Daily Inspiration: Meet Constance White

Today we’d like to introduce you to Constance White.

Hi Constance, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Dallas and lived much of my formative years with my family, in the Piney Woods of rural East Texas. I am a graduate of Southern Methodist University, Meadows School of Art, Dallas TX, which led me to becoming the first Public Art Coordinator for the City of Dallas. After nine years, I went on to launch a comprehensive arts program at San Diego International Airport that included oversight of public art acquisitions, a performing arts series and a prolific exhibitions program.

After eight years, I moved to Charlotte briefly and then returned home to Dallas in 2015. I am a mother of two beautiful adults, Travis and Asia. Both are extraordinarily creative but will not claim any aspect of artistic practice. (Inside joke). Sunday is usually a family day where I spend time with my parents, my younger brother and his family (his wife and my four-month-old nephew and my niece, who is almost three) and my daughter. My son lives in PHX. We eat, watch movies and laugh a lot. I love to bead and design jewelry when I can. I am a covert introvert who cherishes solitude. Blue is my favorite color. And puns are my favorite types of jokes!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not always been smooth, but somehow there has been an ease to getting my work accomplished. It’s like how I imagine it feels to hang glide – delicately balancing trust, fear and control. I have been very confident in my career and as an artist. At times, when I would look around, my life would feel unbelievable – in a magnificent way. In the beginning of my career, most professional challenges were with older men (usually white). I worked mostly with engineers and architects who were either employed or contracted by various government agencies to implement capital improvement projects. From my perspective, it appeared, they really did not want to be bothered trying to figure out how or where there should be art. My job was to develop and oversee the integration of artwork within context of larger public works projects. It took years to build relationships, to grow and to make positive inroads, but progress eventually happened (personally/professionally). Our collective work was usually something we all took ownership of – from Dallas to San Diego.

Leaving San Diego for Charlotte, NC was (at the time) the most exciting opportunity of my life. I was incredibly excited about working in a smaller and growing southern community. Charlotte is a beautiful, lush place and was bubbling with southern charm and hospitality. It often felt like home and I projected being there for at least ten years or longer. However, the transition was not easy. I never considered that I would not settle in with my new colleagues and quickly discovered that my focused, introverted, sometimes quirky and eclectic personality could be an acquired “like.” It was the most difficult situation of my professional and personal life. I came into the organization with guns blazing – moving fast – pushing for changes with their decades-old policies and practices. My approach and recommendations were largely met with consensus, but the little the resistance I encountered was brutal.

My personal appearance seemed to be a distraction and amplified my discomfort. My hair (an Afro at the time) or what I was wearing was often an office chat topic. I was referred to as festive and exotic and compared to an African princess at a public meeting. It was a culture in a professional environment that was new to me. I did not adjust; I quickly shut-down and withdrew. This caused other problems as I was then labeled as non-collegial, reprimanded and ordered to do better at being available and making friends in the office. Things did not get better. After ten months and many head-bumping situations with executive leadership, especially the ED, I resigned. We all recognized that I did do some really great work during the time I was there: increasing budget allocations, introducing best practices for their various public art programs and setting scopes for 15 new projects. At the conclusion of my three weeks notice, I put all of my belongings in storage, packed what I could in my little roadster and endeavored on a six-week road trip back to Dallas. I have not looked back… but I have looked around. From my current perspective, I have found another updraft and am enjoying the ride and the view.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Spanning two decades, my work as an arts professional crosses intersections of bureaucracy, education and creativity, where administrators and creatives design and impact visual and physical experiences for various communities and publics. I have advised both public and private organizations in Texas, DC, Southern California, Alabama and the Carolinas. And currently, am a partner consultant on other design teams and arts management firms. Recently I launched my own arts consultancy: SLDcreative. In 2013, my work at San Diego International Airport was recognized with an Orchid from the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s annual Orchids & Onions awards, and in 2014, I received the Mission Federal ArtWalk Artie Award. I have served as an advisor, presenter and panelist for numerous organizations, including the American Association of Airport Executives, the Americans for the Arts, the Public Art Coalition of Southern California, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, PechaKucha, the City of Austin, the City of Dallas, and One Columbia South Carolina.

Most recently, I joined the Arts + Health Committee of the Dallas Business Council for the Arts, serve on the board of Inspire Art Dallas, and hold the position of Systems Committee Chair for the Priscilla Women’s Art Club of Dallas. My focus is always to contribute to supporting and expanding the role of the arts within the greater Dallas metro. As a professional artist, I use mixed media (usually on paper) to process notions about physical beauty and femininity. Often, I reference my own body and personal challenges for inspiration. My work considers how every woman is her own archetype and also represents all women throughout the ages. Idealogical feminine qualities and the female form as an object of attraction, voyeurism and source of wonder, adoration and worship influences my perspective. Ancient stories, mythology and elements of nature inspire my often layered and abstract narratives. In 2004, my first exhibition was presented at the South Dallas Cultural Center.

The following year, I had solo shows at the Janette Kennedy Gallery (SouthSide on Lamar, Dallas, TX) and the Stephanie Ward Gallery (Deep Ellum, Dallas, TX). When I moved to San Diego in 2006, I continued to show in group exhibitions at Andrea Rushing Gallery and some special events. Finding a balance between arts administration and producing artwork was challenging and my studio practice tapered. Being back in Dallas has opened a portal for a renewed practice and over the past three years, I have explored a social practice that invites interpersonal conversations with small cohorts of women to explore common notions of sensuality, vulnerability, insecurities and anxieties about themselves. Through sharing circles (now remote), I have implemented a process that prompts deep introspection and self-positive thinking. Because of this process, I was awarded and completed two artist-in-residency projects this year. The residency work has culminated as collages that represent non-figurative visual stories and affirmations reflecting the unique attributes of each woman who participated in the sharing circle. The result of which will be featured in two exhibitions in 2021.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
The best advice that was given to me that I still am constantly repeating to myself: FOCUS! AND SWEAT THE DETAILS! The Devil lives in the details and he wants to blow up your work? In this instant-age of text strands, contracted words and acronyms for new terms that I haven’t even learned yet… being intentional to distinguish between when to be casual vs. being distinguished and professional (especially in written communication with different generations) is important. The lines blur, I know, but finding a path to be seen clearly and respected is a never ending personal task. Do the work and do it well.

Contact Info:

• Email: art_profiler@me.com
• Website: sldcreative.com; constanceywhite.com
• Instagram: @effigies_and_odalisque