of, and to me, without the personal exploration, it’s time poorly spent and can just create more issues.
What tips might you have for communities to better support and work with artists?
Create opportunities and pathways for youth to be creative and fund the arts. You have to put the resources into it. Iowa specifically has a problem with spending money on the arts and that needs to change.
Also, if you focus on creating opportunities for youth to be creative in order to be effective, other things in your community will positively change as a result.
What motto or creed do you live by?
● Culture for Service, Service for Humanity (Phi Beta Sigma fraternity inc. motto)
● Knowledge, Wisdom, Self Love, and Fellowship are the keys to KNWSLF
● See yourself. Know yourself. Be yourself.
Like learning about the ins and outs of being a community artist or a community arts leader? Check out interviews with artists Akwi Nji, Catherine Reinhart, Reinaldo Correa, Kristin M Roach, Rami Mannan, and Jill Wells, and interviews with community arts leaders Amber Danielson, Allison McGuire, Andy McGuire, and Jennifer Brockpahler.
Have a phenomenal community artist to suggest? Comment below or email jennifer@whatsgoodproject.com.