Kierra is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is deeply rooted in community and culture. She creates art that sparks conversations, encourages unity, and invites people to experience the beauty of diversity. With a strong passion for storytelling through visual media, Kierra strives to uplift and inspire through every project, connecting people through creativity and shared experiences. Her initiative, Free Mind Creations, aims to “create art that inspires connection, nurtures faith, and empowers women to live boldly and authentically.”

I have always been an artist; my start was with music. Both of my parents were musicians, so they taught me instruments and how to make music. I would spend days in my room composing songs and creating stuff. After college, I went to a paint and sip class with my mom for Mother’s Day. That was the first time I ever painted in my life and I realized that I was in love with it. I loved every single part of bringing an idea to life. I spent that whole summer at the art supply store, creating the most hideous paintings you can imagine. It was all about the process for me, and eventually I got better.

I have a lot of inspirations—really just Black women in art in general. One of my local inspirations is Tanía Wineglass. She gave me permission to switch my style and find my voice and be unconventional. Another one is Boxx the Artist. Non-local inspiration would be Kehinde Wiley. When I first started I really wanted to mimic his style, making art very realistically. Now I’m in the process of discovering my own style. What I’ve found is that realistic art doesn’t do it for me anymore, so now my art is way more stylized and very minimal.

She was already a mentor to me and she gave me my first art teaching job. She was very aware of the type of art that I was already making and she loved it. But I told her, this isn’t the art I want to make anymore. I’m glad that you see that I’m talented, but I think I want to make art way differently. She was so receptive. She told me about all the different mediums she used, and it really opened my mind—I don’t have to be in a box. She saw connections between where I started and where I was going, and she encouraged the new style that I was proposing.

I am really inspired by shapes—that’s something that’s kind of new as I’m developing my style. When I go throughout the world I’ll see unique shapes, silhouettes, door frames, or plant shapes and I get excited. I can’t wait to imitate that in my art. Now that I see the world as shapes, instead of super fine details—which I used to obsess over—I see that there’s so much intention in the world in man made structures and in God made structures.

Most of the art that I make is very intentional. When I’m really making art, it’s always based on my story or where I’m at in that moment or in that season. Creating art centers me by giving me space to reflect what has happened in the last six months, and what I’m feeling, going through, or learning. I love to wrap that up into a series or collection, and then present it to the world. I think that’s how art centers me and allows me to document my life.

I have a very strong relationship with God, and I have a strong purpose that I feel like was given to me by God. I don’t take it lightly that I’m talented in art and music. I feel like the more I give those talents to God, the more I allow God to speak through me, the better my life is. I’m so serious. Something that’s really important to me is going inside and finding out what it is that I am supposed to create and share. You’ll find traces of God in all of my art—whether it’s lessons that I’ve learned, or scripture that I use as titles or inspiration. Something that I inherently know is that my gifts and talents were given to me by God, and I feel that there’s something that he needs me to do. I feel like there’s a lot that he needs me to do.

Something that is so annoying to me is talking about struggle, or looking back in the past and harping over terrible things that have happened. Obviously, I know these things have shaped Black culture today. But one thing that I really promote in my work, and during Black History Month is, what’s next? What can we create? How can we celebrate all the positive things that are happening? Typically during Black History Month, I’ll teach a class. I’ll work with local business or nonprofits and teach a class based around a really cool section of Black history that we get to make art about. I’ve taught about is Jacob Lawrence and Basquiat.

I’m really excited about growing as an artist, and being so close to the Indy Arts Council. There’s so many people in this organization I look up to, like Julia and Kate and Anna. Now I get to be working so closely with them, and they are so welcoming. The thing I’m most excited about is to see how it all comes together. This is my first time creating a digital art exhibit. Most of my art is acrylic or oil paintings. I’m excited to walk into a world of my digital art and transform the gallery into my art.