Streets Dept Podcast – SN 2, EP 8: Knowing Your Worth, A Conversation with Illustrator Loveis Wise

In my eight years of running this blog about Philly art, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an artist skyrocket to the kind of success Loveis Wise has achieved so quickly in her young career. And today, I’m so excited to welcome her on the podcast to talk about art, representation, and manifesting your dreams!

Originally from Washington, DC, Loveis is a Philly-based illustrator whose artwork depicts people of color of varying skin tones and shapes with nuance and individuality.

Having just graduated from the University of the Arts in 2018, Loveis has already worked with the likes L’Oreal, The New York Times, REI, Refinery29, BuzzFeed News, Bitch Media, Cartoon Network, and BUST Magazine to name a few. This past June, Loveis became only the second black woman artist to ever have their art on the cover of The New Yorker, the first being Kara Walker in 2007. And most recently, Loveis worked with Google to create their Black History Month Google Doodle honoring abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth.

In addition to her commissioned work, Loveis has used her art and growing influence to talk about a variety of social and political issues. Many of y’all might remember, she was one of 10 local artists apart of my Streets Dept curated/organized exhibition To the Polls last fall, a mural exhibition created with the support of Mural Arts Philadelphia that aimed to use “Instagrammable” art to excite the electorate around the 2018 Midterm Elections.

Check out my conversation with Loveis Wise below, or on any major podcast streaming platform by searching “Streets Dept Podcast”!

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Season 2 of the Streets Dept Podcast is brought to you by our brilliant sponsors at Temple University! Each episode is mixed and edited by our Producer Mike Mehalick and recorded at the legendary Indy Hall coworking space in Old City, Philadelphia.