Meet Breanna Browning | Media Artist and Educator

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

Hi Breanna, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
While I’ve always been creative, my decision to pursue a career in the arts came later in my life and education. I was raised in the mountains of extremely rural Southern Appalachia, which afforded me the privilege of growing up surrounded by seemingly untouched wilderness. The 400-million-year-old mountain range that was (and still is, to some degree) my home instilled a sense of curiosity where my creativity could thrive. However, in school, I was always more interested in science and math and eventually decided to study architecture (after very nearly choosing engineering). After completing both my undergraduate and graduate degrees, I worked here in LA as an architect for several years until I realized I needed a career with more creative freedom and flexibility. At this point, I returned to school at Sci-Arc for my postgraduate studies in Fiction and Entertainment and began working as an artist and educator. Ultimately, I love learning, experimenting, and making things. I know now that I’ll be happy in any career that allows me to do that while maintaining my autonomy and freedom.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It has definitely not been easy to get to where I am today, and I am still challenged every day. The hardest thing for me has been being honest with myself about my desires, needs, and interests, and then finding a way to build a career and life around those things. I have explored many different permutations of creative practice and only recently feel like I have found my footing in a practice that allows both experimentation and sustainability.

For me, the combination of academic research/teaching work (most recently in UCLA’s DMA program) and also maintaining my personal creative studio is ideal. My interests change quite often—they are inspired by my environments, what I’m reading, new technologies, and innovative artists and collaborators. By approaching my career with a “skill collector” attitude, constantly absorbing as much as I can, I afford myself some flexibility in what my work can be.

Currently, I have been interested in exploring digital and physical matter through the misuse of technological tools and traditional methods of making. This has included image-based works, sculptures, immersive environments, writing, creative direction, films, and audiovisual performances. Most recently, I have even expanded my textile artworks into an experimental fashion brand, “Happy Medium,” and have just launched a capsule collection of handmade shoes in collaboration with ComunityMade LA and ByBorre in the Netherlands. Each pair is totally unique and based on my artworks.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had a friend in town, these would be a few highlights:

– A drive along the PCH and a morning surf in Topanga or Malibu, then lunch at Gjusta
– I’ve been on a yoga kick lately, and have been loving Modo (Echo Park) and Open (Venice)
– Dinner in the arts district (my home for the past few years) at Bavel, Girl and the Goat, or Damian
– Tiramisu at Rossoblu
– A visit to Mount Wilson observatory, and a drive through the mountains (and time to play in the snow it’s winter)
– A gallery visit to Honor Fraser and Vellum
– Picnic lunch at the Getty or the Getty Villa

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I could never have achieved the success I’ve had without my loving parents. My mom is endlessly selfless and caring, while my dad possesses more ingenuity than anyone I’ve ever met. My close friends and my partner, Mars, allow me the space to be myself and support me in pursuing my ideas, no matter how outlandish they might seem. My teachers, especially in college, taught me to challenge myself and the world around me.

Website: breannabrowning.com

Instagram: @breannabrowning @hppymdm