Meet Kim Tateo | Interdisciplinary Artist & Community Leader

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

Hi Kim, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
I have long learned that there are no “arrival” points. We are constantly arriving; each moment is an invitation to the present moment, and we can find something to be grateful for. With that in mind, I don’t have an “end goal,” per se, but I am interested in making my life a beautiful tapestry of moments full of gratitude.

That said, I hope to experience sharing my artwork in galleries and find collectors worldwide. I want my music to resonate with those who hear it and for my visual art and music to be heart medicine to those who receive it.

I think we’re all walking books, and one day, I’d like to write my story, perhaps in the form of a small memoir or art book, with the hopes of inspiring others to follow their dreams and keep believing in themselves.

But really, I hope to be creating all the days of my life and that I made a difference in this lifetime.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am an interdisciplinary artist interested in exploring interconnectedness to ourselves, our environment, and the universe. My work moves between releasing feelings into abstract expressions and creating magical worlds meant to be the unseen spaces where all hearts are connected. These landscapes are meant to evoke a sense of dreaming, playfulness, and peace and gently pull on the heartstrings of whimsy in all beings. I use bright colors, glitter, and blacklight-responsive paint as an interactive way to reveal a hidden layer to remind us of the magic that is constantly surrounding us.

My life has been a series of happenstance events, and I’ve been incredibly lucky to create my career path as both an artist and director of a nonprofit. I am so grateful for a creative life and that I get to spend time with animals and plants regularly.

I’ve kept a journal since I was young (which is now my practice of morning pages), and one consistent thing is that I’ve always wanted to make a difference. I went to college for Music Therapy, although I got a BA in music because I thought I wanted to do event planning and volunteer coordination. I did a lot of volunteer work in college, and while living in NY, I was a team leader for NY Cares, leading various arts and music projects when I was not at my day job working at a creative agency (which I also graciously fell into!).

Volunteering helped build my confidence and portfolio for mural work. I became passionate about the environment and got a job as the Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for the NYC Compost Project hosted by Earth Matter NY. I learned about composting and sustainability. This experience gave me new tangible skills, which helped me land a job managing volunteers and growing a small vegetation management program using a flock of sheep upon moving upstate. When I was given the opportunity for a key leadership position in the project, I used all of my nonprofit experience over the years to help grow the project into an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Friends of Tivoli Lake Preserve and Farm Inc.

Nothing specific sets me apart from others, but I am proud of myself for continually showing up and diving into whatever is in front of me (though with my eagerness, there have been some hard lessons around discernment, too.) I’ve always had a certain fearlessness about putting myself out there and wearing my heart on my sleeve, which has given me the most beautiful connections in life.

I came into this world untethered and experienced loss at a young age. When I was younger, I wore these painful experiences in a way that solidified feelings of unworthiness and lots of worry knots. Call it self-depreciation or strange self-preservation, but whatever it was, the knots have loosened, and I’ve recently found myself in uncharted territory with bolder and even more audacious dreams than ever before. It’s a bit exhilarating and terrifying, but I no longer hold those sadder stories with the same weight, and I am grateful for all of it and what’s yet to come. I am also learning that true magic isn’t when the dream is realized. No, it’s in the transitions and moments leading to it. It’s this internal shift of moving from self-doubt to self-love to relentless faith, and what that really means is trusting myself and my dreams.

The lesson of self-love was challenging but incredibly important and is connected to a larger part of my healing around loss. I was diagnosed with Still’s disease, which created a whole new experience of learning to care for myself, including setting boundaries, honoring my time, and deepening my gratitude practice.

While I used to be afraid of change, I’ve learned to embrace it, and this has become a major theme of my art practice and life learning. Recently, I’ve been exploring impermanence with a small group of artists from around the world through my Snail Mail Art Collab and also through live painting and music experiences in collaboration with other musicians with the idea of creating space for the present by exploring it through the impermanence of an improvisation.

Life continues to be all the things, all at once. The tangle of things is very real, and the loops are never-ending, but each time I go around the loop, there’s an invitation for new learning. While there are many things I cannot control, I can control my reaction ~ in fact, it’s the only thing I can control. And so despite the days that pull me down (and they do exist, trust me), I do what I can to let go and allow the waves to be, to remind myself that I am not just the wave, but the ocean itself. The wind, the stormy clouds, and also the sun breaking them. This life is but a moment, a simple breath in the cosmos of who-knows-what.

While one can’t just “wish” their way into a dream, I do think it starts with that wish because the wishes can lead to thoughts and small actions that could put you on your path. Perhaps you have a lost dream, or maybe you haven’t had the space to dream. Whatever the case may be, it’s not too late, too early, or too anything.

May whoever reads this find the spark of whatever lights you up and follow it. Even if (especially!) it’s unknown and a little scary because sometimes the scariest things can actually be the most transformative.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I grew up in a small town, and our high school was in the next town over. Because of this, I’ve always viewed the Capital Region as one giant place (even though each city has its unique qualities). That’s my disclaimer for sharing some spaces in Troy, Albany, and the larger area. Wherever you land, I hope you’ll find something wonderful!

Art and Nature ~
There’s a lot of fantastic public art in Troy and Albany. Check out the Troy Art Block and the mural under the Hoosick Street bridge. (P.S. I have a mural on River Street across from the Marriott). Check out Albany Capital Walls for beautiful murals throughout Albany. Mass MoCA ~ About an hour away from Troy, but it is such an awesome contemporary art museum. You can check out the Clark Art Institute on your way there.

LABSpace is another great little gallery in Hillsdale that is close to Bash Bish Falls. When you’re there, take a moment to be in two places at once because this hike is on the border of New York and Massachusetts, so you can give yourself your own “A Walk to Remember” moment.

Other gorgeous hikes in the area include Thatcher Park, Grafton Lakes State Park, Peebles Island, the Narrows in Troy, and, of course, Tivoli Lake Preserve and the Normanskill Preserve. If you feel like adventuring further or want larger mountains, take a day trip to Lake George or the Adirondacks or drive south into the Catskills and check out the artwork in Hudson.

Food~
There’s also a ton of great food in the area. Here’s a small listing of some of my favorites:

Lost and Found ~ a nice gastropub with excellent beer
Il Faro ~ is a beautiful Italian restaurant whose owners are fab!
Van’s ~ Vietnamese food and their soups are perfect for a chilly day
Nighthawk’s ~ probably my favorite “late night” spot in the area
Bard and Baker ~ games, food, and drinks!
Donna’s Italian ~ the best garlic knots ever.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Ahh! I can’t dedicate this shout-out to just one group, so I’ll do my best to name everyone. I’ve always likened my community to a “garden,” and I am so lucky to have had such a vibrant garden full of friends and communities over the various chapters of my life.

I wouldn’t be here without the support of my childhood art teacher, Dandeena Schadle, my therapist, my Iowa friends, college friends, NY friends, and my sparkle partner. In those early years when I was painfully insecure, these folks all saw more in me than I saw in myself, which really helped lead me to who I am today.

In recent years, I’ve been supported by my art and music communities in NYC and the Capital Region (Solas ((formally Con Artist Collective)), Albany Barn, Critical Forum, band friends, and my current MFA program).

The pandemic was a lot, but the focus on online communities was one of the most pivotal things because I connected with others on similar paths of self-healing and started investing in my growth in new ways. I have learned so much from my online art communities, including the Art Queens and the Artist Advisory Course, and I am now part of the To Be Magnetic Pathway program.

Listening to Tara Brach’s meditations and reflections continues to anchor me. Tara’s RAIN meditation is the fastest way for me to redirect when things get hard or even when I need to appreciate a moment.

Lastly, I must mention my Tivoli farm community and the Gaia School of Healing, both of which helped me (re)connect to the plant spirits that have always surrounded me and ultimately helped me connect to a wiser part of myself and my soul.

Website: https://www.lookalittlecloser.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lookalittlecloser/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimtateo/

Other: https://www.instagram.com/sparkle.garden.band/ https://www.instagram.com/friendsoftivoli/ https://friendsoftivoli.org/

Image Credits
First and Second image: Christie Rose
Third image: William Fredette