Meet Mya Davis | Creative Director & Digital Designer

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

Hi Mya, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
A friend put me onto a Brian Eno quote last year and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since: “Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit – all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided.”

To me, this grants the serenity to fully accept and intentionally utilize the unique characteristics of my imperfections. As I continue to trust my authenticity, my flaws and failures in the present moment could just be strengths and successes that are born outside of the right time & context. With God as my north star, wielding my weird inclinations might actually allow me to resonate even more with the natural absurdity of the universe and the human experience.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I spent every second of my childhood recesses meticulously conceiving my own little ‘masterpieces’: new episodes of my very own “critically acclaimed” television series would air every lunch period. My hands held toys, not like those I’d seen on TV, but bare sticks onto which I imprinted the images of my own heroes. Of course, I modeled my “work” after some of the greats: I rose every morning watching Chuck Jones and fell asleep every night reading Bill Watterson. There was just something about sequential storytelling that sometimes moved me in ways deeper than real life experiences. I was always Entertainment’s greatest consumer, but I was also Entertainment’s greatest sponge. Everything I soak in I intend to eventually pour back out, mixed with my own burning creativity.

My mission is to make my own timeless art by keeping others’ art timeless. This mantra is not bound to a single medium – it encompasses my deep appreciation and disciplined pursuit of cartooning, animation, music production, DJ mixing, fashion, and brand design. That being said, I do believe my circuitous creative path has just brought me to a fresh starting line – one where I can deliver my voice with more clarity than ever before. And it excites me tremendously to know that the clarity in my expression is only going to get better from this point forward.

It’s taken me three years of random sleepless nights to fully accept and understand why I’m built to give other artists their flowers, breathe in inspiration, then plant a few beautiful seeds of my own. A part of my why is because I’m currently seeing the meaningful art that’s shaped me become neglected, lost, and forgotten. Warner Bros. is pulling the plug on Cartoon Network. Sesame Street is currently fighting to find a new distributor. Young white audiences possess a growing audacity dictating how they think hip-hop should sound. I’ve observed that in this decade, while so many doors are being opened for the future of art, technology, and business, the institutions and media that raised me to be strong, empathic, and comfortable in my identity, are being eradicated with steadfast urgency. This circumstance leaves me with a passionate conviction to remind a neglectful society why we have heroes. As we move forward, it’s so important that we bring kindness, respect, and childlike wonder along with us.

Every project of mine has this mission deep in its DNA – these virtues are the roots influencing my vibrant, energetic, and optimistic visual/sonic palette. But moving forward I don’t want these roots to be so buried anymore. I need my creations to now also be expertly curatorial, leading my community down rabbit holes and to worlds beyond my own that deserve to be preserved. Open sourcing my artistic process, citing my samples, documenting the archives from which I extract new life – this is a craft in and of itself, and this is how I aim to be proactive in appreciating and propagating meaningful art. If you love to geek out about the films, albums, books, and live experiences that move you, I invite you to join me, and we can all contribute to this pot that can’t afford to perish.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Alright, we’re definitely going to have a picnic @ Barnsdall Art Park. Not only does the top of that hill have some of the best views of L.A., it’s also connected to a beautiful, community-sourced art museum with an ever-changing roster of phenomenal pieces.

Let’s pick up some Howlin’ Rays OG hot chicken sandwiches in Chinatown then catch literally any live performance at the Hollywood Bowl (it’s one of my favorite outdoor music venues).

If it’s happening, we have to visit Black Market Flea. Just to get you right with some astounding black-owned thrifts.

Then, for a night out, we have to hit up either a playgr000und party or a special event at Sound Nightclub. Both have amazing taste in curating DJ’s and atmospheres you’re comfortable and eager to dance within.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh my god I love this. One thing I also love asking people is “what’s one piece of art you’re not willing to let die as long as YOU live”. I personally have too many answers.

If you want to understand my whimsy, my vibrant optimism, and my existentialist curiosity, look no further than Bill Watterson’s “Calvin & Hobbes” series. This comic strip launched my creative journey, and I have to thank my uncle, Cleveland Buckner, for seeing that ship off.

If you want to relate to my passion for finding common through-lines in human/art history, then flavorfully remixing those truths for a new generation, dig into the legendary Daft Punk’s discography. Their meticulous sampling process was originally what made me really want to produce; to take this artform to continue my umbrella mission of soul-preservation.

Virgil Abloh affirmed in me that I don’t have to fit in a box or just a single professional title to succeed. Jesus Christ (and Pharrell Williams) taught me that I am part of an organism so much larger than myself, and for me to just BE here and have the talent to serve the way I serve – it’s all a gift.

Thank you to my parents, Byron and Annett Davis, for ALWAYS nurturing my passions and telling me to double down in my growth as an artist and as a man. Thank you to my school programs, Global Prep Academy, and the Iovine and Young Academy, for showing me the grave necessity for true disruption in many of our modern systems and economies.

Website: https://www.myadavis.com

Instagram: myagdavis

Twitter: @myagdavis

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@myagdavis

Image Credits
Cover photo shot by Max Lin (@xamnil on IG)