Meet Ashleigh Alexandria Sampson | Visual Artist, Curator & Herbalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashleigh Alexandria Sampson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashleigh Alexandria, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
At the beginning of 2024 a friend of mine and I chose our ‘word’ for the year that we would use to keep ourselves centered on our life and career goals. They chose the word risks. It resonated with me because it is exactly what’s needed in life, if you want to yield tangible results. I know that risks, when done intentionally, can create positive change. When starting my business I realized I needed to put myself out there in a new way that at first was outside of my comfort zone. Personally, I have always had incredible stage fright and speaking infront of crowds would shake me to my core. However, It was imperative that I lean into this fear if I wanted to make my brand known on a larger scale. Recently, I curated a art show for my collective and I was the key person to spearhead the programs and engage with new clients and community members. This role put me in a position to take up space and show up for myself. Since this exhibition I have found more comfortability in speaking in front of people. Taking a risk for me was shedding the lack of confidence I had in my abilities to connect to a large group of people at once. Since then it has become easier for me to do so and I have garnered more opportunities and made meaningful connections for it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My series explores issues of gender and race through the painting of bodies, using film photography as the medium of choice to document. This overall medium is partly performative in nature and evokes ritualistic techniques steeped in Black American and indigenous history as a method of articulating contemporary issues affecting Black and Brown women & people. Fashion and experimental film also plays a intricate role in my works as well. My pieces strive to distills ideas of visibility, empowerment and Intuition by also using myself as the subject. Beginning this art form was a major turning point for my artistic career. Although I had graduated from a HBCU ( Hampton University) in 2012 with a fine arts degree, my focus was primarily on painting on canvas and photography. Upon graduating I found myself in the ‘real world’ spending my early twenties painting mostly on small canvases and selling these works on the streets in Soho and the Lower East Side, NYC, until I made a life changing shift.

I began exploring body paint on human canvases in 2015. I had the idea to do so and would mention it so often that a close friend suggest I try it. Once I did, I became so passionate about my new found endeavor that I recruited all of my friends to be my subjects and document the paint I would do on them. My love for cinematic film was the second part to this new puzzle. I would find myself directing several shoots, having close friends who shot in film document for me my visions, to help me bring them to life. One of the first hardships I would encounter began with the paint I was using. I used a lot of acrylic paint when first starting out. Until one time I did a live stream body paint session and the comments were brutally honest about this factor. I learned quickly I needed to research and invest in the correct make up/body paint so I could safely do my practice with my muses and on myself. The next hardship would be to find the courage to learn how to shoot film for myself. I felt this would give me the independence and confidence to make the work completely my own. It has been a process however, I have grown to develop my personal style. With this I have gradually been able to expand on my message. My “why” for creating such work. Through my own challenges and self growth I realized the work is more spiritually inclined and community based.

Beginning what I thought to be a new and fun artistic venture in 2015 has been an incredibly transformative journey . What started out as a experimental phase, developed into therapeutic and healing art sessions. The meditative process of applying the paint on skin would ease my clients to open up and share pieces of themselves. This energy almost always shows up on film. Over time it became clear that it was important to me to make a difference in my community through creating a safe space for Black and Brown people, specifically Black women, to be comfortable in their own bodies. The creative documentation of these sessions is executed to showcase back to my community the liberation you can experience in your own skin, by creating your own reality. I am proud of the work I have accomplished over the years and the exhibitions I have organized to have the work seen. I want to amplify the message, the healing and mental health benefits that comes from the process as well.

Ultimetly, positive Black representation leads to the empowerment of a people and community. My community and people that surround me are often fed over sexualized imagery of their culture, whether consciously or subconsciously. Furthermore, it is imperative to me that the nudity in my works are to normalize the human Black body without the reoccurring element of exploitation that we often witness in our daily lives through ads, media & social media. I The future of this vision is that the work be accessible to the public via everyday advertisement (Bus stops, Train station ads, Publications etc.) In an attempt to change the trajectories that have been presented up til now.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Currently I work as a herbalist at Brooklyn Tea. If my best friend is in town I would take her to my job! It is one of the only Black Owned tea shops in NYC and provides a safe, intimate experience and opportunity to learn about herbs. I would make her a latte and some food . Another cafe, for another day would be “September” they have great coffee and small bites. We would go to “Photodom” camera/film shop on Broadway and snag some film. I would then take her to my friend Angela Jones studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn to get a Wet Plate photograph taken. I know she would appreciate this photography form and the process of applying chemicals to get a image to appear. For a night out we would go to Bunton’s World Famous , Bed Vyne or Lover’s Rock, which are a few local lounges in my neighborhood, to hear a friend DJ and to dance. My best friend is photographer a as well and loves nature so I would take her to Fort Greene park or Prospect park to get her nature fix and take some photos! Herbert Von King park on Tompkins ave is also a great park, they also have a small stadium for plays, dance performances and more.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to shout out my Mother Princess Adena Goins who encouraged my gifts as a child, My Grandmother Gwendolyn Sharpe for the wisdom she’s instilled in me, my daughter Jolie Adena-Marie Antoine for making me a stronger woman, my community and my team from my collective “Souldega”, members Naja Pazant and Carleen Shankle.

Website: www.virginarte.com

Instagram: @thevirginartiste

Image Credits
Models: 1. Negesti McIntosh 2. Sereena Greene 3. Alegra Olotu 4. Shane “By Haze”