Artist Profile: DeMar Walker
DeMar Walker is a multidisciplinary artist and educator from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His work utilizes dance, theatrical performance, film, photography, and text to depict Black social, cultural, and political life in the Midwestern United States. He holds a Master's Degree in English from Marquette University. He has directed, choreographed, and performed for numerous performing arts organizations including Ko-Thi Dance Company, Danceworks Milwaukee, Black Arts Milwaukee, Wildspace Dance Company, First Stage Children's Theatre, Fleeing Artists Theatre, Camp Bagatae (Guinea), and Ecole Des Sables (Senegal). DeMar is also a contributor to the publication Black in The Middle: An Anthology of the Black Midwest.
Would you be willing to share one of your first 'a-ha!' moments where you thought of yourself as an artist, and thought of art as where you wanted to dedicate your professional trajectory?
I was a clarinetist for about a decade of my life. I started at Golda Meir Elementary School in Milwaukee. The summer before I started high school, l was so dedicated to my craft that I practiced for hours in the evenings and on weekends. I would review all my marching and concert band material, but I also challenged myself by learning popular radio songs of the time. My parents used to tell me how good the sounds were coming from my bedroom while they were around the house. I think this was the first time I developed a work ethic that matched my passion for artistic expression. Now, I’m inspired to take clarinet lessons again. Much love to all the former and current band nerds out there.
You work in so many different kinds of mediums — could you share a bit about your artistic process?
Sure. The core of my artistic process is storytelling. I’ve always been a keen observer with an innate curiosity about the people and things around me. So a lot of my inspiration comes from a variety of sources. My personal experiences. Hearing other people’s stories. It could be literally anything from a quote I read on social media to an object I saw while traveling to a destination. For example, I recently published my first zine entitled CURRENTS, Volume 1: FLOW. Its theme is water and how we engage with it in our everyday lives. There’s a featured photo of a fire hydrant engulfed in the midst of grass and trees I captured while going to my grandmother’s house. I titled it “Wild Thing” because I loved the juxtaposition of this man-made invention out in “wilderness,” as if it was caught outside its natural habitat.
Overall, I just let my intuition guide me as far as working in a specific artistic medium and when it is ready to be shared. As one of my favorite Beyoncé lyrics says, “It’s a feeling and it’s everything.” I get a quite giddy when I know I’ve executed my vision. It’s truly a blessing to do this art thing. I hope to share more in the future.
What inspires you most these days?
I am an avid music lover. There isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not streaming something on AppleMusic. I love so many genres. R&B, hip hop, jazz, alternative, downtempo, afrobeats, and many more. I’ll give anything a listen once…maybe twice. Recently, I began creating playlists which has been fun as it has further inspired my interest in sound design and performance curation. It’s just another way of expressing my creativity.
What are 2 to 3 exhibitions, concerts, books and/or book talks, spoken word events and/or films you're hoping to check out this season?
I’m looking forward to the opening of my exhibition entitled Junior at Arts @ Large in Milwaukee on Friday, January 17th. As a current artist-in-residence, I am really excited to share and explore more of these ideas around identity and place that’s been swirling in my head for years. What a journey it’s been to get to this point. It’s gonna be amazing to have my people come and celebrate with me.
Also, the Palestinian artist collective Fanana Banana is curating an exhibition entitled Wherever Home Is that will debut in February at the James Watrous Gallery in Madison. I know it’s gonna be amazing. Oh! And I definitely plan to check out the new Luther Vandross documentary. He was a prominent music figure in my household as a child. There’s a kindredness that I have for him, so I’m thrilled to learn more about his story.