Everything in Amiah Mims’ apartment feels carefully curated. A large sienna couch is accented by eclectic pieces of art, all housed in the light of the overcast November sun shining through the large window that anchors the space. This is Amiah’s home and studio where rest manifests into works of art like Uncaged Souls, the piece that is now on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields in the exhibition We. The Culture: Works by The Eighteen Art Collective. 

I sat down at Amiah’s kitchen table to discuss her work at Newfields, her leap of faith into entrepreneurship and the joys and pitfalls of growing into herself as an artist.  

Taylor Hurt (TH):How did you get your start? 
Amiah Mims (AM): I’ve always been a creative being, and I honed those skills up until the end of high school when I felt the expectation to get a “real job.”  I worked as a graphic designer for the past five years, but it wasn’t until 2020 when I did my first mural that people started reaching out and being interested in my work. But balancing a nine to five with all of this new attention was becoming really hard to juggle, so I took a leap of faith. 

TH: How has it been? 
AM: It’s gone better than I expected. I’m very new to this. I just left my previous job at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last July, so this is my first time painting as a full-time artist. It's been very busy and painting to meet deadlines is a bit different for me, but I'm adapting, and I’m excited do more exploratory work going forward.  

TH: How would you describe your work? 
AM: I’m still exploring my style, but I would describe my typical work as colorful, bright, and bold. I like to use primary colors because they’re bold with strong contrast, but I’ve been exploring some different things and I feel like the piece that is in We. The Culture is very different from what I usually do or what people are used to seeing me doing.  

TH: You mentioned your piece in We. The Culture is a re-worked version of a previous painting you did. Can you explain your process for this work? Why redo it? 
AM: I wanted to try it in a different style, but I also wanted there to be a hopeful aspect to it. I played with dark versus light. The bird that’s outside of the cage is in the light side which signifies one day we’re going to get to that light side. He’s looking back at the bird that’s imprisoned and caged and it’s encouraging to that caged bird that he hasn’t been forgotten. 

TH: What’s your favorite time to paint or when does inspiration strike? Do you have to rush home or keep a little notebook on you? 
AM: Usually I make a note in my phone if I get a creative impulse, but it’s almost like I don’t get inspired to paint until after I’ve been still for a while. I have to carve out time of doing nothing and then allow those moments of ooh I’m getting an itch to do something.  

TH: How long does it usually take you to sit still for? Is it a day or a few hours? 
AM: No, usually it’s a good week of nothing! And it's more about taking a creative break than just being still. Sometimes I'll go on walks or read or work on other less taxing projects. It's about pausing my thinking brain for a little bit—calming my mind. After that is usually when I am able to explore easier. 

TH: How do you allow yourself, in a hustle and bustle society, to take a full week? 
AM: It doesn’t come easily to me. I’m so used to fast-paced work that now I procrastinate. It’s like, oh you have to turn this in in three days, you have to do a good job and you have to get it done, so I definitely feel I work better under pressure, but it doesn’t have to be that way so I’m trying to get out of that habit.  

TH: Do you feel like you’ve found your purpose? 
AM: I do, but... I don’t know if I have one specific purpose. I think we have multiple purposes that depend on what chapter we're in, and I never saw this chapter coming! I never had artistic dreams because I didn't think this was going to be a thing for me...Newfields, this exhibition, We. The Culture was a dream I didn’t even know I had. But I'm living it and I'd be remiss if I didn't go into it with intention. So that's what I'm doing. 

You can see Amiah Mims’ acrylic painting, Uncaged Souls, in We. The Culture: Works by The Eighteen Art Collective in the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields through September 24, 2023. 

You can see more of her work in these exhibitions this spring: 

-Flight Mode | Open through April 15 at The Indianapolis International Airport 

-Look for her upcoming solo exhibition at the Harrison Center in May 

Follow her on Instagram @worksbymimsy .  

EXHIBITION CREDIT: 
We. The Culture: Works by The Eighteen Art Collective is presented by Aaron Wealth Advisors, Gary & Hannah Hirschberg. Lead support is provided by Rachel M. Simon & the Herbert Simon Family Foundation and June McCormack. Associate support is provided by IceMiller and its Racial Equity Solutions Team. Additional support is provided by Judy Donner, Nathan & Deborah Oatts, and Emily A. West.