Meet NASARIMBA Rachel Ziriada and Mikhail Miller | Visual Artists

We had the good fortune of connecting with NASARIMBA Rachel Ziriada and Mikhail Miller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi NASARIMBA, what do you attribute your success to?
Our collaboration as artists is the most important factor behind the success of our collective, NASARIMBA. We are able to combine our individual strengths and skill sets towards completing large scale projects. Collaboration allows us to share the workload, to bounce ideas between each other, and to keep each other motivated and accountable. Working together gives us the versatility to accomplish the diverse activities involved in our practice such as writing applications for festivals and grants, installing street art and public murals, printing wearable goods sold at markets and producing art in our home studio.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Working together for the past 8 years has allowed NASARIMBA to develop of a unique and recognizable style expressed through a range of mediums including printmaking, painting, sculpture/installation, and large-scale public murals. We foster collaborations with arts organizations, businesses, non-profits, municipalities, artists and private clients. We often position our work in publicly accessible spaces and as a result, our work becomes a part of the city and part of people’s everyday lives. We are grateful for the relationships that form through having our work publicly accessible.

The success we have achieved in our professional career has come through a commitment to engage in art making and do the best job that we can do. We strive to maintain a level of professionalism and consistency in the projects that we pursue. Making our way as artists requires a lot of work and dedication. We often find ourselves applying to opportunities over again if we aren’t successful the first time. Another aspect to our success has been to approach things intuitively, asking ourselves if a project fits with our values, and allowing for new opportunities to arise from the relationships that we build and maintain. We place importance on believing in the process and following things through to the end goal. This attitude helps build our momentum and confidence in taking on new projects. We would like the world to know that our collaboration in art making is our life. We are committed to trying new things, expanding our horizons and making the most of opportunities for growth.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First off, we would encourage a friend to visit us here in Mohkinstsis, Treaty 7 Territory / Calgary, Alberta, Canada during the summer months to make the most of their visit, as the winters can be a little chilly to say the least. We would start by cooking up a nice breakfast using vegetables from our garden and eggs from a family coop, while listening to CJSW 90.9FM, Calgary’s campus/community radio station. We would then get on our bikes for a tour of the city along the river pathway system. We would stop by Crossroads farmer’s market for lunch, go vintage shopping at Velour Clothing and Exchange and check out an art exhibit at the Esker Foundation. If it’s hot outside, we would go for a swim in the Bow River and then have a beer at Ol’ Beautiful, one of the local craft breweries in town. We would head for dinner at one of the many Asian, African or Middle Eastern restaurants along International Avenue. To finish off the visit we would go check out a local music show at the Palomino Smokehouse.

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?
NASARIMBA would like to give a shout out to the support network of friends and family we have in Mohkinstsis/Calgary. Their love, encouragement and support has given us the confidence and motivation to pursue our artistic careers full-time for the past three years. We extend our gratitude to the arts festivals and organizations that have supported us such as Calgary Arts Development, Beltline Urban Mural Project, Synonym Arts Consultation, and Rust Magic International Mural Festival. We also appreciate the love and support from our friends Hector and Ruth at the Anomalia Project in Mexico City.

Website: https://www.nasarimba.art

Instagram: @nasarimba_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nasarimba

Image Credits
Graeme Haunholter, Emilee Wheeler, Ellen Fitzgerald Reichbart, Wayne To