We had the good fortune of connecting with Samus Starbody and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Samus, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I decided to pursue an artistic AND creative career because I was born to be an artist. I come from a family of creators and storytellers, and have engaged in those practices for as long as I can remember. Even as a small child, I remember being interested in synthesizing all of my favorite toys, furniture, stuffed animals, etc into entire worlds. I explored concepts that my small brain couldn’t comprehend, but resonated with. My imagination became my favorite escape.

As an adult, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to stay away from art. For example, I have taken many breaks from dance, believing my training background to make me unfit to participate in the professional realm. Despite this, I have coached an award winning band auxiliary team; I’ve steered a thriving dance school through a pandemic and a rebrand; and most recently I’ve been entrusted with co-directing one of Chicago’s emerging dance companies, Hawkins House of Horton.

While I have been able to find pockets of success as a visual artist, my relationship with dance is a continuous reminder that I belong where my soul rejoices – in the midst of creativity. Instead of resisting and doubting myself, I decided to lean all the way in to who I am. At the end of the day, I have to live with my choices and thoughts.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is reflective of my soft and eclectic personality. I hate to use soft sometimes but I’m learning to recognize it as a strength in this hard world. That negotiation is also captured in my work and process, which includes collecting, researching, synthesizing, and storytelling.

At the core of each piece sits a moment of intersectionality. There is a conscious recognition or creation of a point where multiple cultures, artistic movements, and techniques converge. I am very interested in these moments as a mode of autobiographical storytelling and conversation.

Having a strong foundation in various mediums allows me a certain level of authority and play in my practice. My display of skill depends on concept, and I am able to negotiate how far too push a medium to achieve an aesthetic, personal, and/or political desire. If I had to choose though, I’d say mixed media and collage are where you’d find a natural mastery and language of material.

Intrinsically, I believe mixed media is able to create multilayered experiences for the artist and viewer moreso than any other medium. Allowing each item to live individually and collecting is a delicate balancing act that mirrors the human pursuit of harmony. It can be chaotic, confusing, and messy, but the end result could be world changing.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Chicago greatest curse and blessing in disguise is it’s segregated structure. While it does contribute to cultural tension and misunderstanding, it has also proved to be a driving factor of cultural appreciation amongst citizens. Each neighborhood is able to offer the city something different: food; art; music; community; education.

Even Chicago’s most divested neighborhoods have something to offer, and it’s because of this that ai’d show someone as much of the city as possible.

My absolute to-do’s include:

-A point to point drive down Lake Shore Dr
-A mural tour of Pilsen, with a stop for tacos at Taqueria los Comales
-A night out in Boystown, ending at the local IHOP
-A night of bar hopping in Wrigleyville
-Lunch at Blue Island Seafood
-Fireworks at Navy Pier
-A day at the beach in Hyde Park
-Dance classes all over Chicago’s Southside!
-A trip to the Field Museum, Shedd, and/or MCA

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The person who deserves the most credit to my success and pursuit of art is my mom. She’s the first fine artist I’ve ever met. She is the reason I know who I am. From an early age, my mom did her best to curate a healthy, creative, cultural, and peaceful existence for me. Even during her own dark chapters, her main priority has always been the health and happiness of her children. She gave up being an artist and a leader to maintain a family. Now, she’s reengaging with her craft, finding joy and confidence in her talent. It’s amazing to witness our concurrent growth as the master artists we are. I look forward to our family’s success.

Instagram: @samusstarbody; @hhohdance

Image Credits
1. Leftdridge Studios 3. Nicole Haag

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