Meet Roger Allan Cleaves | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Roger Allan Cleaves and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Roger Allan, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I grew up in Memphis, TN- a city rich in civil rights history and all the social constructs of the southern region of America. I also had access to the countryside of neighboring states because my grandparents were farmers. I think that gave me a love for both nature and all the things that city kids get into. That combination of imaginative time and social awareness definitely helped ignite a love for understanding stories, and events so that I could use them to build my own through writing and drawings. My mother was a teacher and an avid reader so I also had a love for books which helped reinforce my fascination with the characters and their stories.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I create work about a fictional world called Forget Me Nots Land. I use Afrofuturism as a narrative lens to comment about my perspective of contemporary culture and art history and as African American man. I do not know of any other artist who use their exhibitions as chapters of a narrative to explore characters and world building. I feel like I arrived at this moment in my career by believing in my vision and resisting the temptation to fit inside the small box the contemporary art world uses to enclose artists of color. It has not been easy, but I feel like my efforts are paying off. Black creators are often trapped by a presentation format that has existed since Modernism and it puts you in place where you start out with no allies high up in the power paradigm. You have to win over everyone because what you are doing goes against the tried and true methods that have always worked and so many people want whatever they are digesting to be familiar and easy to consume. I’ve overcome these challenges by being stubborn, completely in love with my created world, and by honing my skills.

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.
I would definitely stop by the Dixon Garden and Gallery Museum, Sheet Cake Gallery in downtown Memphis, and by the National Civil Rights Museum.

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?
Lauren Kennedy of Sheet Cake Gallery
https://sheetcakegallery.com/
lauren@sheetcakegallery.com

Website: rogerallancleaves@gmail.com

Instagram: rogerallancleaves

Facebook: RAllanStudio

Image Credits
Bertrand Productions
Sheet Cake Gallery
TW Fine Art